Getting enough sleep is an important part of any fat loss program. The disclaimer here is that sleep alone won't help you lose weight in and of itself but when coupled with a healthy diet and exercise routine it is a powerful tool in anyone's weight loss arsenal. The reason for this is simple; your body needs a chance to repair and rebuild not only its musculature after a workout but also all its other vital systems, such as the immune and nervous systems.

It is during this resting phase that your body does much of the restorative work that keeps it in top operating condition. The problem many people face when it comes to losing weight is the desire to see quick results which leads them to overdo the exercise portion of their fat loss routine. The "more is better" way of thinking leads them to spend more time then necessary in the gym hitting the weights. This leads to not only motivational burnout because of a lack of results but also physical burnout because their body's cannot recover from the over exercise.

The point of any exercise regimen is to build muscle which in turns burns more fat. It is a well known fact that the more lean muscle you carry the greater your fat burning potential, even while at rest. Overtraining can be just as detrimental to any weight loss goal as living a sedentary lifestyle.

So what happens when you are hitting the weights day after day without proper rest? You may be getting in a good workout but as time progresses you will see fewer and fewer gains. By overtraining your muscles you do not give them the chance to recover and rebuild after your latest weight lifting or exercise session. In fact not only will you see little results with your fitness levels you may also see your immune system begin to suffer resulting in more lingering health and sickness problems.

The more intense the workout the longer the recovery period needed for the process to take place. For many people it can take the body around 2 days to repair and rebuild the muscles that were worked. This means you should at a minimum space your workouts every other day and up to three days in some cases. This gives you the best chances of building a lean fat burning muscle.

If you're less then happy with your current fat loss progress then it may be time to look at how much rest you are getting. The recommended amount of sleep for a healthy adult is between seven and a half and nine hours per night. By getting the proper amount of sleep and rest between workouts you ensure that your body's metabolism is at its fat burning peak.