Let’s go back to the calorie-restriction diets you may have tried in the past. The rigidity of these diets often creates stress, spiking your cortisol levels. You start reducing the number of calories you eat, which makes you hungry and irritable. This new agitated state creates a fight-or-flight reaction in your brain, and your brain responds by releasing cortisol into your bloodstream, telling your body there is a crisis at hand. Your body responds to this crisis signal by shutting down digestion, halting fat burning, and raising
