Melatonin for weight loss

ImKindOfABigDeal40
ImKindOfABigDeal40 Posts: 807 Member
edited October 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Anyone use melatonin? I've heard that in addition to helping you sleep, it can also help in losing weight. What's been your experience with it?
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Replies

  • akaChuck
    akaChuck Posts: 233 Member
    I've also heard it helps you sleep...never about weight loss! Interested to hear about this too.
  • lulukan
    lulukan Posts: 76 Member
    I started taking Melatonin about the same time I started MFP. (I wanted to get off my sleeping pills) It helps me sleep. I don't really know if it helps me lose weight because if dieting and working out is not doing it, I doubt Melatonin will.

    Let me know how it works for you.
  • siabevis
    siabevis Posts: 811
    i use it to sleep only when i cant
  • luv2ash
    luv2ash Posts: 1,903 Member
    naaa..my husband has been taking this for years, it never affected his weight.
  • meli_medina
    meli_medina Posts: 594 Member
    I use it. The only reason it helps with weight loss is that it helps you get enough sleep, which is needed in order to lose weight properly. If you aren't sleeping well, or can't get to sleep, it will help you to do so. But you have to be careful because it can be habit forming and you may find yourself unable to go to sleep without it.

    If you are going to take it, I suggest only taking it once or twice per week to aid you in getting to sleep. What is generally recommended is to take it just before going to bed and trying to go to sleep on your own. The melatonin will help you get into a deeper sleep faster, which will give you a more quality sleep overall.

    But if you find you don't need help sleeping, it probably won't help you with weight loss either.
  • amfaery
    amfaery Posts: 267 Member
    I started taking Melatonin about the same time I started MFP. (I wanted to get off my sleeping pills) It helps me sleep. I don't really know if it helps me lose weight because if dieting and working out is not doing it, I doubt Melatonin will.

    Let me know how it works for you.

    How does the melatonin work for you I take sleepy pills regularly for insomnia and want to get off them let me know please :)
  • luv2run
    luv2run Posts: 54 Member
    I have been taking it for the past couple weeks now to help me sleep and I cant say I've noticed any extra weight loss because of it.
  • buckaroos30
    buckaroos30 Posts: 127 Member
    I have use it for yrs to help me sleep with no weight lost till I started eating correctly & excerising so I would say NO it doesn't help with weight lost. I love the Melatonin for sleep though and it's not habit forming I can go to sleep without it just choice not to.
  • hm_day
    hm_day Posts: 857 Member
    I take Melatonin for sleep because my body doesn't produce Melatonin. I've been taking it before bed for years, and I've never noticed a change.
  • SouLThinking
    SouLThinking Posts: 308 Member
    Melotanin is a natural hormone our body's make..some of us are defiecient. So if you take it your body regulates and you may sleep better. With any hormone defieciency all aspects of your life can be affected. So if you fix one problem other areas can improve. Any weight loss by introducing this hormone is a side effect of your metobolism getting back on track. The introduction of processed foods in our society has drastically increased these types of defieciencies. You might also look at zinc, idodine and B6. Those 3 vitamins/minerals are very important to our metobolism.

    Be careful taking Melatonin. It is not water soluble. This means it stores in your fat and too much isn't good.

    God Bless
    Nichole
  • Amber82479
    Amber82479 Posts: 629 Member
    I have used it to help with sleep and for me it worked well. I didn't notice any weight loss while taking it though...
  • ImKindOfABigDeal40
    ImKindOfABigDeal40 Posts: 807 Member
    I started taking Melatonin about the same time I started MFP. (I wanted to get off my sleeping pills) It helps me sleep. I don't really know if it helps me lose weight because if dieting and working out is not doing it, I doubt Melatonin will.

    Let me know how it works for you.
    \

    Yeah, not having trouble losing weight. I am having trouble sleeping though. Started taking melatonin earlier this week. I did a little research on google and found out that it supposedly used as a dietary supplement as well.
  • BrewerGeorge
    BrewerGeorge Posts: 397 Member
    Yeah, not having trouble losing weight. I am having trouble sleeping though. Started taking melatonin earlier this week. I did a little research on google and found out that it supposedly used as a dietary supplement as well.
    They have to say 'dietary supplement' so they can sell it w/o FDA approval.

    It has nothing at all to do with weight loss. It is for sleep - and mostly for adjusting you sleeping schedule, like for shift work or jet lag. Day after day is not a very good use for it.
  • hm_day
    hm_day Posts: 857 Member
    They have to say 'dietary supplement' so they can sell it w/o FDA approval.

    It has nothing at all to do with weight loss. It is for sleep - and mostly for adjusting you sleeping schedule, like for shift work or jet lag. Day after day is not a very good use for it.

    I have a melatonin deficiency. If your body is already producing sufficient amounts of the hormone, then yes, it can be dangerous to take it every day. But if you're like me, and the hormone doesn't exist in your system, day after day is necessary.
  • Behipped
    Behipped Posts: 46
    Hmm, i've never heard about it in terms of helping with weight loss! I probably take it about once a week or every two weeks. Usually because I'm wired and need to get to sleep, or I anticipate that i'll need more sleep than normal. It helps me.
  • ImKindOfABigDeal40
    ImKindOfABigDeal40 Posts: 807 Member
    Hmm, i've never heard about it in terms of helping with weight loss! I probably take it about once a week or every two weeks. Usually because I'm wired and need to get to sleep, or I anticipate that i'll need more sleep than normal. It helps me.

    I hear ya. I usually workout late at night. I have to because of my schedule. The downside is, I get an energy rush and my body doesn't want to rest.
  • Behipped
    Behipped Posts: 46
    Yeah, that is exactly why I use it. When I actually have time to work out, it's often at about 9pm and until 10:30ish... Then I walk 15 minutes home and am jazzed but have to get up at 6:30 the next morning... Sometimes you have to defeat the endorphins with synthetics!
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
    "Dietary supplement" has nothing to do with dieting for weight loss...

    The word "diet" means "everything you eat".
  • ImKindOfABigDeal40
    ImKindOfABigDeal40 Posts: 807 Member
    Yeah, that is exactly why I use it. When I actually have time to work out, it's often at about 9pm and until 10:30ish... Then I walk 15 minutes home and am jazzed but have to get up at 6:30 the next morning... Sometimes you have to defeat the endorphins with synthetics!
    Yeah, its the only thing I've found that will work for me. Otherwise, I'd barely sleep.
  • Healthy_Hannah483
    Healthy_Hannah483 Posts: 151 Member
    I don't believe it really helps you lose weight. I've been taking melatonin for forever due to insomnia because I don't want to take sleeping pills. I haven't found that it helps you lose weight.
  • allie864
    allie864 Posts: 298
    Well, now everyone has convinced me to get some melatonin to help me sleep. I've heard of it but just haven't tried it yet. So, thank you. :)
  • ImKindOfABigDeal40
    ImKindOfABigDeal40 Posts: 807 Member
    Well, now everyone has convinced me to get some melatonin to help me sleep. I've heard of it but just haven't tried it yet. So, thank you. :)
    Just be careful. As many people have stated, your body man need it to sleep. I know there have been a couple times this week that I hadn't taken any and I was having trouble sleeping. Gonna try to ween myself off a but this weekend.
  • amfmmama
    amfmmama Posts: 1,420 Member
    what are the dangers of taking it every day?
  • lulukan
    lulukan Posts: 76 Member
    I started taking Melatonin about the same time I started MFP. (I wanted to get off my sleeping pills) It helps me sleep. I don't really know if it helps me lose weight because if dieting and working out is not doing it, I doubt Melatonin will.

    Let me know how it works for you.

    How does the melatonin work for you I take sleepy pills regularly for insomnia and want to get off them let me know please :)

    See answer below. Sorry.
  • lulukan
    lulukan Posts: 76 Member
    I need to figure out how to post on these message boards. lol \

    RE: Sleeping pills. I have been taking unisom sleep melts for probably 3 years and could not sleep without them. I wanted to be healthier, so I switched to Melatonin. At first, I could not sleep AT ALL (for about 4 days) then I started noticing that I would get sleepy about 10-15 minutes later. Now I sleep pretty well most of the night, but I do wake up too early. I think they work well, for the most part.
  • allie864
    allie864 Posts: 298
    Well, now everyone has convinced me to get some melatonin to help me sleep. I've heard of it but just haven't tried it yet. So, thank you. :)
    Just be careful. As many people have stated, your body man need it to sleep. I know there have been a couple times this week that I hadn't taken any and I was having trouble sleeping. Gonna try to ween myself off a but this weekend.
    Duly noted. Thank you :)
    I hope your weekend goes well & you get some 'natural' sleep.
  • squishysangel
    squishysangel Posts: 149 Member
    Anyone use melatonin? I've heard that in addition to helping you sleep, it can also help in losing weight. What's been your experience with it?

    I haven't experienced weightloss from using it but...research says that not getting enough sleep can contribute toi weight gain and such so why wouldn't this work if you are one of those who has a cronic sleep issue
  • jppond
    jppond Posts: 1
    Weird, I just googled this question because I have a hard time losing weight and this week while doing fitnesspal and weight watchers I lost 3 pounds . I started taking melatonin this week for sleep reasons. I wondered if there is a connection. I have not lost 3 pounds in a week since forever, even when working very hard to lose.
  • opuntia
    opuntia Posts: 860 Member
    I've not heard of that - but it makes sense from the perspective that if you don't get enough sleep, you're less likely to lose weight. So if you take a supplement that helps you sleep sufficiently, your body will lose weight more easily. But as others have said, it's best not to take melatonin on a regular basis, because your body adapts to it and stops producing its own melatonin. Better to use relaxation methods to help you sleep.
  • sherpasmom
    sherpasmom Posts: 24 Member
    I am lucky enough to have a best friend who's a doc and she said one of the biggest obstacles to weight loss is lack of sleep. So, if melatonin can help you achieve a healthy sleep pattern then it can help you lose weight. My best advice is find the lowest dosage possible that works. Higher dosages (for me) made me irritable and feeling groggy next day, so now I've found when I need it I only take 1 mg and it does the trick. I have issues not necessarily going to sleep but staying asleep.

    Good luck!
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