When following diets to lose weight, the scale becomes a constant companion throughout the day. Despite doctors' advice against weighing oneself constantly or every day, curiosity often leads us to step on the scale two or three times a day. If you check your weight before going to bed at night and again in the morning, you may notice that your weight decreases in the morning. This happens because you lose water overnight through breathing and sweating. However, even during our bodies' rest, organs and systems continue to function, consuming calories, though it may seem less compared to waking hours. According to a number of nutrition experts, burning calories at night is not impossible, and there are several simple steps that can help with weight loss during sleep by boosting metabolism:
1) **Lift Weights at Night**
After finishing your workday, try to head directly from your office to the gym to start lifting weights, as this can increase your metabolism for up to 16 hours. According to a recent study, levels of fasting blood glucose, insulin, cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL cholesterol decreased only in participants who consistently trained in the evening and lifted weights.
2) **Take a Cold Shower**
What is known as "ice bathing" does a lot to help us lose weight. Our body consists of two types of fat: white fat and brown fat. While white fat is the type of fat we usually refer to as the spongy stuff in our bodies that appears when we gain weight, brown fat can help us lose weight. A recent study found that freezing for just 30 seconds is all it takes to activate brown fat tissue in the body, which, when released, can burn up to an additional 400 calories in bed.
3) **Drink Green Tea**
The flavonoid compounds found in green tea enhance your metabolism, and if this is your third cup of the day, you will burn 3.5% more calories overnight, according to an American study. Along with caffeine, the catechins present in green tea increase brown fat among study participants.
4) **Sleep in a Cooler Room**
This process is beneficial for burning fat, as the body's shivering activates essential responses within brown fat cells. Research from the American Institutes of Health indicates that lowering the thermostat to 18 degrees Celsius reduces calories by 7%, as your body burns fat to maintain its core temperature.
5) **Try Intermittent Fasting**
After hours of fasting during intermittent fasting, the body depletes its sugar stores and begins to burn fat. Therefore, intermittent fasting has become the practice of intentionally having calorie-free periods throughout the day or week, sometimes lasting up to 16 hours a day without food, which is a common diet plan that helps individuals shed pounds.
