Does lack of sleep really cause weight gain if you remain in a deficit?

TurtleTop08
TurtleTop08 Posts: 25 Member
edited November 14 in Health and Weight Loss
Despite recent lack of sleep, I still have been sticking to my exercise routine and calorie deficit. I actually go to bed at a decent time which is 10:00pm. The problem is falling asleep. I don't fall asleep until 1 or 2 am. I haven't weighed myself recently and have been eating high sodium foods like pickles over the holidays so I'm probably retaining water for sure but is it possible to gain fat in a deficit despite lack of sleep? I don't late night snack or anything and am active in the day.

Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    No
  • sammyliftsandeats
    sammyliftsandeats Posts: 2,421 Member
    MaybeLed wrote: »
    When I'm sleep deprived I do stop losing/gain weight, but only because I turn in to a walking food monster. Also what I crave in my fuddled state is high stodge comfort food.

    fipotn3v18ic.jpg

    Me too. But it's because I'm also just too tired to make the right choices. I pick higher calorie foods and I don't care as much because all I want is to stick food down my throat.

    If you're able to keep with your deficit and your routine, then you should lose weight. And all the more power to ya because I definitely struggle with that.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    When I don't get good sleep and the fatigue hits me like a wall, I eat more food to get my energy levels up. Not a good trade off. Good sleep is essential for me.
  • cityruss
    cityruss Posts: 2,493 Member
    No.
  • charlenekapf
    charlenekapf Posts: 309 Member
    No. When I lost weight initially i was an insomniac and averaged 4-5 hours a night, broken up. I just made sure never to go over my calories, mostly by intermittent fasting. I got tired of sleeping like *kitten* and started reactive eating, not being as active and gained back a ton of weight. trying to find the happy medium of getting 7-8 hrs somehow, eating within my calories, and staying active. although it did help for me to workout despite it kind of sucking, it gave me more energy after, even on little sleep. I don't recommend it.
  • Dalceridae
    Dalceridae Posts: 81 Member
    Severe sleep deprivation makes me want to eat everything in sight to keep functioning.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    No.

    Severe sleep deprivation (sleep apnea) caused ongoing exhaustion, which in turn led me to be extremely inactive, which led to exceedingly low calorie output. But it was eating too much for that calorie output level that caused me to gain weight.
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    Nothing can cause you to gain weight while in a deficit. Nothing.

    Lack of sleep can make maintaining a deficit more difficult though.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,641 Member
    MaybeLed wrote: »
    When I'm sleep deprived I do stop losing/gain weight, but only because I turn in to a walking food monster. Also what I crave in my fuddled state is high stodge comfort food.

    fipotn3v18ic.jpg

    Yep ... this.

    The only times in the past year where I have actually gone out and bought a chocolate bar were two occasions when I was seriously sleep deprived. :grin:

    But in 2015, I managed to lose my weight while at the same time being quite sleep deprived. I just kept my intake below my output.
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
    Lack of sleep causes stress hormone to rise which makes you hungrier. So being tired and fighting your hormones may make you eat more or should I say makes it harder to stay on track.

    I believe the study was less than 7 hrs a night caused people to eat almost 400 more calories.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    MaybeLed wrote: »
    When I'm sleep deprived I do stop losing/gain weight, but only because I turn in to a walking food monster. Also what I crave in my fuddled state is high stodge comfort food.

    fipotn3v18ic.jpg

    Same here, and I can only muster the energy to walk from the couch to the fridge lol
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,641 Member
    leanjogreen18 wrote: »
    I believe the study was less than 7 hrs a night caused people to eat almost 400 more calories.

    I have some trouble believing that ... given that I regularly get less than 7 hours a night. In fact, 7 is a good night!
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    I've noticed that when sleep deprived I eat more calorie dense foods and have less will power. Also, I have a fitbit and my steps tend to go down about 20% when I'm really tired, even if I think I'm moving the same amount as usual.
  • tiptoethruthetulips
    tiptoethruthetulips Posts: 3,371 Member
    Lack of sleep itself won't cause a weight gain, but some people eat more to compensate for feeling tired and then there is leptin and ghrelin. These are hormones. More sleep produces more leptin, lack of sleep produces more ghrelin. Put simply, leptin decreases appetite and ghrelin increases appetite. It is of course a lot more complex than that, but if you do a little research there is some info on the web.
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
    Machka9 wrote: »
    leanjogreen18 wrote: »
    I believe the study was less than 7 hrs a night caused people to eat almost 400 more calories.

    I have some trouble believing that ... given that I regularly get less than 7 hours a night. In fact, 7 is a good night!

    I'm on phone so can't get you the study right now but Google sleep and overweight you should find it.

    Also for clarity it causes increase in hunger which causes SOME to eat more. Not weight gain (unless one gave in which some folks do).

    I'm actively watching my calories so even though I might be hungrier I would compensate with more satiating foods as you probably do as well.
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