TOP WEIGHT LOSS TIPS FOR MOMS

Lose weight while you sleep. It sounds too good to be true right? I don't know about you, but if I am up really late, I get hungry and eat. And if I'm up really early and my day is longer, which means I eat way more on those days than I do on days where I get a solid 7-8 hours of sleep. And, as a mother to 5 children, I know all about broken sleep, and the affects it can have on your body.

Sleep affects our weight in a few ways: 1) It gives us more energy. 2) It helps us to eat less. 3) It helps keep fat genes suppressed, and my favourite, 4) It helps keep belly fat off!

1) It give us more energy: I know when I've had sleepless night from crying, hungry babies, that the next day my energy levels are so low. When your energy is low is it hard to even do the basics, which makes getting your workout in sometimes impossible. And when you need more energy, you turn to more food to get that energy. Adjust your sleeping so that you are getting 7-9 hours so that you can get your workout in. And exercise helps establish good sleeping patterns, so they go hand-in-hand.

2) It helps us to eat less: When we don't get enough sleep our leptin levels lowers, which in turn raises our levels of ghrelin. So, what does this mean in terms of weight gain? Leptin help our bodies realize that they are full, and ghrelin stimulates our appetite. Therefore, when we are sleep deprived we are more likely to overeat. The first 3 months of all my children's lives I felt this big time. There were days I just couldn't seem to eat enough to feel full. As soon as my sleeping pattern returned to normal, this problem was went away.

3) It helps keep fat genes suppressed: Research has shown that women who slept 7-9 hours a night had much lower body fat percent than those who slept less than 7 hours. And, interestingly, those who slept longer than 9 hours were prone to obesity. Just like my mom says, "Moderation. Too much of anything isn't good for you either."

4) It helps keep belly fat off: If you read my Weight Loss Tip #5 where I explained how stress affects your waistline this one goes hand-in-hand. Sleepless nights can cause stress and anxiety, which puts weight on your waist.

Make sure you are getting at least 7 hours of "good" fairly uninterrupted sleep. There are still 4 more tips, so don't go to sleep just yet!