I have tried several different methods to lose extra pounds over the years. Like many of you, I have changed my behaviors, eating habits, and joined gyms in order to look and, more importantly, feel better and healthier. Even when I thought as though I was doing everything right, something usually seemed a bit off for me. I still felt tired during the day and not as mentally sharp as I should have been. I wasn’t always motivated to get to the gym. I didn’t understand why I was living such a healthy lifestyle and my weight loss would hit a brick wall here and there. Why was I developing these negative feelings when everything I had read or seen told me I would be so much healthier and feel so much better if I followed a few simple steps?

With some research, I realized what the talk show doctors and fitness gurus weren’t telling me to do. Sleep. In my case, a lack of sleep was contributing to a terrible cycle of failing my weight loss goals, affecting my mood, appetite, and motivation. Once I started keeping track of how I felt each day after a good night of sleep, I began to see how I was being affected both physically and mentally. My diet and exercise goals seemed so much more attainable after a good night of sleep, and I noticed many changes that all seemed connected biologically.

Read my article about Sleep and Your Diet here to see how a good night of sleep is closely related to your health and well-being, as well as how it affects our weight loss goals.