The Cortisol Connection Diet: The Breakthrough Program to Control Stress and Lose Weight

Table of Contents

Dedication

Ordering

Title Page

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Introduction

CHAPTER 1 - Eating for Quality and Quantity

ALL DIETS WORK…FOR A WHILE

THOSE LAST TWENTY POUNDS

THE CORTISOL-CONTROL APPROACH

QUALITY: WHAT TO EAT

QUANTITY: HOW MUCH TO EAT

TWO FOOD ADDITIVES TO AVOID

TIMING: WHEN TO EAT

CHAPTER 2 - Cortisol Control

WHY STRESS MAKES US FAT

CONTROLLING CORTISOL LEVELS

DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS FOR CORTISOL CONTROL

CHOOSING AND USING SUPPLEMENTS WISELY

CHAPTER 3 - Blood-Sugar Control

LOW-CARB VERSUS LOW-FAT: WHAT TO EAT?

WHY DIETS WORK

THE IMPACT OF INSULIN

THE LINK BETWEEN CORTISOL AND BLOOD SUGAR

THE GLYCEMIC INDEX: DEFINING GOOD AND BAD CARBOHYDRATES

DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS FOR BLOOD-SUGAR CONTROL

CHAPTER 4 - Thermogenesis

WE’RE NOT GETTING ANY YOUNGER

ENHANCING THERMOGENESIS

WEIGHT-LOSS SUPPLEMENTS TO AVOID

DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS TO ENHANCE THERMOGENESIS

CHAPTER 5 - General Metabolic Support

THYROID SUPPORT

SEROTONIN AND NOREPINEPHRINE: NATURAL APPETITE CONTROL

CHAPTER 6 - Putting It All Together

WHERE DOES EXERCISE FIT IN?

WHAT TYPE OF EXERCISE SHOULD YOU DO?

SUPPLEMENTS FOR OPTIMIZING METABOLIC CONTROL AND WEIGHT LOSS

SAMPLE MENU PLAN FOR MEALS AND SNACKS

In Closing

APPENDIX A - Putting the Cortisol Connection Diet to the Test

APPENDIX B - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Resources

Daily Logs

Index

Copyright Page

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my clients, who over the decade that I’ve been doing nutritional counseling have taught me as much about metabolic control as I have taught them. It is also dedicated to my wife and best friend, Julie Talbott, who has always been my enthusiastic partner in our own search for control, balance, and happiness in our health and our lives. Thanks.

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Foreword

Obesity in America, and indeed in the world, is reaching epidemic proportions. At this writing, more than 65 percent of American adults and nearly one-quarter of our children are overweight or obese. Data from the surgeon general’s office have linked more than four hundred thousand premature deaths annually to the direct health effects of obesity (second only to smoking)—and the numbers continue to climb. It is not an understatement that obesity is literally killing America and setting the stage for a national crisis of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, and related chronic diseases.

As sports nutritionist for the New York Giants and the School of American Ballet, I see that even professionals can struggle with decisions about what to eat and how to balance their diets. In my private practice, I am active in educating my clients to use diet, exercise, and supplements to help reverse these alarming trends in their own lives. It is evident from the research, as well as from my private practice, that the health effects of obesity can be controlled, that weight can be lost, and that lost weight can be maintained. That recipe for success is expertly presented by Dr. Talbott in The Cortisol Connection Diet.

All too often, my clients and health-professional colleagues are confronted with miraculous claims for the latest diet du jour, but rarely do these diets deliver anything but temporary weight loss, inevitable weight regain (and then some), and broken promises. Research from around the world—and practical experience from working with many clients—shows us that lasting weight loss comes from a balanced approach to nutrition, exercise, and responsible supplementation. The Cortisol Connection Diet synthesizes many years of this research into a very practical, useful, and easy-to-follow format that will be of tremendous value in helping readers to lose—and keep off—excess weight.

Dr. Talbott bases his Cortisol Connection approach on some of the best research available. He has drawn on evidence from the studies of Dr. Walter Willett at Harvard’s School of Public Health and Drs. Rena Wing and James Hill, founders of the National Weight Control Registry. The result is a truly science-based approach to weight loss that uses diet, exercise, and responsible supplementation to control cortisol levels, balance blood sugar, and maximize metabolism.

I think you will find, as I did, that Dr. Talbott’s Cortisol Connection Diet is a welcome addition to the weight-loss landscape—not only because it is a responsible and science-based approach to weight loss, but also because it is practical, user-friendly, and effective.

—Heidi Skolnik, M.S.

July 2004

Acknowledgments

In setting out to write a concise book about harnessing metabolism for weight loss, it rapidly became apparent that conciseness and metabolism have little to do with each other! Just engaging in a discussion of metabolism, especially for people like myself who study it on a day-to-day basis, is like swimming upstream: You can get a good start and put in a noble effort, but it’s tough to know when you’ve gone far enough—or too far. In this regard (knowing where to draw the line in terms of brevity versus detail), I owe a tremendous thank-you to my editors at Hunter House—especially to Kelley Blewster, Jeanne Brondino, and Alexandra Mummery—for helping me to focus my discussion of metabolism on its most relevant aspects.

IMPORTANT NOTE

The material in this book is intended to provide a review of information regarding nutrition and weight loss. Every effort has been made to provide accurate and dependable information. The contents of this book have been compiled through professional research and in consultation with medical professionals. However, health-care professionals have differing opinions and advances in medical and scientific research are made very quickly, so some of the information may become outdated.

Therefore, the publisher, authors, and editors, as well as the professionals quoted in the book cannot be held responsible for any error, omission, or dated material. The author and publisher assume no responsibility for any outcome of applying the information in this book in a program of self-care or under the care of a licensed practitioner. If you have questions concerning your nutrition or diet, or about the application of the information described in this book, consult a qualified health-care professional.

Introduction

More than two-thirds of American adults—and nearly one-fourth of our kids—are overweight. On any given day, millions of people are using one of the dozens of popular weight-loss programs to help them lose weight. So why do we need another diet?

Low- (and high-) carbohydrate diets, high- (and low-) fat diets, and all manner of high-protein diets promise miraculous results (Lose 30 pounds in 30 days! Lose fat while you sleep!) with little effort (No exercise! No dieting!)—and they’re all guaranteed to work for you. Almost without exception, these miracle diets are more about hype than about offering any real hope of lasting results.

The Cortisol Connection Diet claims only to be a safe, practical, and proven approach that harnesses the three key aspects of metabolism that are at the heart of our epidemic of obesity. Most of all, following the Cortisol Connection Diet will change your metabolic response to food and help you shed those last twenty pounds that tend to be the hardest to lose.

As a nutritionist, physiologist, and lifestyle coach for more than a decade, I have used the concepts outlined in The Cortisol Connection Diet: The Breakthrough Program to Control Stress and Lose Weight to help thousands of clients optimize their own metabolic profiles—and achieve the lasting weight loss they have been looking for. More often than not, these are people who have tried other diets and have lost weight, but who have had that weight come right back (often with a bit more, as an added bonus). Like many of my clients, you may already be following what could be viewed as an excellent diet and exercise plan—but no matter how many calories you cut or how many minutes you exercise, you just can’t seem to shed those last few pounds. Sound familiar?

If so, then keep reading. Those last few pounds are the hardest to get rid of because they result from metabolic changes related to blood-sugar and cortisol metabolism. Only by simultaneously optimizing these aspects of metabolism can you realistically hope to achieve your ultimate weight-loss goals—and that is precisely what following the Cortisol Connection Diet can do for you.

When I teach metabolic concepts to my physiology and nutrition students