Insomnia caused by weight loss... is the weight loss unhealthy?

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back2ballet
back2ballet Posts: 4 Member
edited December 2014 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm a 5'7.5" girl who currently weights 126.5 lbs. I'm interested in losing more weight without becoming "underweight". That would mean losing about 8 pounds. I'm a dancer, so weighing much more than 120 is hard on men who would lift me). However, every time I start to lose weight or increase exercise, I suffer from horrible insomnia (up all night/tossing and turning/etc.). Has anyone had this experience? If so, how did you handle it? I'd hate to cut my weight loss goals short, but I'd prefer to sleep lol.

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  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    At 126lbs a 5lb difference won't mean much to guys lifting you. They should probably lift weights if they have that much trouble.

    I've never had this experience, but then again I've only ever dieted with reasonable food intake. So if you are doing weight loss in an extreme fashion (starving yourself, as many new people here seem to do), then that could be your issue.
  • GingerbreadCandy
    GingerbreadCandy Posts: 403 Member
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    I think ana may be right. I had the same issue at the beginning of my diet, where I could not sleep due to eating too little at night and eating too little overall. (Although, in my case, it wasn't per choice…) Now that I managed to find a few tricks (eating larger portions in the evening, eating more at dinner) I am perfectly fine.
  • IILikeToMoveItMoveIt
    IILikeToMoveItMoveIt Posts: 1,172 Member
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    Magnesium deficiency can cause insomnia...
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    edited December 2014
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    Magnesium was my first thought. Or that you're doing very low carb, which I understand can also cause insomnia.
    And yes, perhaps you've lost enough.
  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
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    I know weight makes a difference for dance, but your body is giving you signs that losing weight is not going to be healthy for you. So you'll need to decide your priorities. Remember as well that because you are a dancer you have more muscle than usual so the normal weight ranges don't really apply.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited December 2014
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    No way - I'm 5'7, was at 124 for the longest time. Any lower than where you're at and you're just not going to feel good, and you'll probably look like hell.

    I don't buy your justification. Your fellow dancers can handle your 126.5 lbs. If they can't, they need to strength train. Contemporary dancers have muscular (so probably heavier) bodies, and they throw each other around all the time.
  • aqualeo1
    aqualeo1 Posts: 331 Member
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    I started getting insomnia when I started losing weight three years ago. I started waking up so many times during the night (like every hour on the hour) and unfortunately it has never gone away even though I've been in maintenance for over a year. Sucks
  • f1redshoes
    f1redshoes Posts: 79
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    My old dance partner, only 5' 6", lifted the 180lbs girl in our class alright, and most of the rest of the class were at least 130lbs and he managed them just fine.

    Honestly, if you think you only need 8lbs off? Probably best trying to stay that weight but change composition slightly (either through gaining muscle then losing any extra fat, or recomp). Being light isn't as useful as being strong.

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