The Connection Between Weight Loss and Sleep

by Valorie Delp | More from this Blogger

02 Jun 2007 03:22 PM

I have to begin with this disclaimer. This is not a 'scientific' article on some recent study that talks about weight loss and sleep. Although such studies have been done, this is more of my own thoughts and musings on my behavior when I don't get enough sleep. Here is exactly what happens when I wake up tired in the morning, which is nearly every morning.

I wake up and have an extra cup of coffee. I always have one cup, but on days when I'm really tired I indulge in two. I like my coffee extra light and extra sweet so that's twice as much sugar and twice as much milk. (And unfortunately, I do not like skim milk.)

It goes downhill from that initial second cup of coffee. The rest of my day is spent trying to find ways to keep myself awake. Sugar perks me up for a time. Of course caffeine does as well but call me picky--I only like coffee in the morning. So what do I grab? Pepsi, or Mountain Dew, or something similar. (A bottle of Pepsi like you'd get from the vending machine by the way has a whopping 28 grams of sugar.)

Because I was too tired to function earlier in the morning, I leave the house unprepared for the day. This means that after whatever lesson or activity we're going to, I need to buy snacks. Dunkin Donuts is much closer than the local fruit stand and so donuts it is. Sometimes, I might get a muffin--but that's about it. I won't even get into the exercise aspect of it but suffice it to say that when I'm tired--I define 'strenuous' as getting out the door.

I think you see the point. Getting a good night's sleep, at least for me, is crucial to being able to stick to a weight loss plan. It's crucial to my ability to make good choices. Do you find yourself to be the same way?

Learn more about Valorie Delp

Hello everybody! My name is Valorie and I am one busy lady! When I'm not writing or editing for families, I am busy trying to get my brood of 5 in line.

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