Diet guru Micheal Mosley has explained why sleep is so vital for weight loss, with more hours needed to help you shed the pounds.
Weight loss is a tough journey, one that's filled with peaks and valleys of success and failure. Sometimes you can feel like you are doing everything right, yet you can't seem to shift the weight.
Well, it turns out that while you can exercise and diet all day long, you won't achieve your weight loss goals without a good night's rest. According to the pioneer of the Fast-800 diet, sleep plays a crucial role in shaping our appetites, and not enough can ruin your hard work.
Posting to his @thefast800_official Instagram, Mosley wrote: "Trying to lose weight? Well, the key could be as simple as getting an extra hour of sleep every night, nutritionists have claimed. They believe that getting too little sleep alters our metabolism so our bodies cannot process food as effectively.
"An extra hour could help you to lose weight within weeks."
According to Dr Mosley, by getting enough sleep every night, our bodies can reset the hormones that drive appetite, which can help us make better food choices. Of course for optimal weight loss results, a good sleep schedule should be paired with a healthy diet and exercise plan.
Mosely added: "With a high-fresh, low-carb diet, intermittent fasting, and exercise tailored specifically for the needs of those who want to lose weight, you can completely reset your appetite."
Here are five ways too little sleep can ruin your weight loss goals.
1. Poor digestion
Metabolism is the process by which the body converts what you eat and drink into energy. According to Mosley, too little sleep can negatively impact this function, so our bodies cannot process food as effectively.
As the metabolism slows, energy in the food and drink we eat converts to fat, which is stored in the body.
2. Over eating
As less sleep can skew our appetites, this can lead to over snacking throughout the day, which is not ideal if you're trying to shed the pounds.
3. Less exercise
Proper sleep is important in maintaining your exercise routine. Without enough of it, we can find ourselves feeling tired and lethargic, meaning the last thing we want to do is work out.
4. Hormone imbalance
Sleep helps regulate the hormones which drive our appetites. Mosley claims that poor sleep can lower leptin production, which reduces hunger.
In contrast, too little sleep increases the production of ghrelin, which promotes hunger. This can result in higher hunger levels which can cause us to ruin our diets.
5. Stress
Poor sleep causes the body to produce more cortisol, the hormone which makes us feel stressed. Numerous studies have proven stress is linked to weight gain.
By getting a full sleep, your body and mind is reset for the day ahead, giving you enough physical and mental energy to face your weight loss goals.
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