Hey everyone! I am chagrined to report that I am late for my Incredible Shrinking Woman post for the first time in the 2.0 series! I knew I was missing something all day yesterday, and now I know what it is! Here we go into week 24!

Pounds lost: 43.3

% to super goal: 34%

(Measurements from Sunday)

STILL DOING THE DAMN THING!

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This week I’ve been thinking a lot about sleep and water. I know, super exciting. But here’s the thing: for the last three weeks I’ve been focusing on getting 8+ hours of sleep and at least 48 ounces of water a day, and I’ve seen myself breaking out of the August and September slump. 

As you might remember, August and most of September were tough months. My weight stayed the same for weeks at a stretch, which was frustrating and demotivating. Then I started to really buckle down with the water and sleep, and in the last three weeks I’ve lost a total of 5 lbs! 

What is the Connection Between Sleep and Weight Loss?

Curious about why this might be, I turned to my trusty Google search, and I found this article by WebMD about the relationship between sleep and weight loss. This article was hard to get through due to the formatting, but one thing it talked about that I remember from Noom is that when you’re not getting enough sleep, your body produces more cortisol. This stress hormone causes your body to hang on to fat instead of letting it flush out of your body. According to the WebMD article, researchers found that dieters that cut back on sleep lost 55% less weight from fat than dieters that were getting at least eight hours of sleep. 

This makes so much sense to me! I drink more water, which helps me get rid of garbage in my system, and I get enough sleep so my body can process the fat better. Plus, I feel more energized and make better food decisions. 

The Challenges

If you’re in this boat too, how can you get better sleep? Moms and dads famously have a hard time getting enough sleep. Insomnia is of course a real problem, too. So it’s not always as easy as just deciding to go to bed earlier. Eating too late in the day, snacking on carbs before bed, drinking caffeine too late in the day, stress! All of these things can impact how much we sleep or even if we can get to sleep at all. While I don’t have all the answers, there are some strategies I’ve tried that I recommend for you that may help.

Six Ways to Get Better (and More!) Sleep

Here’s several ways I found (and used) to get more and better sleep. This has helped my weight loss, and maybe some of them might help you too!

1. Check your bed. I’ve posted before about how I love my Layla bed so, so much. It’s my happy place! But it’s ALSO super comfortable! Since I got it, the quality of my sleep has increased from 70% to 76%. While this might not seem like a lot, it does make a huge difference. I get more nights now with 100% sleep than I ever did before, because a comfortable bed helps me get to sleep and stay asleep. In turn, this helps me get more hours of sleep each night. If you’re interested in checking out a Layla bed, here is a review from 2017 as well as an update for 2019. These convinced me this was the bed for us. You can use this affiliate link if you’d like to get one of your own. As a side note, they are having a sale for $100 off a mattress + 2 free premium pillows right now! We have both the king mattress and 2 king pillows and LOVE THEM. I can’t stress enough how much of a difference this has made for us.
2. Get consistent. Setting a consistent time to go to bed and wake up each morning will start to train your body to recognize when it’s time to go to sleep and when it’s time to wake up. Having a routine to follow before you go to bed is another signal to your body that it’s time to sleep. 
3. Watch your lights and electronics. I know there are people out there that have a hard time sleeping in the dark, or (like me) read on their phones or tablets before bed. The problem is, this can really affect the quality of your sleep in a major way. If you’ve got a light or music going all night, your body never really gets into ““rest” mode. You may also wake up feeling less energized. This can lead to making poor food decisions the next day. 
4. Meditate. Sometimes I have a super difficult time getting to sleep, I’m sure like many of you. Maybe I’ll go into detail on these in next week’s post. In short, I do two meditations to help me sleep when I need it. The first is to flex and relax every group of muscles in my body, from my scalp down to my toes. I do this in time with my breathing, by tightening the muscles in the group on the inhale, and relaxing them with the exhale. The second is to regulate my breathing with counting – 4 for each inhale and exhale. I try to empty my mind and focus only on the counting.
5. Don’t eat too late in the day. Going to bed with a full stomach makes it so I can’t sleep well. Plus, it doesn’t help in the weight loss department. 
6. Try gentle yoga before bed. I found a couple of easy routines I can do just sitting on the edge of my bed before sleep. No special equipment or mats, just gentle stretches. Making this part of my nightly routine helps me sleep better. 

So there you have it! I hope this was helpful and that y’all have a great week!!