Has anyone had their weight loss stalled by lack of sleep?

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SophiaSerrao
SophiaSerrao Posts: 234 Member
in Health and Weight Loss

Hey to all =)

I'm a new user, but have been on this weight loss ordeal for a few months. It's not the first time I lose weight, but I'm finding that now that I hit my 30's, it's harder! It comes off more slooooowly!

I'm 32, 4'11' (1.50m), and currently weigh 127 lbs (57.5kg). Female.

My calorie intake is pretty low (1125 cal), but that's because 1200 cal wasn't working for me. So I eat very nutritiously... and slowly but surely, it's coming off. And yes, I weigh and measure everything ;).

I work out and I sleep enough hours. I drink the eight glasses of water. I keep sodium intake low.

Now, after ovulating and TOM (during which, the scale barely budged), I really expected more weight to shed off this week. However, due to work reasons, I've only been able to sleep 4 hours a day these last 3 days... and no excercise. So I really really tracked calories (I've been trying a zig-zag method this week) and I made sure to "move" a lot throughout the day. Maaan, I used the stairs! I used them their *kitten* off. And I walked (four 15 minutes walks) instead of using taxis.

But when I very excitedly weighed in this morning (after 3 days of little sleep, which are now over).... I was up half a pound!! It really broke my heart... hard, lol. I slept 9 hrs last night!

Has lack of sleep affected someone like this? Is weight loss really that fragile?
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Replies

  • cdragony321
    cdragony321 Posts: 6 Member
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    Maybe your settings are off on MFP? Your calorie intake just seems really low. I'm not really an expert or anything so who knows, but following what they have said I have my settings at sedentary (I work a desk job) and losing 1lb a week. If I stuck to the calorie count they have given me 1560. I eat back my exercise calories, too. I have consistently lost and I don't get a ton of sleep either.
  • FablsMrFox
    FablsMrFox Posts: 2 Member
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    try to focus less on the scale number and more on making progress to be healthier over all.
  • JustSomeEm
    JustSomeEm Posts: 20,222 MFP Moderator
    edited March 2015
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    Hi Sophia! It's not necessarily the lack of sleep causing your weight to fluctuate. It could be all sorts of things. I have insomnia, and still managed to lose more than 70 pounds and maintain that loss. :)

    Be careful that you really are eating the portions you think you are. If you are not weighing and measuring your foods and liquids, then you could be eating more. You mentioned that you're getting more exercise than you usually do - sometimes that can make you hold onto water weight for a few days. As can eating a high sodium diet.

    The most important thing for you, I think, is to remember that weight loss is not instant and it's not linear. Sometimes you will lose weight in a whoosh. Sometimes weight will stick around longer than you think it should. Sometimes it will fluctuate up slightly. All of those things are okay, as long as your general trend is that weight is slowly coming off. Just keep doing what you're doing. You've got this. :flowerforyou:
  • janegalt37
    janegalt37 Posts: 270 Member
    edited March 2015
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    Yes, but it is always temporary. A few days, a week or two at most. If you are good on everything else, weight loss is really not that fragile.
    But, don't let sleep deprivation continue for long. It will negatively impact your physical, mental and emotional health.
    Don't stress about it. Life happens. Just get back to a healthy schedule as soon as you're able, and have some sweet, sweet dreams! You got this. o:)
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    I have noticed that any time I don't get enough sleep I retain more water. Not sure of the biology of it, but it is pretty consistent for me. The good thing is that it is only water and therefore temporary.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    I also notice that I retain more water when I don't get enough sleep. Also, it impacts my energy, which makes me move less throughout the day (even when I do get exercise in).
  • MarziPanda95
    MarziPanda95 Posts: 1,326 Member
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    cdragony321 wrote: »
    Maybe your settings are off on MFP? Your calorie intake just seems really low. I'm not really an expert or anything so who knows, but following what they have said I have my settings at sedentary (I work a desk job) and losing 1lb a week. If I stuck to the calorie count they have given me 1560. I eat back my exercise calories, too. I have consistently lost and I don't get a ton of sleep either.

    OP is only 4'11, so that's probably why her intake is so low. At her height, going under 1200 is probably not going to kill her.
    I don't think lack of sleep itself can cause much of a stall... it's more the correlation between being tired and lack of exercise. People generally don't want to get up and go for a run on 3 hours of sleep - and they're more likely to just say 'fug it, I'll eat ten chocolate bars' because tired can mean feeling fed up with everything, including dieting.
  • SophiaSerrao
    SophiaSerrao Posts: 234 Member
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    cdragony321 wrote: »
    Maybe your settings are off on MFP? Your calorie intake just seems really low. I'm not really an expert or anything so who knows, but following what they have said I have my settings at sedentary (I work a desk job) and losing 1lb a week. If I stuck to the calorie count they have given me 1560. I eat back my exercise calories, too. I have consistently lost and I don't get a ton of sleep either.

    Hmm... I guess you say might be right, cuz everyone else seems to be losing just fine and I can't seem to. Buuuuut, I did use many online calculators, and the average really was 1125 cal. After all, I'm short, sedentary and female.

    Buuuuuut I haven't eaten back my workout cals. Maybe I'll try that =)
  • SophiaSerrao
    SophiaSerrao Posts: 234 Member
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    FablsMrFox wrote: »
    try to focus less on the scale number and more on making progress to be healthier over all.

    Well, in that case, I'm doing swell! I'm eating very healthy foods (and quite happy about it), I'm working out and I'm sleeping more = )

    But I DO wanna see the scale numbers drop. I really do.
  • SophiaSerrao
    SophiaSerrao Posts: 234 Member
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    @davis_em‌ @janegalt37‌

    I appreciate your words, thanks!
  • SophiaSerrao
    SophiaSerrao Posts: 234 Member
    edited March 2015
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    earlnabby wrote: »
    I have noticed that any time I don't get enough sleep I retain more water. Not sure of the biology of it, but it is pretty consistent for me. The good thing is that it is only water and therefore temporary.
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    I also notice that I retain more water when I don't get enough sleep. Also, it impacts my energy, which makes me move less throughout the day (even when I do get exercise in).

    Well, this made me feel better! Hopeful, lol. Thanks :)

  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
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    Being tired would disrupt weight loss for me, but only because I'm a wreck when I'm tired and I eat poorly and don't exercise. I don't think that being tired on its own would cause you to gain, however if you also started trying the zig zag eating while you were overtired maybe your body is struggling to adjust or maybe your numbers were off somehow? I wouldn't stress about what happens during outlier times.
  • SophiaSerrao
    SophiaSerrao Posts: 234 Member
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    MarziPanda95 wrote: »
    cdragony321 wrote: »
    Maybe your settings are off on MFP? Your calorie intake just seems really low. I'm not really an expert or anything so who knows, but following what they have said I have my settings at sedentary (I work a desk job) and losing 1lb a week. If I stuck to the calorie count they have given me 1560. I eat back my exercise calories, too. I have consistently lost and I don't get a ton of sleep either.

    OP is only 4'11, so that's probably why her intake is so low. At her height, going under 1200 is probably not going to kill her.
    I don't think lack of sleep itself can cause much of a stall... it's more the correlation between being tired and lack of exercise. People generally don't want to get up and go for a run on 3 hours of sleep - and they're more likely to just say 'fug it, I'll eat ten chocolate bars' because tired can mean feeling fed up with everything, including dieting.

    Haha true. But I did keep active, though. And said no to the ten chocolate bars u.u
  • SophiaSerrao
    SophiaSerrao Posts: 234 Member
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    sofaking6 wrote: »
    Being tired would disrupt weight loss for me, but only because I'm a wreck when I'm tired and I eat poorly and don't exercise. I don't think that being tired on its own would cause you to gain, however if you also started trying the zig zag eating while you were overtired maybe your body is struggling to adjust or maybe your numbers were off somehow? I wouldn't stress about what happens during outlier times.

    Thanks. Maybe I am unnecessarily stressin'.... it's just been a while since I've seen the scale budge a significant amount. I'll keep at it though ;)
  • wkwebby
    wkwebby Posts: 807 Member
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    Half a pound isn't so much in the grand scheme of things. This could be water weight for all we know. Patience is key especially if you are being honest about logging and logging accurately. The water weight is temporary as is the weight that is held from lack of sleep.

    Don't forget, you should be on a very small deficit too. You only have a few pounds to lose on a petite frame...1-2 lbs/week just won't happen. Just keep plugging away and eventually it will slowly come back down.
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
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    58576842.jpg
  • SophiaSerrao
    SophiaSerrao Posts: 234 Member
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    wkwebby wrote: »
    Half a pound isn't so much in the grand scheme of things. This could be water weight for all we know. Patience is key especially if you are being honest about logging and logging accurately. The water weight is temporary as is the weight that is held from lack of sleep.

    Don't forget, you should be on a very small deficit too. You only have a few pounds to lose on a petite frame...1-2 lbs/week just won't happen. Just keep plugging away and eventually it will slowly come back down.

    Yeah you're right, it isn't much "). But I expected a loss, not a gain!

    My deficit is quite small, since my maintenance calories are about 1300-1400. I have been working out though, and not reaaaally eating them back.

    I'll continue being paient!! : D
  • SophiaSerrao
    SophiaSerrao Posts: 234 Member
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    SergeantSausage wrote: »
    58576842.jpg

    7w6l4ats5mxr.jpg

  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
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    It's just water bloating. Lack of sleep always messes up my water balance. Probably through messing up the hormonal balance. Once you've been all back to normal for a week, check again.
  • SophiaSerrao
    SophiaSerrao Posts: 234 Member
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    gothchiq wrote: »
    It's just water bloating. Lack of sleep always messes up my water balance. Probably through messing up the hormonal balance. Once you've been all back to normal for a week, check again.

    Yikes. The thing is, this lack of sleep is going to happen again. For two months, I'll only be able to sleep four hours (at the most, really, probably less x.X) on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Then, I'm free the rest of the days.

    I guess I'll eat right, try my hardest to fit in some quick workouts.... and hope for the best. Whatever happens, happens = )

    Thanks, all ^^

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