‘Hidden’ reason people “can’t lose weight”? - PART 2

‘THE GIANT’

20-30 minutes, 3x week

Single or Double KB

Autoregulated Clean + Press programs

Start w/ 5RM or 10RM

“Strong!” from Kettlebell STRONG!

20-30 minutes, 3x week

(Turns your 4RM Clean + Press into a 10x6 - 10 sets of 6 reps)

“The King-Sized Killer”

20 minutes, 3x week

Snatch

Autogelated

Kettlebell GHFL

3 levels - Novice, Intermediate, Advanced

20 minutes, 3x week

Swing, Thrusters, Snatch, Clean + Push Press, Clean + Jerk

I thought I’d make a quick follow up video to the last video, The ‘Hidden’ Reason People Can’t Lose Weight and drop in a little bit of research for you.

Here are SEVEN (7) Reasons A Lack of Sleep Hinders Weight Loss And What Kind of Workouts You Should Do

[NOTE: Even though I really hate the terms “lose weight,” “weight loss,” and “weight gain” I’m using them here because they are part of our common everyday language and so they’re more apt to give you the Eureka moment you’re looking for where something clicks, and life changes, never to be the same.]

1. Sleep Less = More Cravings. Study participants who slept less experienced leptin decreases. (Leptin is the hormone that signals fullness). They also experienced increases in ghrelin (the hormone that stimulates hunger). Both lead to heightened hunger and appetite (Spiegel et al., 2004).

2. Less Sleep = Higher BMI. Study participants with short sleep had reduced leptin and elevated ghrelin. These differences in leptin and ghrelin are likely to increase appetite. They possibly explain the increased BMI observed in those with short sleep duration. (Taheri et al., 2004).

3. Less Sleep = Impaired Sugar Metabolism. Short sleepers also limit their ability to process sugar (glucose metabolism). This makes the carbs you eat more likely to be stored as fat - for both men and women (St-Onge et al., 2012).

4. Sleep Deprivation = Stronger Response to Food Stimuli. Neuroimaging research shows that sleep-deprived brains produce a stronger response to food stimuli. It's like turning up the volume on your food desires (Greer et al., 2013).

5. Less Sleep = More Food Intake. Another study demonstrates how insufficient sleep increases food intake more than it reduces energy expenditure. This obviously leads to fat gain (Markwald et al., 2013).

6. Less Sleep = More Stomach Fat. A study in the CMAJ emphasizes the crucial role of sleep in obesity treatment. Besides disrupting leptin and ghrelin, sleep deprivation increases circulating levels of cortisol. And increased circulating cortisol levels have been implicated in creating stomach (visceral) fat. (Chaput & Tremblay, 2012).

7. Less Sleep = Muscle Loss. Chronic sleep deprivation on a reduced calorie diet increased muscle loss by 60%. It also reduced fat loss by 55%. Take home: If you reduce your calories, make sure you're sleeping so you don't lose muscle. (Nedeltcheva, et al, 2010)

As you can see, if you’re serious about losing body fat and getting leaner, you need to get to bed and get some high quality sleep. How much?

The general consensus points towards a range of 7-9 hours per night for adults.

And what kind of workout program should you use if you’re in a sleep deficit?

Keep whatever you do short duration, and 2-4x per week. I’ll leave some links to some programs that will help you get leaner and stronger, while you’re working on getting your sleep dialed in.

Stay Strong,

Geoff

FURTHER RESEARCH:

1. Nedeltcheva, A. V., Kilkus, J. M., Imperial, J., Schoeller, D. A., & Penev, P. D. (2010). "Insufficient sleep undermines dietary efforts to reduce adiposity." Annals of Internal Medicine, 153(7), 435-441. This study found that when participants were on a calorie-restricted diet, those who slept 8.5 hours per night lost 55% more body fat than those who slept 5.5 hours per night. The researchers concluded that adequate sleep is crucial for enhancing the fat loss effects of a diet.

2. Chaput, J. P., Després, J. P., Bouchard, C., & Tremblay, A. (2007). "The association between sleep duration and weight gain in adults: A 6-year prospective study from the Quebec Family Study." Sleep, 31(4), 517-523. This longitudinal study indicated that adults who slept less than 7 hours per night had a higher risk of weight gain and obesity over a 6-year period compared to those who slept 7-8 hours.