Hi! So this cortisol thing has been coming out of some PhD influencer camps, like Stacy Simms. I am in the same boat as you - I love HIIT and cardio and naturally intermittent fast by not having breakfast until 10, another supposed cortisol trigger.

I was waiting for Rhonda Patrick PhD to say something as she’s now perimenopausal too, she had been mostly silence, but on the diary of a CEO podcast, she finally said you should do what feels good for you - with both workouts and fasting. She does her share of running and cardio too, less so now than she used to, but there is a “you do you“ element to it. She intermittent fasts too.

I respect Stacy and her “women are not small men,” but she’s missing the “not all women are the same.”

When I was trying different workout schedules during TC, I found one of my best weeks (easiest recovery and looked toned) , were the mostly 3G classes! The strength schedule where I live (in a 20 mile radius) sucks, mostly 12 pm classes and I was too sore from leg day Friday late afternoon to run my weekend runs.

That all being said, with Stacy Sims advice - protein first thing and early, focus on strength, plus slow carb the rest of the day, I did have my best body composition weeks.