Burn more calories in your sleep

AuthorAuthor

Diego Carrete & Nadim Nyker, Former Men's Health Editor.
July 30, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

What you will learn today:

  • The Strategy: Burn calories during sleep

  • The Tactics: Optimize your metabolism

  • The Habits: Eat more, train less

Hello from Malaga!

I had an amazing lunch by the seaside on Sunday, we took some gorgeous family photos. I look nothing like I used to.

The first time I came here was in 2012. I went from being a kid who just wanted to tan and have fun to being a father of two and managing the well-being of one of the largest financial institutions in the world.

Do you know what else I used to do in 2012? A ton of cardio.

From 2012 to 2022, I trained at least 300 days each year. At least 80% of those days included one hour of cardio, trying to lose fat. That’s over 3 months of my life.

In this email, my goal is to save you months, even years of your life trying to burn calories (your body can do the work for you).

The Strategy: Burn calories during sleep

The Internet:

“The exact number of calories you burn while sleeping depends on your age and weight. Generally speaking, sleepers burn between 35 and 75 calories per hour. So, in an 8-hour window, you can expect to burn between 300 and 600 calories per night.”

Mmm… not entirely true.

People of the same age and weight can burn significantly different amounts of calories. Some people have a damaged metabolism. Additionally, if they burn glucose instead of fat during sleep, the outcome will be completely different.

There are 2 key elements that we consider when trying to burn more calories at rest (or during your sleep):

  1. Metabolic adaptation

  2. Metabolic flexibility

The Tactics: Optimize your metabolism

Your body needs a lot of calories just to stay alive. This is called Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR).

Once a person has their BMR, they can use one of the following formulas, based on their activity levels, to determine their daily caloric need:

  • Sedentary: little or no exercise = BMR x 1.2

  • Minimally active: 1–3 days per week of exercise or activity = BMR x 1.375

  • Moderately active: 3–5 days per week of moderate activity or sports = BMR x 1.55

  • Very active: 6–7 days per week of hard exercise = BMR x 1.725

TL;DR

The higher your metabolism and the more you sleep, the more calories you will burn throughout the night.

The better your metabolic flexibility, the greater your ability to tap into fat instead of glucose when you need to burn calories.

This is an example of the highly accurate tools I use with my clients to maximise fat loss and mitigate muscle loss.

The Habit: Eat more, train less

If you are to remember anything from this email, remember these 3 things:

  1. Under-eating leads to metabolic adaptation, resulting in burning fewer calories at rest.

  2. Muscle demands more energy than fat, so people of the same weight but different body compositions will have different BMRs.

  3. Frequency is more important than duration; you can train less, rest more, and build more muscle.

How much should you eat?

Well, it depends, food volume refers to the physical amount of food consumed, which can vary significantly in terms of calorie content.

Image by Bodybuilding Dietitians

  • High-volume foods generally have low energy density, meaning they contain fewer calories per unit of weight.

  • Low-volume foods with high energy density, such as sweets and processed snacks, pack more calories into smaller portions.

Macronutrient distribution

  • Aim for 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight

  • Have 0.5 grams of fat per pound of body weight

  • Remaining calories from carbohydrates

How much should you train?

  • Minimum: Full body twice a week.

  • Optimal: Anywhere between 3-5 times.

Training Progression

  • Start: Increasing the weight, reps, sets, and decreasing rest.

  • Goal: As you get in better shape, you have to work harder. Sorry.

How many sets per workout?

  • To maintain muscle: 12 working sets.

  • To grow muscle mass: 16-20 working sets.

That’s it for today,

Remember,

Become an asset, not a liability, to those around you.

P.S. I have 2 exclusive slots available to work directly with me in August. Together, we will address your health markers, optimize your hormones, and improve your body composition—all tailored to fit your busy lifestyle.

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