I’ve been lifting weights to look more like the statue of David since 2007. A few weeks ago, I came across this post on X. It caught my eye because I know stress hormones counteract recovery, but I had no idea carbs (actually insulin) lowered cortisol. I simply had to try this out.

Men who drink Gatorade instead of water during workouts have more muscle growth, less body fat, lower cortisol levels, and a 23% increase in fast twitch muscle fibers.

— HeightOptimised (@HeightOptimised) August 15, 2025

I looked it up, of course, and the scientific mechanism is sound. Increased insulin lowers cortisol, which means it could be a good thing. For example, if you just ran from a lion and need to calm down, eating a handful of berries is a very good idea.

But does it hold up at the modern gym?

I did two weeks of drinking Gatorade while working out (I don’t recommend it—it’s probably better to use something like honey and electrolytes in water). In my very unscientific test, it does seem to work. Despite eating the same (I eat an exact amount of calories), working out the same (the program hasn’t changed since Christmas), and stressing the same (just founded a startup, so 100%), I actually lost some body fat and found myself relaxing more post-workout.

Now, since I’m fully aware of what I’m doing, I can’t know if it’s psychosomatic or not. But if you’re interested, I recommend trying it.

Will I continue doing it? Probably not. The noticeable effect isn’t strong enough, and I don’t want to spend money on Gatorade. I haven’t found a good alternative for adding carbs and electrolytes to my water yet. If I do come across a simple way to do it, though, I think I will start doing it.