CPAP Therapy and Weight Loss
Jeremy Smith is a long-term CPAP user and sleep apnea advocate. After being diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea, he created ByJeremySmith.com to help others navigate CPAP therapy through personal stories, gear reviews, and practical advice.
Is there a link between CPAP therapy and weight loss? In this article, I’ll discuss my journey and experiences, and you will learn how it can help you.
My Story
When I was first diagnosed with OSA severe obstructive sleep apnea, one of the things I wanted to study was the link between CPAP Therapy and Weight Loss.
Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by blocked upper airways while you sleep. This can be caused by your tongue falling backward and blocking your airway, or enlarged tonsils may cause the blockage.
In many cases, OSA is due to excess neck fat pushing down while you’re asleep.
I knew I was overweight, and I wanted to do something about it. Was it this that was causing my sleep apnea? I wanted to know.
Further research on the internet told me that Sleep Apnea is associated with a whole host of other issues like Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.
For this reason, I wanted to see if losing weight would help my sleep apnea.
Why I hate diets, and why they don’t work
Diets suck. They fundamentally don’t work because they punish you for eating your favorite food, and they make you eat disgusting foods like shakes.
If you do go down the path of having a shake for breakfast, guess what happens when you stop drinking those shakes? I’ve tried them.
Diets also don’t work because of the social aspect of eating. I mean, why should you eat your stupid salad or low-carb penne pasta while the rest of your family is digging into a Sunday roast?
When you are invited to your friend’s house for dinner, are you going to take your low-carb penne pasta with you? Of course not. That’s why I’ve put together a list of caloric hacks, which you will find below.
Don’t Diets, Create Systems
For this reason, I wanted to find a different way.
So I turned to this little gem sitting on my bookshelf.
This is what the book teaches you…
When you say something like, “I will lose 20 pounds in 2 months,” you are setting an enormous goal that is wide open to failure.
And you will feel bad when you don’t meet that goal. In Atomic Habits, you will learn that the correct way is to focus on the systems.
So, I decided to concentrate on the systems I needed to lose 20 pounds. First, I created this list of caloric hacks to reduce my calorie intake.
Caloric Intake Hacks
- Have smaller portions
- Use smaller dinner plates
- If you have a big meal, skip the next one
- Consider Intermittent Fasting
- Clear the house of chocolate and other junk
- Take the steps instead of the escalator or lift
- When you go shopping, park at the back of the car park
- Get a smartwatch to track your steps. Improve every day on your step count.
If you were hoping for a happy ending, then I don’t have one for you. After losing 20 pounds, my OSA is as bad as ever.
Lack of Sleep and Weight Loss. Is CPAP therapy the answer?
I’ve done my own research, and from what I’ve found and experienced myself, having a poor night’s sleep can lead directly to weight loss.
This is due to the cleaning process inside your brain while you sleep.
This is evolutionary! If we are not sleeping properly, our Caveman brain assumes we didn’t sleep because we are hungry and looking for food. Obtaining food to survive is more important than sleeping to your Caveman brain, and it doesn’t realize you have a fully stocked refrigerator in the other room.
Another factor is that if you wake up tired, you are not in the mood to do much the next day, so you will naturally lie around and not get much exercise.
How did it work out for me?
I mentioned above that I still have obstructive sleep apnea, but having a CPAP machine has really transformed my life.
For example, I’m 56 now and have more energy than I did 20 years ago. This energy has helped me lose 20 pounds. For me, there is a link between CPAP therapy and weight loss.
Exercise Every Day
Unless you have a condition like diabetes, losing weight is a simple formula of Eat Less and Move More.
That’s why I try to do 10,000 steps every day
I also enjoy swimming, and if you get a device like an apple watch, it will even tell you how far you have swum and the calories you used.
Your Journey
As I’ve mentioned many times on this blog, I’m only here to support you. I am not medically trained in any way, so please always see a medical professional if you think you have sleep apnea.
Please share any questions or a story about weight loss and CPAP in the comments below.
Disclaimer: The content on this blog is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always speak with your doctor or sleep specialist before starting, stopping, or changing any treatment or therapy related to sleep apnea or CPAP use.
