You aren’t sleeping enough!
I know, I know - everyone has super busy schedules and can’t find the time to sleep. We are at a time where adults have multiple responsibilities that require long awake hours to get everything done. I for one can understand the 4-5 hour nights of sleep that inevitably occur.
However if you consider these few points about sleep and weight loss - it might change your idea of how you should see sleep.
During sleep - your body is in a fasting state. There is no intake for food and thus no adding of calories for the allotted time you are sleeping. These of course lessens the chance that you will consume more than your BMR in calories - promoting a trend down in weight.
If you do not get enough sleep your body will release more cortisol - which in turn causes the body to hold onto fat for energy. Since your body is not able to “reboot” itself during sleep these hormones get out of whack and cause your body to become in a stress-response. This prevents the burning of fat as cortisol tells the body to hold onto it during your waking hours.
Action step: Plan a bed time for yourself that allows you to wake up after 7-9 hours. 30 minutes before bed time try to shut off any electronic screens, dim the lights, and perform any relaxation methods that you enjoy (meditation, deep breathing, journaling, reading). This will help bring you into sleep much sooner and deeper!
Small changes to your everyday routine can lead to big time results over the long term. Trust the process and remember to track your food, drink water, and get to bed!
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