Does how much you sleep affect your weightloss?

Thin4payton
Thin4payton Posts: 234 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have not been getting as much sleep as I should and I really watched what I ate and exercised for a solid 2 weeks and no real weight loss. Could the fact that I am not getting enough sleep be hurting my weight loss?

Replies

  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    I have not been getting as much sleep as I should and I really watched what I ate and exercised for a solid 2 weeks and no real weight loss. Could the fact that I am not getting enough sleep be hurting my weight loss?
    Well, according to your ticker you have lost two pounds. Did you lose that during the two week period? Two pounds is excellent work! Concentrate of building new food habits not on losing your weight fast.

    Sleep is important to help us function, but I've never had lack of sleep affect my weight loss. However, I did have extra weight affect my sleeping habits. Now that I've lost 32 pounds, I sleep like a baby but I don't generally sleep the full eight hours. I feel fine and refreshed most mornings (except yesterday and today because I caught a bug).

    This is just true for me, though. Other people might have ahd different expereinces.

    I can imagine being unable to sleep and getting up in the middle of the night and eating snacks which take us over our calorie limit will lead to either no weight loss or weight gain. :bigsmile:

    Truly, aside from some personal health issues and thyroid problems, the most common cause of not losing weight is eating too much (I KNOW, I've been there countless times! :grumble:)

    Hang in there and just keep working at it!

    Edited to add: you have not been logging. You need to start so that you can accurately track your calories. Weight all solid food and measure all liquid food. If you exercise, track all those calories and eat a portion back if you use the MFP or gym machine estimations. It's the only way to track any problem areas. :smile:
  • TemeraldMarie
    TemeraldMarie Posts: 69 Member
    In a way. if I'm awake when i should be sleeping, i want to eat. And i do not get adequate sleep i do not feel like working out.. so yeah...
  • lewb31
    lewb31 Posts: 6
    If I'm not getting enough sleep, I tend to snack a lot more during the day to make up for it, and I also don't exercise well. In that way it definitely affects me.
  • paulperryman
    paulperryman Posts: 839 Member
    I sleep at best 4hrs broken up over 8-9hrs a night all my life and this year i've lost 30Kgs in 10months, it has little effect on weight loss if you are use to it, however it does create more stress on the mind and body which in turn can lead to less enthusiasm, energy towards your goals, increase in food intake and the body might fight back and retain fat and water to fuel the extra energy requirements. When you are asleep you burn the least amount of calories and not very much movement so really sleeping would have the opposite effect on weight loss. unless like me you are a restless sleeper.

    Weight loss stalls all the time, it doesn't have to do with overeating tho thats the most common cause number 1 with retaining water being the number 2 and lastly if you were doing weights you might be losing fat and gaining muscle at the same rate.

    Watching what you eat wont lose weight if all you are doing is watching it :), you gotta weigh it and make sure you are within you calorie goals, and you have no clue how much you can really eat or not eat unless you have had a professional exam that will tell you within 5% what you true TDEE and BMR are, all the calculators online are just a rough guide based on averages of the people they tested decades ago.

    Lastly just ignore it, a better judge is the tape measure and clothing fit and looking in a mirror. Weight is a hit and miss judgement there could be something going on underneath that you'd have no way of seeing or accounting for.
  • pinkiemarie252
    pinkiemarie252 Posts: 222 Member
    If you're tired it could affect your ability to exercise and your mind's perception of hunger, so yes, it could.
  • Spiderkeys
    Spiderkeys Posts: 338 Member
    I would presume the less sleep you get, would burn more calories, I always sleep devived, average of 5 hours sleep a night, yet the scale continues to drop.
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
    Actually, sleep deprivation can lead to obesity in children so it stands to reason that it can affect weight loss in adults. Sleep deprivation raises stress hormones in the body (cortisol is the major one) and that certainly can affect calorie burn. The hormones of obesity are complicated but lack of sleep will not help your weight loss efforts so the answer is yes.
  • FoxyLifter
    FoxyLifter Posts: 965 Member
    In a way. if I'm awake when i should be sleeping, i want to eat. And i do not get adequate sleep i do not feel like working out.. so yeah...

    ^this!
  • MinMin97
    MinMin97 Posts: 2,674 Member
    Yes, it does!
  • EMTFreakGirl
    EMTFreakGirl Posts: 597 Member
    Actually, sleep deprivation can lead to obesity in children so it stands to reason that it can affect weight loss in adults. Sleep deprivation raises stress hormones in the body (cortisol is the major one) and that certainly can affect calorie burn. The hormones of obesity are complicated but lack of sleep will not help your weight loss efforts so the answer is yes.
    I am a daily weigher and faithful logger. I have a sometimes crazy schedule and on occasion will work 36 hour shifts. I wear a bodymedia fit, which tracks sleep efficiency, and if I don't get 4 hours, at least, my weight loss does seem to be affected. I KNOW that weight loss is NOT linear, but there is DEFINITELY some correlation between the two, sleep and weight loss, for me!
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    Yes, it affects hormone production which in turn affects metabolism and stress levels.
  • HexyleneGlycol
    HexyleneGlycol Posts: 56
    I think it does have a lot to do with it because the more you sleep the more energy you have to workout plus when you're asleep you are not eating calories.
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
    I know for me, if I don't get at least 8 hours of relatively unbroken sleep a night I will be very grouchy and groggy the next day, which triggers my stress response to consume more overall sugar to keep me going. No amount of will power can overcome it.

    It's just best if I hit the sack when I feel tired. This means getting to bed between 9:30 and 10 p.m. on most days. I just feel better if I do it so that's what I do and it keeps me on track.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    IDK but what a fascinating study I volunteer for the sleep group!
  • westendcurls
    westendcurls Posts: 252 Member
    My sleeping habits are horrible! Ive lost 74lbs over about a 2 year period. Would it have gone faster had I slept better...idk I suppose its possible. But personally I'd be willing to bet my tendency to go over on my calories when my husband is home (he works out of town, shift work, week on- week off ) is of much more consequence than spotty sleep.
  • GymTennis
    GymTennis Posts: 133 Member
    Sleep/rest is one of the key components to maintain a healthy body and overall well-being.... However, If you have stalled with your weight loss you should probably cut back on your calories a little more (up to 300) and/or intensify your activity..
  • einzweidrei
    einzweidrei Posts: 381 Member
    If I were you, I would make sure I am tracking/weighing/logging all of my food as accurately as possible.

    When I don't sleep or when my sleeping patterns are all crazy, I eat.
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  • tedrickp
    tedrickp Posts: 1,229 Member
    Sleep is very important and quite often underrated for fitness IMO

    Here is a great impruvism podcast on sleep.

    http://podbay.fm/show/615712147/e/1373647872
  • in_the_stars
    in_the_stars Posts: 1,395 Member
    It does, more quality than quantity though.
    in the hours between midnight and 2AM the body is asleep and little goes on. Digestion and cortisol levels in the blood are minimal, as are temperature, blood pressure,and muscle tone. However,release of growth hormone is maximal at this time, as is metabolic activity of the cells lining the digestive tract. When cortisol level is low the immune system strengthens itself with max # of T cells, neutrophils and eosinophils in circulation, and max activity of white blood cells and lymphokines. :)
  • Thin4payton
    Thin4payton Posts: 234 Member
    Thank you for all the input. It's not that I can't go to sleep, it's that I am working 2 jobs and only have time to sleep 6 hours a night and I am EXHAUSTED! Plus I am a worrier so any sleep I do get is not very good because I am so stressed. I can see the fact that I am kind of too tired to care in a way. I am trying to do more things that will help me workout more. Like for instance I have a 2 hour lunch break and my main job so my boss is letting me bring my treadmill in to use during that time. I usually walk outside but it's too freaking cold now! lol! I know I have slacked off at journaling. I have to get back with that, but because I am so on the go, most of my meals are liquid. (Meal replacement that I can make and run). I just have not found that food regimen that works for me yet. :(
  • MysteriousMerlin
    MysteriousMerlin Posts: 2,270 Member
    I'm lazier when I don't get as much sleep as I need. I'm not as motivated to do as much if I'm super tired.

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