Breakfast: insulin vs cortisol

Hey there, 

Just a question about breakfast construction and its impact on insulin sensitivity, fat burning, and cortisol levels. In what little I know, insulin and cortisol seem to travel in opposite directions (not in a simplistically linear fashion but they do impact eachother). For example, eating a good source of carbs at night post-workout (if training in the evening) would serve to bring insulin up, cortisol down, thus aid sleep onset and promote restorative mechanisms.

That said, i wonder if keeping insulin low in the mornings (with a fat/pro breakfast sans carb) might contribute to 2 things 1) higher insulin spike later once carbs are introduced which is also no bueno 2) feed into a higher stress-state in the am leading to a higher level of am cortisol which may be counter productive to fat-burning and metabolism speed.

One of my aims is to reduce the amount of (bad) stress when I can because i think this relates to poor performance, so I am mindful of cortisol (which i now is not a patently BAD hormone, but it's the dose/chronicity that makes the poison) I wonder if you could comment on why the above is not the case (obviously it's not, since you recommend it, i'd just like to understand why!)

Thanks in advance.

-E

Perception is reality. To reduce stress you have to perceive less stress. To perceive less stress is simply a choice. 

So on to your question about insulin/cortisol...Cortisol is the best thing to burn fat, it is catabolic as in breaking things down. Insulin is anabolic as in building things up. No two ways around it cortisol is highest in the AM so it works synergistically with no carb(no insulin) to burn body fat. 

Its quite paradoxical to have a name like Avalanche and be talking about your sensitivity to stress. 

Thanks for clarifying!

Only trying to be more mindful of stress's impact on recovery. Oblivion in no way equals success. As for the screen name, not so paradoxical.. Stress is good only in episodic waves and not chronicity. 

Lame.

Hahaha whatever, sensei. I've got veggies to cook.

touché. well played.