Bella Adams
Lose weight while you sleep – sounds crazy, but it works! If you consciously change your diet during the day and exercise regularly, you will lose weight at night.
If you haven’t heard of “losing weight while you sleep” before, you’d probably think we’re nuts right now – but we promise you: losing weight while you sleep works. Guaranteed! Not through voodoo magic or hypnosis or a fasting day, but through a sophisticated diet and exercise strategy during the day.
The loose weight while you sleep philosophy
The secret of the meanwhile popular, long-term slim-in-sleep philosophy in a nutshell: carbohydrates in the morning, a full lunch with a light mixed diet, and recipes with plenty of proteins in the evening – this actually helps you lose weight! The whole thing is in combination with fat-metabolism-emphasizing everyday activities during the day and a small strength workout or endurance training. There are new findings there – here on the subject of sleep deprivation – more on that later!
The idea behind “lose weight while you sleep
The idea behind it all: Our organism is subject to a diurnal rhythm, which is exploited to activate fat burning, especially during the night hours. The hormone insulin plays an important role in this process. It reduces or blocks fat burning as soon as it is released – because it is primarily responsible for transporting sugar into the cells. That’s why the team led by expert Elmar Trunz-Carlisi recommends an insulin-separated diet for successful weight loss while you sleep. That means that one arranges its meals either carbohydrate-rich or protein-containing and over the day distributes. Because a mixture of both nutrient components drives the insulin reaction upward – and thus the blood sugar level.
That’s why “lose weight while you sleep” works
In the morning and even at lunchtime, we need a lot of energy, which is why many carbohydrates are important (for example, in muesli, rolls, and pasta). However, they raise the insulin level and prevent the burning of fat. That’s why carbohydrate-rich foods are on the index in the evening; fish, meat, poultry, or cheese and vegetables should end up on the plate. So there’s protein full – and if that’s eaten in the early evening, you’ll soon lose weight while you sleep. “The insulin separation diet is therefore ideal not only for people who are struggling with excess weight but also for normal-weight people who want to maintain their weight and still supply the body with all the necessary nutrients,” says Trunz-Carlisi. In the author team’s book on losing weight while sleeping, the focus is therefore on exercise, which should be integrated into the daily routine. “The diet provides the basis – the music plays with the exercise,” Trunz-Carlisi said.
The new slimming-in-sleep workout
And there the sports scientist relies on a feasible mix of cardio workouts, daily small movement islands, and muscle-building training for higher basal metabolic rate, for example with balls – as this can be designed to be particularly intensive. If you also consider our workout suggestions further down in the article, you’ll soon be slim in your sleep!
The extra for athletes
For those who already do a lot of sports, the concept is supplemented. Those who do less than an hour of sports a day can stick to the insulin-separation diet. “If you do more than an hour of sport a day, such as cyclists or cross-country skiers, then you should specifically eat about 50 grams of carbohydrates two hours before training,” says Trunz-Carlisi. The best carbohydrates are those that are rich in fiber and can be utilized slowly, such as those found in muesli or certain energy bars. After exercise, glycogen stores should then be replenished quickly with glucose, preferably in the first 30 to 60 minutes. “You can take in 100 to 200 grams of carbohydrates, depending on the duration and intensity of the sports unit,” says the expert. They can be found in fruit juice spritzers or pasta dishes, for example.
Getting the metabolism going in the evening: this is how it works
- Drink plenty of water: Actually, the time of day doesn’t matter. You should always drink enough fluids! But why is that so important anyway? H2O boosts metabolism and aids digestion. So if you drink a glass of water in the evening, you can prevent flatulence and constipation. However, to avoid constantly running to the toilet at night, you should empty your glass at least an hour before sleeping.
- Low-sodium dinner: Avoid foods with a high sodium or table salt content. The salt is stored in the body overnight and you could look puffy in the morning. Heavy food should also be avoided, as it not only weighs down the calorie count but can also lead to an unpleasant feeling of fullness and gastric distress, which later robs you of sleep. So it’s best to make do with a healthy, low-calorie meal in the evening – consisting of steamed vegetables and lean protein.
- Exercise in the evening: Many of us can’t bring ourselves to exercise after a hard day at work. But anyone hoping to achieve a dream figure should seriously consider a late-night workout. This way, you burn calories again and don’t have to feel guilty between the sheets. Those who were worried that an evening workout could lead to sleep disturbances: A survey found that more than half of those who do a late-night workout actually sleep extra well at night.
Cravings can ruin losing weight while you sleep
Nighttime sweet tooth watch out: Providing yourself with the right nutrients in the evening prevents nighttime cravings. To ensure that dinner is balanced, foods rich in fiber and protein should end up on the plate, i.e. vegetables, lean meat, whole grains, beans, and dairy products – the important thing is that you feel full at the end! The combination of fiber and protein makes sure of that: This keeps blood sugar levels at a constant level, which in turn brings about a long-lasting feeling of fullness.
Night owls live unhealthier!
People who go to bed late at night and don’t get up in the morning consume more calories overall and thus have an increased risk of becoming overweight in the long run. This is the result of a study conducted by Northwestern University. The researchers examined the eating and sleeping habits of 51 men and women for seven days. The night owls went to bed at 3:45 a.m. on average and then slept for about seven hours. The normal sleepers, on the other hand, dozed off much earlier and were awake at eight in the morning on average. Result: the late sleepers ate about 248 calories more per day than the normal sleepers. In addition, the late sleepers ate twice as much fast food and half as many fruits and vegetables as normal sleepers. Body mass index (BMI) was also elevated among late sleepers.
Extra calories lead to obesity
“The extra calories eaten per day lead to a significant weight gain of about one kilo per month unless this is offset by increased physical activity,” says the study’s leader, Kelly Glazer Baron. To what extent the composition of the night meal influences weight gain is not clear from the study. However, it is now known that carbohydrates shortly before bedtime drive insulin levels up, thus blocking fat burning overnight. In this respect, our recommendation is rather fewer carbohydrates in the evening and early to bed – then it’s also right on the scale the morning after.
