As a tween or young teen, I ventured into my grandmother’s basement searching for her famous seven-layer bars. She stored the extra baked goods there, and my sweet tooth was determined to find them! But first, I found her vintage vibrating exercise belt (watch this video starting at 02:15 for a laugh.) Totally intrigued and wanting toner thighs without the work, I jumped on and gave the vibrating exercise belt a try. As you can imagine, I didn’t burn any fat. Instead, I found the seven-layer bars and satisfied my sweet tooth!
Burning fat while you sleep sounds similar to the vintage vibrating exercise belt – too good to be true. But, stick with me! After reading this post, you’ll be fired up with 3 ways to burn fat while you sleep so you can feel confident with energy to be, do, and give your best self every day.
EAT: PACE YOUR PROTEIN
Unlike the vintage vibrating exercise belt, protein pacing is backed by science. Protein builds muscle, and muscle burns fat, even while you sleep! Age, sex, and exercise all factor into how much protein, but for most adults, the amount will fall between 20 and 30 grams of high-quality protein per meal, paced every evenly throughout the day.
Typically people eat most of their protein for dinner, less for lunch, and the least for breakfast – for example, cereal for breakfast, salad for lunch, and meat for dinner. When you pace your protein evenly throughout your day – just like stoking a fire with more wood – your metabolism burns more calories even through the night.
Science supports eating protein before bed for fat burning and better sleep. But, the quality of the protein matters. Protein sources that have a higher concentration of branched-chain amino acids are more effective in building muscle. Remember, muscle burns fat. These are my favorite before-bed protein options: IsaPro Plant-Based Protein and Dairy/Egg Tri-Release Protein.
When you pace your protein evenly throughout your day – just like stoking a fire with more wood – your metabolism burns more calories even through the night.
REST: Sleep More
If you want to burn fat while you sleep, make quality sleep a priority! During pediatric residency training, I stayed up every fourth night admitting patients from the emergency room into the hospital. Three years of residency adds up to a lot of sleep deprivation which stimulates hunger – eating too much or too frequently. That was true for me! Post-call pizza and Dove ice-cream bars were diet staples.
Quality sleep is one of the best things you can do for your physical, emotional, and mental health – lack of it imbalances the stress hormone cortisol. Imbalanced cortisol not only disrupts sleep but also compromises your metabolism. It increases fat storage, lowers energy and muscle mass, and can lead to premature aging and cardiovascular disease! If you’re struggling to sleep through the night, here’s Your 3 Step Plan for Better Sleep.
Quality sleep is one of the best things you can do for your physical, emotional, and mental health.
MOVE: HIIT Your Workouts
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) and resistance exercise increase metabolism and keep it elevated far more than standard cardio workouts. If you’re new to HIIT or resistance exercise, start off slow and grow. Start replacing a couple of your cardio workouts a week with a 30-minute HIIT or resistance workout.
You don’t need a gym membership or expensive equipment to HIIT your workouts. I do HIIT and resistance workouts in my basement using two apps (HEF Training App and Peloton App) that combined cost under $25 a month.
Yes, I’d rather jump on my grandmother’s vintage vibrating exercise belt and eat her seven-layer bars than workout any day. Thankfully protein pacing and sleep are just as easy! To burn fat while you sleep, give all three a try: pace your protein, sleep more, and HIIT your workouts!
#WeAreInThisTogether to feel confident with energy to be, do, and give our best self every day.
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About the Author: Dr. Sue
Sue McCreadie, MD (aka Dr. Sue), is a Pediatric Physician and Breakthrough Coach for Midlife Mamas. For over two decades, she’s helped thousands achieve vibrant health as a wellness expert. Bringing three daughters into this world, she lost four along the way, and crossed the pregnancy finish line a digestive–hormonal–emotional mess. But, over the following decade, she found a deeper meaning for miscarriages, reclaimed vibrant health, and grew emotional resiliency. Dr. Sue is obsessed with living her soulFULL purpose and helping other growth-minded Mamas do the same. She believes we are in this together to rise up, realize our dreams, and feel fulfilled in every facet of our lives.