Will more sleep help me lose weight?

[LustyLisa]

I average 6-7 hours sleep a night (normally closer to 6) and I’m struggling to lose weight.

Has anyone found increasing sleep helps them lose weight?

Maybe?
I think good sleep and sleeping more can be good for your health.

(I also once read about a man who lost a lot of weight by sleeping instead of eating. But he was very obese, and he said that he ate all the time and sleeping was the only way he could stop himself from eating. So that was a quite extreme case).

Yes you will. If you don’t get enough sleep the body stores fat because you either get energy from food or sleep. If you don’t sleep you’ll need to eat more food to get through the day

Good sleep helps with sugar cravings, so if you are short of sleep and keep irregular hours, it’s probably worth exploring.
I try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every night, aim for 7.5 hours but usually 7 hours. I notice when I don’t get 7 hours I feel far more snacky.

I think it's worth a try. When I don't sleep well I'm more likely to reach for sugar/snacks etc.

It can’t harm you, but you’d be far better off looking at what you’re eating and drinking, if you’re serious about losing weight.

What’s a typical day’s food/drink like for you?

I found that losing weight resulted in more sleep, to lose weight i needed to eat less.

I think it's less directly the sleep that causes weight loss and more that being tired can make you gain weight. If you are tired you can be less motivated to eat well and also more likely to reach for high energy foods to keep you going.

I think there have been studies on e.g. night shift workers who tend to eat more calories then those on day shift, so it could be that WHEN you sleep is nearly as important as how much you sleep. Various hormones are released at different times of the day for instance regardless of if you are sleeping.

Ultimately, it can't hurt!

That’s interesting as sugar cravings are my biggest downfall.

There's genuinely not enough hours in the day between kids (who still don’t sleep through the night at 5 and 2), work, food prep, exercise, housework etc.

But I do wonder if I can be more disciplined about prioritising sleep it would help.

I definitely feel good habits around sleep are linked to good habits around food, and self control is easier and more likely when well rested.

You’re right but it’s so hard curbing those sugar cravings when I’m chronically exhausted. Food is my energy source.

i eat totally whole foods and balanced (ie super healthy, high fibre, and hitting macros), except chocolate. I eat far too much chocolate but can’t seem to stop.

Well, stop buying it!

Where is your husband/partner in all of this? Is he helping out? Sounds like you need to prioritise yourself a bit more.

How carb-heavy is your day? (Apart from the chocolate!). Food should be an energy source, but not one that makes you gain weight or contributes to fatigue.

Can you gradually adjust your chocolate to a dark more bitter one so you need less of it? I got up to 90% by increasing by 10% each week and now only eat a couple of squares of the 90% one. Also ending meals with something bitter completely curbs hunger.

In general though poor sleep messes up your insulin control so you crave more simple carbs.

My overeating is worse when I am tired. And for your general health, sounds like you could do with more sleep.

I can easily scoff a 90g bar of 90% chocolate 🤦🏽‍♀️ (then be bouncing off the walls)

Husband is equally sleep deprived and busy.

We never keep chocolate in the house but I’ll pop out to the shop when the craving hits.

A typical day is

• porridge with no fat milk, linseeds and raisins
• handful of nuts (large)
• mixed veggies for lunch
• large bar of chocolate
• something homemade with beans/lentils for dinner (bean chilli, daal etc) with rice/pasta.
• no alcohol and only drink tea and water

Well there’s your issue - aside from popping out for chocolate! Very carb-heavy and probably not enough fat. Fat will fuel you. The carbs will make you gain weight.

I’m assuming you’re vegetarian?

Lack of sleep makes you insulin resistant (I am sure I saw a study where they found even one broken night with a newborn could make you insulin resistant, and weeks and weeks of it was as bad as being type 2 diabetic, but I probably should find a proper quote/study for that….)
but anyway insulin resistance is double whammy because it makes you crave carbs, eat more then everything you eat is stored as fat.

Do you feel like you get enough sleep as it stands...? Sleep deprivation often makes us crave rubbish food and can mess with us in other ways too.

Yes definitely
do intermittent fasting, last meal at 4pm, go to bed between 9/10pm. Helped me lose a lot.

I think you could do with starting your day with something higher in protein and fat. How about switching the porridge for full fat greek yoghurt, with nuts, berries and seeds or having something egg based?

https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article-abstract/95/6/2963/2598810

I thought the nuts and linseeds would be plenty of fat. I am partial to carbs I admit.

Yes vegetarian. Should I be adding things like more olive oil, full fat dairy? I do eat about 6 eggs a week.

I’m on 5 years of broken poor sleep 😭

@LustyLisawell there’s your problem, I’d cut the carbs for a few weeks and see if it helps. You can reverse insulin resistance but ultimately if you’re not sleeping then that can’t be doing you much good. Our oldest was a terrible sleeper and it broke me

Try tweaking like this;

porridge with no fat milk, linseeds and raisins
Full fat Greek yoghurt with berries/seeds

handful of nuts (large)
Make it a small handful, and be careful which nuts you’re choosing, as some e.g. cashews, are much higher in carbs than others - almonds and macadamias are good choices (ideally try and cut these out if you’re trying to lose weight)

mixed veggies for lunch
Salad, with any veg you like, but with something like hard-boiled eggs and cheese as well as an oil-based dressing and/or mayonnaise; grilled halloumi is great in a salad

large bar of chocolate
If you have to have chocolate, increase the cocoa content as much as you can, as well as cutting down the size of the bar. Once you start cutting sugar down/out, you’ll find that your tastes do change, and you won’t necessarily need as much sweet stuff.

something homemade with beans/lentils for dinner (bean chilli, daal etc) with rice/pasta.
Beans are great, especially if you’re a vegetarian, but try and avoid serving them with rice/pasta.

Two of our go-to vegetarian mains are cauliflower cheese (sauce made with double cream and lots of mature cheddar - no flour), or grilled aubergine and courgettes with a garlicky tomato sauce, topped with Parmesan and mozzarella. Served with a green salad.

Rose Elliott has a really good recipe book, based on her Low Carb Vegetarian Diet - some lovely ideas in there.

HTH to give you some ideas.

Also, don’t forget to drink lots of water!