Hi all!

Lately i've had this really off sleep schedule. I've been hitting the bed at like 230am and then waking up 10 or 11ish. I've been wondering about the connection of sleep and weight loss.

what is your take on it? do you think there is one?

also, can anyone tell me...why do my hands get swollen/tight while i'm running/exercising. is that normal?

If I don't get enough sleep, I won't lose weight the next day.

My hands do that too. I think it is just blood/fluid rushing to them from the positioning. Since your blood and everything is "looser" while your exercising, it only makes sense that it would rush to lower points. Not sure, but that is what i have always assumed.

About sleep, i always sleep better when i am "on plan" i guess the exercise makes me sleep more restful. It doesnt make me want to stay up later though.

Stacy

When it happens, raise your hands above your head. It's blood pooling at the extremities.

As for sleep, there are hormones that get released in sleep. Not enough sleep = not enough of these hormones.

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders...while-sleeping

A.

Moni28, how do you hold your hands when you walk & run? By any chance, when you are walking, do you let them swing long & loose at your sides?

I had this problem when I was very heavy & first started walking for exercise. It was alleviated when I held my arms in the classic runner's position -- both held parallel, with a bend at the elbows, fingers lightly folded (not clenched into fists) -- and when I actually swung them as I walked, just lightly, not exaggerated. Don't punch upward, like a boxer, just swing them at your sides.

Maybe because they moved & were held higher, my hands stopped swelling & doing that.

Frankly, it also helped that I had a very cranky second-generation iPod shuffle that kept shutting itself off, and I was constantly reaching over to mess with the buttons.

Puffy hands are quite normal during exercise, especially if you swing your arms, the fluids collect there, it should improve afterward.
As to sleep, there is a big connection. But it sounds like you are getting 7+ hours a night. Is it good quality sleep?
Lots of overweight people have sleep apnea. (I do) Treating it may help you to lose weight, and having it may make it harder to lose and make you gain too.
However, treating my sleep apnea did not help me lose weight at the time. But treating it has helped me to stay healthy.

I agree with everyone else here about the blood rushing to your hands; and agree that bending them at the elbow with hands just half closed should help that for you.

As for the sleep issue -- it sounds like you are not happy with your schedule; do you want to change it? If you want to go to bed earlier and get up earlier; get an alarm and set it to get you up 30-60 minutes earlier each day and go to bed that much earlier as well.

Even if you don't sleep right away, lay there and rest anyway. Try reading before sleep and/or listening to low, soft music: they invariably help me sleep every time. Keep upping your bedtime until you get to where you want it and the same for getting up; it will take a little time, but eventually your body will get used to the change and wake itself up automatically.

Another trick is to leave your blinds open before you sleep, and the early light will wake you up earlier; that works for some people.

Not getting enough sleep will definitely stall your weightloss. It's something to do with the cortisol levels. If I don't get enough sleep, I don't lose weight and I beleive I actually start gaining if I go for long periods witout enough sleep.