How to shed pounds while you sleep

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks with COVID-19, how are you holding up?  Please feel free to reach out to me if you need some connection, tips, tools or inspiration. 

I’ve been going through the emotions myself.  Some days everything seems perfectly normal and other days it’s like doomsday.  

I’ve caught myself going to the pantry more than usual out of pure boredom, not sure exactly what I’m looking for, but I catch myself just in time.  I’m doing my best to stay active and motivated when it comes to exercise, although I feel like a caged animal sometimes. 

One thing is for certain though…

I’m determined NOT to gain the Corona-15.

Been there, done that as a freshman in college and once again when I was hit with toxic mold and Hashimotos a few years ago.   There’s nothing worse than feeling like a foreigner in your body. We can distance or distract ourselves from what is going on in the outside world, but you have to live in your body every day.

The way you feel in your body affects everything about your life.  It can either lift you up, help you get that new job or partner and make your dreams a reality or take you down a deep dark hole.

I know times seem tough right now, but life is always going to happen.  Learning how to navigate it differently is what makes all the difference when it comes to your health and feeling like your best self.

It’s times like these, when food cravings are coming on strong and the motivation to exercise is running low that we have to learn to value sleep more than diet and exercise to keep your mind right and help you shed pounds at the same time.

Sleep may not look like the so-called “magic pill” that you’re looking for, but it plays a major role in the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar and therefore food cravings, inflammation and hormones – all of which can equate to pounds shed or gained.

In this week’s video and blog, I dive into more detail about how sleep can help you stop food cravings, balance blood sugar and hormones, and ultimately help you shed pounds. 

A study in 2012 showed how inadequate sleep negatively impacts the ability of fat cells to respond to insulin, one of the hormones that regulates metabolism, weight and plays a major role in the development of  diabetes.

Another study in 2017 also found a link between short sleep duration and an increase in the progression to diabetes. This makes sleep quality a key component in preventing or reversing insulin resistance, which also relates to risks associated with diabetes, overall weight loss and hormone balance.

We must learn to value sleep as much as we do diet and exercise.

When you get adequate and restful sleep, the body is able to restore and repair itself, your hormones can rebalance and nutrients can be absorbed and converted into useful tools.

When sleep is inconsistent, disrupted or short in duration, your body is not able to fully recover.  Your circadian rhythm and cortisol balance becomes dysfunctional and a domino effect occurs in the body.  Cortisol regulates how your body uses insulin and the availability of glucose (sugar) in the body for energy.

Staying up late at night or not getting a good night’s sleep disrupts your cortisol balance and energy leaving you searching for energy via food, queueing the food cravings! 

To balance your energy, blood sugar, avoid cravings and promote weight loss it’s ideal to be asleep by 10pm most nights of the week (5 out of 7).  

I instantly pack on the pounds if I don’t follow this sleeping guideline, and my clients instantly shed them when they create more supportive sleep routines.  I’ve had clients lose 30 pounds without exercising just by changing their diet and sleep routines.

If you’re a so-called “night owl”, I’m calling your bluff.  I’ve yet to meet a person who doesn’t feel more energized, balanced and better about their body when they are sleeping according to their body’s natural circadian rhythm.

I recently kicked off a 10-day sleep challenge on Instagram and Facebook to help you prioritize sleep so you can increase your energy, stop food cravings, keep your hormones balanced, avoid putting on the Corona-15 and shed some pounds! 

By participating in the challenge, you could win a FREE DUTCH Cortisol & Hormone Test plus Recommendations Session with me ($750+ value).

Here’s a recap of some of the sleep tips I’ve shared in the challenge so far to help you shed some pounds:

• How to improve your sleep and energy with natural light
• Tips to create your dream sleep routine
• Ways to create a sacred space to support high quality sleep
• How to stop getting up to pee in the middle of the night

It’s not too late to participate, follow me on Instagram and/or Facebook to see all of my challenge posts and to participate.

With most places shut down for quarantine and social distancing, there’s no excuse to stay up, so why not use this time to get to bed early, boost your health and feel better in your body!

If you want to get your hands on the right lab tests and resources so you can find the missing pieces of your health puzzle and feel like yourself again, schedule a complimentary Ideal Health & Weight Discovery Session with me here today!