Cortisol

Question
In your opinion, is cortisol a major factor in abdominal weight gain and retention like many "experts" are saying nowadays?  I only ask because I am an active 26 year old male who has a weight training and cardio program and am eating 5-6 meals a day with protien and a complex carbohydrate at every meal and after months and months I cannot budge my brown abdominal fat.  I have noticed results everywhere except my abdominal region.  I also am fairly high strung and frequently stressed and I wonder if that is contributing to high cortisol levels and causing me to retain abdominal fat despite my diet and exercise.  Do you think that cortisol could casue a condition such as this?   

Thank you for your response.

Answer
In a word, no.  You are wise to question all "expert" advice, including my own.

Abdominal fat is the last to lose in most individuals.  If you are "stressed" a lot, you may have a very slight increase in your cortisol, but not enough to affect your fat metabolism (in fact, the levels of epinephrine are probably more important in daily stresses).  The distribution of fat is both genetic (your family) and gender (your sex) specific.

Your routine sounds good.  It really depends on how many calories you consume with respect to whether you are gaining or losing fat weight.  You may wish to increase the amount of cardio exercise, as this often burns more calories, and at the same time cut back on the size of your meals.  A reasonable percentage to shoot for is 25% protein (since you're weight training), <30% fat, and the rest carbs.  Complex carbs are good for long term energy, but I am also a big believer in plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables as well.

My $0.02.  

1. Prev:WALNUTS&OMEGA 3 FATTY ACIDS
2. Next:High Choresterol & high HDL or  Good Number & Low HDL...