CICO and Sleep

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CharlieICURN
CharlieICURN Posts: 89 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I was wondering how a lack of sleep impacts weight loss if you are still doing the whole CICO thing. I've read numerous articles that state that not sleeping properly will pretty much sabotage weight loss efforts and could be the reason why someone wouldn't be losing weight despite following a strict diet/exercise regimen.
I am s night shift worker and an insomniac and I've been tracking sleep with my Fitbit. I generally average 4 hours a day (night). I've been eating well and tracking calories and adding exercise but I'm kind of curious how my crappy sleep habits will impact weight loss.

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  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
    edited August 2016
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    If you are eating less than you burn you'll still lose even if you aren't getting that much sleep.

    When we're tired the body holds on to more water, just like it does for muscle repair when we've worked out which can affect the scale reading temporarily. But in your case if 4 hours of sleep a night is your lot, your body is likely to be used to that so it shouldn't really affect you.

    Hope you get good feedback from others in the same boat.

    All the best for your weight loss.

  • daniip_la
    daniip_la Posts: 678 Member
    edited August 2016
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    I haven't found that it actually hinders weight loss, but I tend to make poor food choices when I'm sleep deprived. That's my fault, however, so as long as you stick to your calories, it shouldn't affect anything.
  • auzziecawth
    auzziecawth Posts: 244 Member
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    Lack of sleep effects your energy, less energy less desire to be active and healthy. It can also effect your appetite so that you eat more. Direct correlations though probably none.
  • sianlr87
    sianlr87 Posts: 72 Member
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    I find a lack of sleep doesn't directly hinder weight loss, but if I'm tired I make poor food choices and I always end up eating more!
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
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    More sleep = less time to eat = more weight loss. On a more serious note, sleep deprivation can increase cortisol which can impact weight loss.
  • cee134
    cee134 Posts: 33,711 Member
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    Yeah, I read that not getting enough sleep can make you hungrier during the day.
  • solieco1
    solieco1 Posts: 1,559 Member
    edited August 2016
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    I agree with the above. I think lower calories always work the same but it does make it more difficult for me to make good choices and I find I'm hungrier likely due to the hormone disruptions. Keep at it and you get bigger bragging rights about your success!
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    CharlieICURN wrote: »
    So I was wondering how a lack of sleep impacts weight loss if you are still doing the whole CICO thing.

    We're all doing the calories in calories out thing. Whether you count them or not, if you're on a fad diet like low carb or doing woo like detox tea and diet pills, your body is still counting calories and they're what cause you to gain or lose weight.

    My experience is that not sleeping enough makes me lethargic. I don't move around as much so I don't use as much energy, because I don't have it.
  • BoxerBrawler
    BoxerBrawler Posts: 2,032 Member
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    If I am tired or can't sleep I am more likely to eat and make bad choices... something about comfort food at 2 in the morning :smile: I started taking a Melatonin supplement a few weeks ago and it has helped me tremendously! I sleep through the night and wake up feeling very rested!
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
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    Chronic bad sleep can impact cortisol and leptin hormones. That can make losing weight tougher because those hormones are impacting hunger and satiety senses. CICO still applies, but good sleep makes sticking to it easier, and obviously energy for exercise can be important too and impacted by poor sleep.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    daniip_la wrote: »
    I haven't found that it actually hinders weight loss, but I tend to make poor food choices when I'm sleep deprived. That's my fault, however, so as long as you stick to your calories, it shouldn't affect anything.

    This is how I am. I frequently go for long periods without sleeping more than 4 hours/night (for a while I was getting even less, but that made me a total basket case and wasn't manageable, whereas I am okay with 4 for a period of time, although I can tell when I get more that's I'd be overall better off if I could just get closer to 6 more often). Anyway, this was the case when I was losing, and I lost at a totally normal loss rate.

    Later, as my single-minded focus on losing weight ended and I was more in the "it would be nice to lose more but maintaining is okay" frame of mind, I have found that I have zero willpower when sleep deprived and I am much more likely to grab something I wasn't intending to eat later in the day, probably subconsciously to wake myself up.
  • grannynot
    grannynot Posts: 146 Member
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    I DO know people who get by on 4 to 6 hours of sleep each night. If you're making good food choices and getting enough exercise and feel fine, you're probably "one of those people". Me?? If I don't get enough sleep, then I tend to crave carbs (specifically sugar) for the energy I'm actually lacking due to sleep deprivation.

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