From our pals at Authority Nutrition comes a great new 30-Day Challenge I can’t wait to try!

OK, this is just silly, but it helps drive home the point that catching quality zzz’s is a big part of weight loss. You need a good night’s sleep to reset your hormones. While I attribute my recent 7 pound gain to bad eating, it’s no coincidence that my insomnia kicked in at the same time.

The amount and quality of sleep helps keep your appetite-regulating hormones (Ghrelin and Leptin) in check. Not enough sleep and Ghrelin, which tells you to eat, runs wild in your body.  When I get a full 8 hours a night I don’t eat as much because Leptin (which tells me I’m full) is doing its job and keeping Ghrelin at bay.

This week I’m doing better on the food front, keeping to 20-25g of carbs a day. I’m also getting about 7-8 hours of sleep each night this week too! In fact, I took a 20 minute cat nap this afternoon and feel great. How great? I’m going out for a 2nd run today!