Sleep is elusive these days, unless it’s time to wake up in the morning. I actually began my new weight loss journey last week and have been managing portions and using a technique called intermittent fasting. Using this method, I eat all my food within an eight or nine hour period, leaving the remaining 15 or 16 hours for my body to digest, rest or repair itself. Because of this, I’ve been going to bed feeling hungry because I stop eating around 5:00pm. Hence the elusive sleep.
Why is my lack of sleep relevant? Here’s why. I planned to get up this morning to go to the gym before starting my rather busy day, and because I was eye to eye with the clock at 3:00am, my getting up at 5:00am was a shattered dream. By the time I returned home, I was done for the day.
Sleep is very important for your good health and it also impacts your ability to maintain a healthy weight. Lack of sleep will impact insulin production. It will wreak havoc on your hunger hormones so your brain won’t get the message that you have eaten enough, which may cause you to overeat and give in to cravings. There are many other health reasons that make adequate sleep a non-negotiable but I’ll save those for another post.
The bottom line is, I did not get up for the gym this morning…that’s the bad news. The good news though…I got on the scale this morning and I lost over seven pounds. Historically, the first week of changing my eating habits has always resulted in a good loss, probably from mostly water but I’ll take it. I’m happy to be off to a good start. Tomorrow…the gym.
As a health coach, I work with women who are facing serious health challenges like heart disease, metabolic syndrome and diabetes or who have been diagnosed as having a precursor to a serious health issue such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or high blood sugar. I help them make food and lifestyle changes so they can get healthy, live longer and enjoy a fuller, happier, more energetic life. If you would like to have a free consultation about the health challenges you have and the improvements you would like to see in your health, click here to schedule a no strings attached call.
Hi Karen: Happy to see you are back, too. I thought about doing intermittent fasting, too. I thought I would do it twice/week on days that I don't have an exercise class but I only lasted a week. I thought if I skip breakfast, it wouldn't be too hard. I was wrong. Maybe I should aim for once a week. You've motivated me. I could lose a few pounds to feel more comfortable.
Let me know if you would like some help with that. I'm happy to give you some pointers.