“The Uphill Climb Away from Bad Habits” from bodybuiding.com

You can read the entire article here , but here are some parts I found interesting:

On Turning to Food for Comfort…

“If you find that when you are under stress and you go for your comfort foods, step back and understand you have those cravings because of increased cortisol levels due to the stress you’re under. Instead of letting yourself go for the cookie, relax your body with some of the many exercise options available to you. When you do that you won’t feel like you failed and you’ll stay on track!”

***First, a definition: Cortisol:a steroid hormone secreted by the adrenal cortex as part of the body’s response to stress. (from http://www.aegis.com/pubs/beta/1999/be990414.html)

On Cortisol and Not Eating Breakfast…

“Cortisol is at its highest level when you first wake up to combat the stress of fasting overnight and to get the body ready for the day’s activities. It gradually declines throughout the day till it gets to its lowest levels at bedtime and stays suppressed till it gradually rises in the early pre-dawn hours and naturally wakes you up.1

In a non-ketosis state the brain gets most of its energy from glucose. After a period of not eating, for example when not properly dieting, the body’s cortisol levels get too low causing hypoglycemia (low blood glucose) leading to body to increase cortisol production.

This increase initiates catabolism, which is your bodies process of breaking down its protein into simple amino acids and converting them into glucose for your brain to feed on.

The last thing a smart dieter wants is for their body to resort to breaking down their muscles for weight loss. Many dieters may be losing weight but are unhappy with their new appearance because they look like they are “withering away” and have that unhealthy look to them.

Understand what cause of losing the wrong weight will keep you from; feeling you look healthier when you’re not exercising and returning to your old ways. So make sure to keep cortisol levels from dipping to low; to allow catabolism will let you lose fat rather than muscle and keep you motivated!”

This article is very scientific and really shows the hows and whys of why exercising and dieting a certain way can work for everyone. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to a healthier lifestyle!