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Why aren’t you losing weight, even when you’re eating well, exercising, taking hormones, or using a GLP-1? If the scale will not budge, stubborn belly fat keeps returning, or your cravings and energy feel impossible to control, cortisol may be blocking your progress.
In this solo episode of hol+, Dr. Taz explains how chronic stress and disrupted cortisol patterns affect your metabolism. She breaks down the connection between cortisol, blood sugar, insulin, inflammation, gut health, and visceral fat, revealing why weight loss can stall even when you feel like you are doing everything right.
You’ll also learn how cortisol patterns can change throughout the day, why a stressful event may affect your blood sugar for hours, and how chronic stress can alter your appetite, digestion, hormones, and response to weight-loss medications.
In this episode:
- Why weight loss can stall despite diet and exercise
- How cortisol affects your metabolism
- Signs your natural cortisol rhythm may be disrupted
- Why you may feel tired all day but wired at night
- The connection between stress, blood sugar, and insulin
- How cortisol increases cravings for sugar, salt, and comfort foods
- Why stress can promote visceral belly fat
- How chronic inflammation blocks metabolic progress
- Why GLP-1 medications may appear to stop working
- How stress affects digestion and the gut microbiome
- Why cortisol may contribute to bloating, constipation, or diarrhea
- What a four-point cortisol test can reveal
- How lowering cortisol can support metabolic health
Learn more about cortisol testing, stress-related weight gain, and the hol+ approach:
https://holplus.co/services/cortisol-stress/
Learn more about hol+ and schedule an appointment:
https://holplus.co/
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https://holplus.co/podcast/
If you know someone who is struggling to lose weight despite doing everything right, share this episode with them. Subscribe for new episodes about hormones, metabolism, gut health, inflammation, healthy aging, and whole-person healing every week.
About Dr. Taz
Dr. Tasneem Bhatia (Dr. Taz) is a triple board-certified integrative medicine physician,
bestselling author, and founder of hol+ a multi-location integrative medicine practice.
Learn more: https://doctortaz.com/
Stay Connected with Dr. Taz
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Get your copy of The Hormone Shift: Balance Your Body and Thrive Through Midlife and Menopause
Host: Dr. Taz; Edited and Produced by Clip Growth (Producer: Pat Gostek)
Chapters
00:00 Why You’re Not Losing Weight Despite Diet and Exercise
01:21 How High Cortisol Causes Weight Gain
03:37 High Cortisol Symptoms: Tired All Day, Awake at Night
04:24 How Cortisol Affects Blood Sugar and Insulin Resistance
06:47 How to Break the Chronic Stress and Cortisol Loop
08:56 Why Blood Sugar Spikes Cause Fat Storage
10:13 Why Stress Causes Sugar and Salt Cravings
14:12 How Chronic Inflammation Blocks Weight Loss
19:57 How Stress and Cortisol Affect Gut Health
23:40 How to Test Cortisol When Weight Loss Stalls