The no. 1 thing that has personally affected my weight the most in my life has not been my eating or exercise habits, but times when sleep has been sketchy - I could literally feel myself gaining weight from week to week during poor sleeping periods.

We can’t eat or exercise our way out of lack of sleep.

The only cure for lack of sleep is sleep. Here is a study exploring the connection between weight issues and poor sleep:

“Late bedtimes and late wake up times are associated with an unfavorable activity and weight status profile, independent of age, sex, household income, geographical remoteness, and sleep duration.”

Read the full study in: Sleep. 2011 Oct 1; 34(10): 1299–1307. Published online 2011 Oct 1. Sleep Duration or Bedtime? Exploring the Relationship between Sleep Habits and Weight Status and Activity Patterns Tim S. Olds

How do we reset our circadian clock is the next question?

Well, avoiding modern day electronics and artificial lights is best way. Yes, spending time in nature, reading books, looking into the fireplace or candlelights before bedtime - ideally planning a weekend getaway to a cabin in the woods every now and then, where we just spend time on the basics and leave our phones and laptops far and behind.

Here is a study where they did exactly that:

“These findings provide evidence that the human circadian clock adapts to seasonal changes in the natural light-dark cycle and is timed later in the modern environment in both winter and summer. Further, we demonstrate that earlier circadian timing can be rapidly achieved through natural light exposure during a weekend spent camping.”

Read the full study on resetting your circadian rhythm here: Current Biology Vol 27: 4, P508-513, Feb 20, 2017. Circadian Entrainment to the Natural Light-Dark Cycle across Seasons and the Weekend Ellen R. Stothard et al.