Sleep and fat loss - One of the many ways a lack of sleep can sabotage your fat loss program…
I’m writing this article while treating myself to a slice of apple pie…and it’s not even a scheduled cheat day. (Okay, pick your jaw up from off of the floor…I know that was a surprise).
From here you might be wondering if I feel okay. The answer, I’m tired. That’s actually what led me to write this particular post.
See, as I was devouring that tasty temptation that I couldn’t resist, I was beating myself up mentally for not being able to say no. And I found myself wondering, “Why couldn’t I just walk away?” I have walked away a hundred times before. Why couldn’t I walk away this time? And then it dawned on me…Duh!!!
“You’re tired Jolene! You haven’t gotten enough sleep!”
See, for the last several nights I had pushing myself, burning the candle as both ends so to speak…stayin’ up late and getting up early. When I look back I realize I was averaging about 4 ½ hours every night to recover, restore, and rejuvenate my mind, body, and soul.
And you know what…
That’s just not going to cut it!!!
Why?
Because sleep is a critical component of the whole concept of fat loss for women. The lack of sleep is creating a dulling of the senses, weakening the spirit, and wearing on my mind. Plus, it’s throwing all my hormones…you know the ones that regulate fat loss, totally out of whack. Like insulin, ghrelin, leptin, human growth hormone, etc.
See, sleep and fat loss go hand in hand. Sleeping does so much more for the body when it comes taking care of it, including regulating systems to help maintain healthy weight and even weight loss, that we never considered before.
From a mental perspective, a lack of sleep makes my willpower powerless, my drive to achieve my goal run out of gas, and my attitude quite frankly become one that says, “I don’t care.”
But when I stop to think about it…I DO CARE! Fat loss for women is already a difficult process and I realize that my schedule is contributing to my lethargy regarding my fat loss goals.
Have you ever noticed this to be true for yourself? Have you ever found yourself going at the speed of a silver bullet, day after day after day, depriving yourself of the right amount of sleep, and then found that your fat loss efforts suffer during those times?
Just giving it a little consideration, doesn’t it make sense that when you found yourself exhausted, your level of effort at the gym was minimized…heck, that’s if you could talk yourself into going and exercising in the first place, right?
And what about eating? How often could you walk by those donuts sitting on the coffee table in the break room at the office when your eyes were at half mast and that was even after your 10th cup of coffee? Did you turn down dessert after a “healthy” lunch or was dessert lunch in the first place…maybe even two helpings?
Yes, there is a W-H-0-L-E bunch of science around the importance of sleep and the effects of too little sleep in an attempt at fat loss for women and its success. While I can go into all of those specifics, as I write this I’m confident you don’t need me too. You already know the difference getting enough sleep makes in your life. Yes, you know the dreadful impact that not getting enough sleep has on your decision skills, motor skills, and even life skills as well.
Having said this, you can probably now completely understand the significance of the idea that you need sleep to lose weight. And you know how crucial it is for you to get a good amount of sleep in order to achieve your weight and fat loss goals.
As for me, I’m going to just accept that I did have extras today. Understand the reason why it happened and learn from it so that it may not happen again. That’s the other piece to successful fat loss for women…but that’s another story for another time.
In the meantime, I’m going to call it a day and early night. I’ll head off to bed and get some much needed sleep so that next time I hear a piece of pie, (or any other unplanned treat), call my name; I can just ignore it utilizing my own brand of “selective hearing.”
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