Is sleep (or lack there of) getting in the way of my progress?

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lilliandandy

New member
Hey all.

I’ve (34,F) been working out on and off for the past 2.5 years. This year, though, I’ve been totally committed and have been doing 30-minute dumbell workouts 5x week since March. My primary motivation is energy…I’ve been struggling with chronic fatigue, so looking to movement as a remedy.

I notice my body is stronger, and it’s a really good feeling. But, other than that, I’m not actually seeing changes in my body (other than a lifted booty!).

Though weight loss is not a priority for me, I am surprised that my size hasn’t changed. (I don’t own a scale…I don’t care for what they say….I’m informed by how my clothes fit). In addition to the dumbbell workouts, I eat well, walk a lot and live an overall healthy lifestyle. I check all the boxes when it comes to directions about health and fitness…EXCEPT for sleep well.

Turns out, as I learned this week, I have sleep apnea. I’m wondering: could this really be the reason I haven’t seen more change in my body? I am looking forward to getting on a CPAP machine and feeling rested, and curious if I should expect more visible results from my fitness commitments as my sleep issue gets sorted.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation? Any thoughts or suggestions?
 
@lilliandandy Sleep is super duper important but without knowing your routine, your weight/height, the weights you’re lifting, your diet strategy, and your overall priorities, it’s really hard to say.

Why did you start lifting weights? How are you measuring your progress?

It should be noted that recomping takes a good while. Also, 30 minutes really isn’t that long of lifting session unless you’re doing heavy compound lifts utilizing progressive overload.

But regardless, sleep apnea is a big deal and needs to be looked into!
 
@lilliandandy You probably won't know how much for a while, but if you have sleep apnea I can't imagine a scenario where it hasn't impeded you at every step.

"Skeletal muscle is a primary regulator of human metabolism. Sleep deprivation (Cedernaes et al., 2015, 2018) and restriction (Harfmann et al., 2015) have the potential to profoundly affect muscle health by altering gene regulation and substrate metabolism. Even relatively short periods of sleep restriction (less than a week) can compromise glucose metabolism, reduce insulin sensitivity, and impair muscle function."

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7785053/
 
@lilliandandy i hope this doesn’t come across as rude, just want to try to help if i can!

but are you in a calorie deficit? you can eat as healthy and clean as you want, but if you are not in a calorie deficit, you will not lose weight. the only way to lose weight that has been scientifically proven is to decrease the amount of calories you consume. no matter how much you work out in the gym, if you’re not in a deficit, you won’t lose the weight.

just as an example, say you’re eating 2000 calories everyday. bring it down by about 200-300 calories to 1700. you can adjust this based on your height, weight, etc. search up “calorie calculator” on the internet and it will do the math for you!
 
@lilliandandy I am a 38F. If I get less than 7 hours a night, I won't lose no matter what. If I get 7+, I can lose without working out. It's crazy and annoying. Who has time to sleep that much?
I typically just try to stay consistent, and whenever I have a slow week, I'll try to sleep more, and weight will fall off.
 
@lilliandandy After years of bugging him, my husband finally did a sleep study. He was waking something like 43+ times a night or something just absolutely stupid. After 6 weeks on a CPAP, it was down to 15, and his doctor was like, "now that you're sleeping, you should consider losing weight. There's no way your body would have responded before, but now that you're getting rest, it should go well for you."

He lost 100 pounds in less than a year!! And now that he's healthier, he sleeps better. It's like a circular reward cycle. 😃

Of course, we also made some other dramatic changes to our lifestyle. I also lost 100 pounds, but it took me 2.5 years.

But YES sleep matters!
 
@ulkon And progressive overload! If the dumbbells are too light, they won't be all that beneficial for physical changes unless she's increasing reps or weight. Particularly for the lower body which can usually lift heavier.
 
@lilliandandy I'm in a similar situation. I can't stay asleep most nights.

Everything is stellar except my sleep. I eat well, I rarely have processed foods, I don't drink alcohol, I don't care for coffee, I go to the gym or run everyday. I'm at a much less stressful job, and I can leave mostly work at work. My relationships are better than it has ever been. I even avoid screens and listen to white noise before bedtime.

I can fall asleep just fine. But, for some reason, I cannot stay asleep. I hate it. And I can't tell if it's a vicious cycle where I'm worried about my sleep and so I cannot sleep, or if it's a real thing.

I'm seeing my doctor tomorrow, and hoping to see if a sleep study will rule out anything.

Here's to hoping you and I get some much needed rest.
 
@sunnyhope bit late but being able to fall asleep and then waking up in the middle of the night for extended periods of time is a classic symptom of overtraining. Reducing training volume almost always fixes this issue.
 
@sunnyhope Not being able to sleep though the night is the worst. It took me a long time of trial and error to get to a place where I can both fall asleep easily and sleep through 7-8 hours. I did a sleep doc consultation and blood panel, though everything was fine. I also workout regularly and eat well, so it all came down to sleep hygiene.

What helped me was adding more and more of the sleep hygiene recommendations, like having a ‘going to bed’ routine, consistent schedule, reading with orange glasses to block blue light (kindles have minimal light), using a massage gun just before bed, and meditating for 10-15mins before falling asleep did wonders too.
Then there’s the physiological stuff, like if you wake up to use the restroom, don’t eat or drink 2-4 hours before sleep. Slow release melatonin to kick start a pattern of sleeping through the night can help too.

I also suspect that being in a cut cycle made sleep worse, so getting back to maintenance seemed to help.
 
@sunnyhope This is incredibly frustrating, I know….doing “everything right,” having all the other pieces in place and yet, not getting a good night’s sleep. I’ve felt it’s taken a toll on my mental health and not allowed me to deeply enjoy how good things are otherwise.

I’m sorry you’ve been going through it and do hope the sleep study will yield solutions for you.
 
@lilliandandy I've been sleeping poorly for almost 8 weeks now (stress from a sick spouse needing some acute medical attention, got strep throat, and the school year started) and it has killed my motivation and progress. I have fatigue issues anyway and poor sleep has made everything worse. I have found that nutrition, hydration, and rest are a much bigger part of progress and general contentedness than I ever would have expected before these last couple of months.
 
@lilliandandy Just a heads up if you have chronic fatigue syndrome exercise can lead to worsening symptoms and post exertional malaise. I was on a slow fatigue decline into full blown chronic fatigue over the course of a year and exercising did not make it better.

On the main question, definitely sort your sleep out, it is EVERYTHING! There's a very good sleep scientist called Matthew Walker who's done the podcast rounds and he's written a book called "why we sleep" that I really recommend.
 
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