The SKINNY | Get Your Beauty Rest

Here's the skinny, SLEEP is critical to your weight loss journey. In a world where we never quite have enough hours in the day we all have a tendency to DO MORE and SLEEP LESS. Let's break that bad habit and start making sleep a priority.

So how much sleep do adults really even need? At least 7 hours per night. Yup, that's right! It seems like an impossible ask. I completely get it. But before you start thinking of all the reasons why you can't make it happen, let's talk about all the POSITIVE changes to your weight loss journey if you do.

Have you ever noticed that on evenings you got a poor nights sleep you woke up RAVENOUS the next morning? I sure have. In fact I pretty much can guarantee I will be raiding my pantry before I've even had a chance to change out of my pajamas. The good news? WE HAVE THE POWER! During sleep, our body, will naturally produce an appetite suppressor, called leptin, while reducing the production of an appetite stimulant, called ghrelin. . But on the nights we get too little sleep this natural process get's turned upside down and we end up producing more ghrelin. With this hormone flooding our system, it's no surprise we tend to over eat on those days.

Several studies have also shown that a lack of sleep impacts your food choices. For those of us getting less than 7 hours per night we tend to reach for foods that are higher in calories and carbohydrates. Now, while carbohydrates are not the enemy we make them out to be, we do need to be mindful of our intake. The truth is the majority of adults are eating too many carbohydrates per day.

Sleep deprivation is also linked to metabolic dysfunction. This dysfunction increases oxidative stress, causes glucose (blood sugar) intolerance, and leads to insulin resistance. Not only does that increase your risk for developing diabetes (YIKES!) it will also keep your body from metabolizing and utilizing the food you eat properly. The end result, weight gain. (Womp Womp)

Lastly, extra time spent awake increases opportunities to EAT. Eating when hungry is no problem, I actually encourage it. Eating because it's 2am and you have nothing else to do? That can lead to poor choices that ultimately will turn into bad habits.

So turn off the lights, hop into bed, and slide down your eye mask. It's time to get the beauty rest your body needs to align with your weight loss goals.