Sleep and Weight Loss

Here’s How Fred Slept Better and Lost 44 Pounds.

After losing 20 kilos in five steps in a year and not gaining any back, he is now a healthy and happy family man.

Fred’s Life Was Transformed After Fixing Sleep Issues.

I met Fredrick, in his early forties, over a decade ago in our local sauna, introduced by Janine. He wanted us to call him Fred.

He mentioned working in a government department and living single. He had no intention of getting married and having a family. On the contrary, he preferred a quieter lifestyle.

After one year, however, he changed his mind and decided to marry and start a family. Fixing a single health issue made a ripple effect causing a significant shift in his life.

Fred’s main concern was his struggle with weight gain for many years. He looked overweight and perspired more than others in the sauna. He heard that the sauna would help him lose weight.

Therefore, he joined the health club. I agreed with his belief as it helped me a lot. I told him having regular sauna sessions had many other health benefits.

He tried numerous weight loss programs and supplements and even prescribed medication for losing weight. They helped him temporarily lose weight, but he quickly gained them back. He felt vulnerable, losing hope in life.

During our conversations, Janine asked him about his sleep. He complained about insomnia affecting his physical and mental health. He thought it was a genetic predisposition as his parents also struggled with sleep disturbances.

As a result, they depend on sleep supplements and medications until they die. Fred did not want to be like his parents. He desired freedom by solving his sleep issues naturally. But he did not know how to do that.

He knew that sleep was necessary for health, good mood, enhanced libido, and cardiovascular health, but he did not realize its importance for weight loss.

Sleep deprivation was the missing part of his fat loss challenge puzzle. The missing piece was not addressed in his trials before.

Janine, a qualified psychiatrist, listened to him without interrupting or giving any generic advice. Then, she asked him whether he had heard about psychotherapy.

Fred had never seen a psychotherapist in his life. So, Janine informed him to discuss it with his family physician and request a referral to a sleep therapist who might arrange a psychotherapist.

Interestingly, in his words, seeing a sleep therapist was the best investment for his health. The specialist helped him find effective ways to address the root causes of his stress and offered effective solution alternatives to improve his sleep quality resulting in healthy weight loss.

So, the primary cause of his sleep disturbance was chronic stress leading to undesirable fat gain.

As soon as he reduced his chronic stress, solved his sleep problems, and got quality sleep, he noticed significant changes in his body and mind in a few days. He quickly lost a few kilos. His mood significantly improved. He couldn’t believe it when his hunger pangs and cravings disappeared. More importantly, he stopped thinking about food constantly.

After this background to Fred’s life, I’d like to briefly introduce five steps that helped him to lose weight effortlessly and sustainably.

These five points reflect a summary of the plan developed by his sleep specialist. He shared them generously with his friends during the sauna sessions. Most of his points resonated well with me. Therefore, I thought sharing them would be valuable.

1 — Practiced Strict Sleep Regime.

After the consultation session, the sleep specialist's first step was to create the fundamentals for him.

She proposed to him a doable sleep regime. In summary, the key points of this regime were:

1 — Reducing caffeine, especially on afternoons

2 — Slowing down after 7 PM, not stimulating his body and mind

3 — Turning down the lights gradually

4 — Not using any electronic devices at night

5 — Ensuring his bedroom was dark, cool, and quiet during the sleep period

6 — Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day

7 — Getting up and doing non-stimulating tasks like reading a book when he couldn’t fall into sleep for the first 20 minutes

Fred knew most of them, but he did not use them as a ritual. As a result, he was missing some of these fundament points.

2 — Learned to Relax the Body and Mind.

The primary cause of Fred’s sleep disturbance was his cumulative stress. He couldn’t relax as he desired due to anxious thoughts. The more stressed he felt, the more difficulty he had in sleeping.

Fortunately, the specialist asked him to get his stress hormones checked by his family doctor. As expected, his cortisol level was elevated. It was an indication of his chronic stress.

Thus, the specialist created a relaxation plan. In summary, they included the following key points:

1 — Practicing breathing techniques half an hour before bedtime

2 — Stretching the body gently for a few minutes

3 — Having a bath or shower before bedtime

3 — Diminished Worries with CBT and Meditation.

Not to the specialist’s surprise, Fred had an overactive mind. His brain was creating anxiety. He couldn’t explain it as he had no major life threats. He had a good job and was financially in a reasonable position. However, something beyond his consciousness bothered him.

The specialist arranged an appointment with a private psychotherapist. After a few therapeutic sessions, Fred felt more confident in balancing his emotions as the sessions helped him resolve the underlying issues that he preferred not to disclose.

His anxieties started diminishing. His sleep quality significantly increased. He also learned about cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)and mindfulness practices during the therapy sessions.

The behavioral therapy helped him to observe his thoughts and feelings, accept them, and gently challenge his anxious thoughts.

Subsequently, he learned to act mindfully with self-compassion. In addition, he learned to meditate and practiced it every day for at least half an hour. He said learning to meditate reduced his anxiety.

4 — Walked at Least 10,000 steps a Day.

The next missing part causing sleep deprivation was his sedentary life. Apart from walking, he did not enjoy any exercise. He has never been in a gym and had no interest in joining either.

Leveraging his interest in walking, the specialist suggested he walk every morning starting 30 minutes a day. Fred tried it for several weeks and enjoyed it very much. When he started, it was summertime. Seeing the sun in the morning contributed to improving his circadian rhythm.

As his fitness improved, he slowly increased his walking time to one hour and later to two hours.

Finally, when he started walking two hours a day, completing 10,000 steps daily, his sleep quality significantly improved. Within a few weeks, he lost several kilos. Losing weight with little effort and no supplements was a remarkable achievement motivating him to continue.

5 — Enjoyed Fun Activities.

To ensure Fred continues this lifestyle, the specialist particularly highlighted the importance of getting fun regularly.

She asked him about his hobbies. Fred enjoyed going to movies, listening to music, playing guitar, playing billiards, and going to the sauna. The sleep specialist advised him to schedule these fun activities and at least try one of them each day.

Fred loved the idea. The more fun he had, the less anxious he felt. His chronic stress lessened. More interestingly, during these activities, he serendipitously met his soulmate.

Takeaways and Conclusions

Even though most people focus on the obvious factors, such as good nutrition and exercise, many people like Fred overlook the importance of sleep in weight loss.

From my experience, unless we fix our sleep issues and reduce elevated cortisol, losing fat looks almost impossible, even if we eat well and exercise a lot. Sleep, nutrition, and exercise are also interrelated.

When we are sleep-deprived, we feel hungrier and less motivated to exercise. The fundamental problem causing this imbalance is stress.

Therefore, when we learn to rest the body and mind with quality sleep, we can reduce our hunger and increase our motivation to exercise more. Interestingly, when Fred started walking for two hours, his sleep improved, and his hunger and food cravings reduced.

As a result, he did not need a diet or expensive supplements to lose weight.

The best solution for Fred was to find effective ways to address the root causes of his stress and find effective ways to improve his sleep quality.

A customized sleep regime and stress management method became a catalyst for him to solve sleep issues and normalize his cortisol (stress hormone). Giving up medication and unnecessary supplements freed him from dependence on them.

After thoroughly fixing his sleep issues, he naturally lost 44 pounds in a year and never gained them again. Fixing sleep issues changed Fred’s life dramatically. More fascinatingly, his confidence to relate with others increased. He found his soulmate and created a happy family.

Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life. If you enjoyed this story, you might also check to learn about How a 37 Years Old Female Body Builder Cured Insomnia.

When we lose substantial fat, we might face another problem called loose skin. I guided eliminating saggy skin with practical steps in an article. I hope you find it helpful.

Here’s How a Mature-Age Couple Reversed Diabetes and Trimmed Their Bodies with Lifestyle Habits.

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