If losing weight is one of your New Year’s resolutions – I’ve got another one for you,

If your goal is to eat less in 2012 – make room for a side order of sleep!

Most experts agree, getting plenty of sleep should be the first step in any weight loss attempt. Here’s how lack of sleep can work against you:

• Just 3 consecutive nights of bad sleep increases insulin resistance – which makes us more likely to store fat.

• People who sleep less than 6 hours per night eat an ADDITIONAL 220 calories per day.

• Sleeping less alters your hormones and forces your body to experience more intense feelings of hunger.

Michael Breus, author of “Beauty Sleep,” says we need about 7 and a half hours of quality sleep per night. If you’re already getting that, another half hour will not necessarily help you lose weight - but if you are a five-hour sleeper and start to sleep for seven hours a night, you will start dropping weight.