Lack of sleep and weight loss?

pbear1

Has anyone experience of this. I am only now thinking that this may be why I am not losing weight. Have been diet for the past 2 months and only lost a couple of pounds (have roughly 28lbs to lose in total). My daughter is 4.5 months old but I am only getting an average of 3-4 hours sleep at night. Could this really be affecting my weight loss? Have been on 1200 calories for the past few weeks and have maybe lost 2lbs.

Had similar problem after my son, but thought it was when i stopped breastfeeding that I started to lose weight, but in reality that is when he started to sleep through so I was getting more sleep. Maybe lack of sleep is the isssue.

Should I keep being on this strict diet while getting no sleep (which is very hard!) or wait until she is sleeping through. Or will my efforts now pay off when I do start to sleep.

Appreciate any advice anyone might have, thanks.

journeytoahealthy51

I do think that lack of sleep hinders weight loss, but have no "proof" to back that up. On a side note (I am a nurse): If you are breastfeeding your daughter, you should be consuming way more than 1200 calories a day in order to keep up your milk production. Sorry to digress from your post!

byHISstrength

Lack of sleep can definitely affect weight loss. You should make sure you are also eating enough calories (not suggesting that you aren't...just putting it out there cause sometimes that can be a problem too).

wickedcricket

yes - scientific evidence proves lack of sleep can affect weight loss. Try to get at least 7 hrs of sleep per night/day. Melatonin helps, or see your dr for sleep meds - I have chronic insomnia & can't sleep w/o medication.

vim_n_vigor

For me, until the kids were really sleeping, I tried to eat healthy and watch portions, but didn't 'diet' or do a lifestyle change until I could really focus on it. You do need to make sure you are getting enough extra calories for your baby too. 1200 is not going to be enough to get the nutrients you and your baby need.

ibbray04

That may have something to do with it. Or it may be breastfeeding.

I'm one of those people who DOES NOT lose weight while breastfeeding. With my 1st: breastfed for 10 months, didn't lose much. He was an excellent sleeper: sleeping 8-9 hrs since he was 9 weeks old. Once I quit nursing, I lost the weight.

With my second: nursed for 14 months, didn't lose much at all (at 14 months I was still 12 lbs away from pre pregnancy weight, and had only lost 8. Do the math: very frustrating!). She was also a terrible sleeper, waking up in the middle of the night until she turned 12 months. Once I quit nursing I lost 12 lbs in 2 months.


I wanted to lose the weight so bad, but decided I wasn't going to let it get to me until after I weaned. Hope this helps!

ETA: Just added you as a friend. Let's do it together! :-)

SueInAz

I've seen numerous articles discussing a direct correlation between too little sleep and weight gain, so I definitely think that your lack of sleep is a very big factor. However, eating too few calories while breastfeeding can have as much of an impact on your weight loss difficulty as your lack of sleep. Think of breast feeding as exercise. You're putting those calories into the milk for your infant so own your body isn't getting them. Unfortunately, I don't know of a way to calculate how many that is but that information might be available somewhere on the Internet.

Bottom line, until you stop breastfeeding, you need to eat more, for your baby's and your own health even more than your attempt to lose weight.

pbear1

Thanks for all your replies, just to say I have actually weaned her off the breast in the last few weeks as she has some feeding difficulties (another long story!). So when I was breastfeeding I accounted for that in MFP and netted 1200 (extra 400 a day) but now that I am not feeding her anymore I am on 1200 for myself.

So I suppose I will just keep going and see if there is any change in the next month or so. Can't really do anything to get more sleep until she decided to stop waking in the night!!

I appreciate the advice, and I will just have to keep at it and maybe I will eventually see results..

AdAstra47

YES, lack of sleep affects the hormones in your brain, and that (believe it or not) does affect how well your body's metabolism works and how much weight you will lose. My doctor told me it's very important to my weight loss to try & get 6-8 hrs of sleep a night.

As for staying on your diet, I think that's *always* a good idea, it will pay off sooner or later. Even if you're not losing, it may be keeping you from gaining. It never hurts to stay on a healthy diet, although 1200 calories doesn't sound to me like enough if you're still breastfeeding... you might check with your doctor on that.

Dottie27

I gained most of my weight at the phase you are currently experiencing and I know a lot of moms can say the same thing. Both of my children had colic. I didn't get much sleep, a four hour block was about it. I have read the articles with scientific evidence about the link between lack of sleep and impact on weight loss. But, before the articles, I knew, from my own experience, that this was true. So, I am glad for you that you are on MFP and focused on a healthy lifestyle, especially through what is a challenging time for healthy habits.

Mom to mom advice: focus on your baby and getting enough healthy food and sleep for yourself during the week. Do the lightest of housework during the week and save the rest for the weekends.