"I Gained 3 Stone Despite Sticking to My Diet and Workouts – Doctors Discovered the Real Culprit: My Sleep!"

WHEN Lex Banach began gaining weight, despite adhering to a strict diet and exercise regime, she started to feel like she was going “insane”.

The 29-year-old from Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the US had followed the same nutrition and workout plan that saw her lost over a stone a year earlier.

Lex Banach said she gained 40 pounds in six months, just under three stone Credit: SWNS Pictured, Lex Banach, after she lost weight following her diagnosis Credit: SWNS

But, in the space of six months she gained just under three stone.

Fed up with also suffering from brain fog and extreme fatigue, Lex went to the doctor and to her shock was told she had been battling apnoea for three years.

This had seen her breathing disrupted every eight minutes while she slept.

Known medically as obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), the condition impacts nearly a billion people worldwide and causes the walls of the throat to relax and narrow or close for a few seconds during sleep.

This triggers breathing pauses and loud snoring.

Up to 3.9 million people in the UK are estimated to have , although it is considered to be under-diagnosed affecting up to 10million.

Not all snorers have sleep apnoea, but the two often go hand in hand, and , the greater the chances of having it.

Currently there is no drug licensed for sleep apnoea, and patients are often prescribed (CPAP) – a machine that delivers air through a mask, worn at night, to keep the airways open.

Lex, a content creator, began using a CPAP and has now lost 4st 4lbs in just a year.

Recalling her ordeal, she said: “I felt insane for years because I didn’t know what was going on with my body.

Lex said she felt like she was going “insane” after rapidly putting weight on despite eating well Credit: SWNS

“I was so confused, I was following the same nutrition plan and doing the same workouts.

“I’ve always snored and always been a mouth breather.

“My doctor told me the weight gain was likely sleep apnoea.

“The test showed I stopped breathing every eight minutes.

“I was so relieved to finally have an answer, but surprised to hear it was only mild, considering how much it impacted me.”

In 2020, Lex lost 20 pounds, taking her from 12st 8lbs to her goal weight of 11st 4lbs.

But, after maintaining this for a year, she suddenly then put on the three stone in six months.

Initially blaming her because her diet and exercise regime hadn’t changed, she decided to come off the birth control pill in 2022.

“It was kind of a wellness trend at the time to come off the pill, but it didn’t change anything,” Lex said.

“I had to nap every single day, I was just so exhausted all of the time.”

She also began to struggle with impulse control.

“I would say I was just going to have one cookie, and then eat the whole container,” she added.

“I just didn’t feel like myself; I wasn’t bubbly anymore, and I kept snapping at my partner.”

After her sleep apnoea diagnosis, her doctor also told her she likely had anxiety and and ordered her a sleep study, which records your heart rate, oxygen levels and breathing whilst you sleep.

She attached a sensor to her finger before bed, and the device monitored her vitals whilst she slept.

The test showed that Lex woke up 68 times during the night, and she was diagnosed with .

Pictured, Lex Banach, before her sleep apnoea diagnosis and after she lost weight Credit: SWNS She initially came off the contraceptive pill after gaining weight, believing it was to blame Credit: SWNS

Sleep apnoea can contribute to weight gain because disrupted sleep affects your metabolism, causes hormonal imbalance, and affects your levels, leaving you less able to do physical activity.

Following her diagnosis, Lex was given a CPAP machine in June 2023, which pumps air into a mask you wear over your nose and mouth while you sleep, to improve your breathing.

After losing the 4st 4lbs, in February 2024, she did a repeat study and was told by doctors that her sleep apnoea had reversed.

However, she had to return the CPAP machine in April 2024, and in May 2025, she began having symptoms of sleep apnoea again.

As Lex no longer has in the US, she hasn’t been able to access a CPAP machine again now that her symptoms have come back and has gained 20 pounds.

However, she is trying her best to manage her symptoms with meditation and yoga.

Poor sleep has been linked to a number of health problems, including cancer, and infertility.

Experts have long advised that waking up during the night does not necessarily mean you have , which figures suggest affects up to 14million Brits.

Still, sleep deprivation takes its own toll, from irritability and reduced focus in the short term, to an increased risk of , and .