Belly Fat, Burnout, and ‘Wired but Tired’ — Is Cortisol the Culprit?
f your belly fat won’t budge…
If you feel tired all day but wide awake at 10pm…
If you’re snapping at your partner and crying in traffic…
Let’s talk about cortisol.
Not the “good vs bad” version you’ve seen online.
The real story, and why your cortisol rhythm might be the reason you feel like you’re stuck in survival mode.
Cortisol Isn’t the Enemy — It’s the Messenger
Cortisol is your stress hormone.
But it’s also your wake-up-and-handle-life hormone.
You need cortisol. Just not all day. And not at night.
In a healthy rhythm, cortisol should:
Spike in the morning (to get you out of bed)
Slowly taper off by bedtime
Stay low overnight (so you can rest and repair)
But chronic stress, under-eating, trauma, or inflammation can flip this script entirely.
Signs Your Cortisol Rhythm Is Out of Whack
You might be dealing with cortisol chaos if you:
Feel exhausted in the morning
Crash mid-afternoon but rally late at night
Struggle with sleep (either falling or staying asleep)
Crave sugar, salt, or caffeine
Gain weight around your midsection, no matter how you eat or exercise
Feel anxious, inflamed, or just… wired but tired
Sound familiar?
How I Test Cortisol (Spoiler: It’s NOT a single blood draw)
Most doctors test cortisol once, usually in the morning. But cortisol is a rhythmic hormone.
That’s why I use a 4-point cortisol test (via saliva or urine) that tracks your levels:
First thing in the morning
Mid-day
Evening
Before bed
This gives us a true picture of your HPA axis function, the system that governs stress, energy, hormones, inflammation, and sleep.
What Throws Off Cortisol?
There’s usually more than one factor:
Under-eating or fasting too long
Over-training or fasted workouts
Poor sleep quality
Chronic infections or inflammation
Blood sugar crashes
Unprocessed emotional stress or trauma
Your body isn’t broken, it’s adapting to stress the only way it knows how.
The Goal Isn’t to “Lower Cortisol”. It’s to Restore the Rhythm
Here’s where functional medicine is different.
We don’t just try to bring numbers up or down.
We aim to bring your rhythm back online.
This means:
Morning light + protein-rich breakfast
Balancing blood sugar and meals throughout the day
Reducing inflammation + restoring nutrient stores
Nervous system support (yes, mindset and minerals)
Real Healing Happens in Rhythm
Cortisol dysregulation isn’t fixed overnight. But it is fixable.
I’ve seen patients go from sleepless, inflamed, and depleted…
…to calm, rested, and back in sync with their body.
It starts with listening to the rhythm, and rebuilding it from the root up.
Want to Know What Your Cortisol Curve Looks Like?
Book a discovery call and we’ll talk about next steps
