.: Weight Loss Tips - Are You Getting Enough Sleep?



When we think of the most important things that our bodies need, sleep is right up there with food, water and oxygen. The amount of sleep you get on a daily basis can have a dramatic effect on your health and weight. But do we really know how must sleep we really need?
As a general guide most adults should be aiming to get around 7 - 8 hours a day. Our bodies are all different and some people may find they function at their peak on 6 hours of sleep a day while others may need around 9. Sleep deprivation however is a big problem and if you are only managing around 4-5 hours a night then your body is being deprived of sleep.
Lets firstly look at the benefits of getting a good nights sleep:-
1. Sleep Naturally Repairs Your Body
Extra protein molecules are produced while you are sleeping which help to fight infection and cells are repaired by your immune system.
2. Sleep Reduces Stress Levels
A good quality sleep can help lower blood pressure and levels of stress hormones in your body.
3. Greater Concentration
A good nights sleep will allow you to concentrate better the following day and will also aid memory function.
4. More Relaxed
A good sleep will mean you wake up more refreshed and relaxed.
If you are not getting enough sleep on a regular basis then all of the above benefits will be reversed. So this may mean waking up feeling groggy, feeling more stressed and unable to concentrate. You will also be more prone to illness and higher blood pressure. You may think that being deprived of sleep and feeling tired may result in a loss of appetite and weight loss, but the truth is that a lack of sleep may lead to weight gain.
Sleep helps to keep in check the hormones in your body that control your appetite, so if you are not getting enough sleep then your appetite will increase and you will feel even hungrier. Sleep deprivation will cause your body to have reduced energy levels and your body will crave high fat content foods that may give you a temporary boost. These foods tend to be high in calories and salt or sugar, they will not fill you up because they lack nutrition and will leave you sluggish and hungry again very soon.
Nothing will set you better for the day than a good refreshing sleep followed by a well balanced breakfast. To aid your sleep try to limit your consumption of alcohol and spicy foods. Try and unwind naturally before bed with a nice long soak or some relaxation exercises. Try to avoid using alcohol as your main way of unwinding and relieving stress.
If you are looking to lose weight, as well as eating a sensible and balanced diet and taking regular exercise, you need to be getting a good night's sleep every night.

.: Lose Weight While You Sleep: Is It A Possibility, Or A Lie/An Exaggerated Claim/A Myth?



When you're searching for a new weight loss plan to try, you are literally bombarded with fancy pages full of persuasive sales pitches, too-good-to-be-true claims, impressive promises, and endless testimonials from "satisfied customers".
Such techniques are usually perceived as "dodgy" by those in the know. It's all hype, they say. But is it indeed?
One of the most popular phrases used to promote a diet plan is "lose weight while you sleep".
People have taken to referring to those who make such claims as scammers.
So is there any truth to it? How accurate are such claims? And are they indeed used by scammers to lure people in, and cheat them out of their hard-earned cash?
MYTH: Don't trust anyone who tells you that you can lose weight while you sleep. They're scammers.
TRUTH: This phrase in no way indicates that the person is a scammer.
Some people would call it "an exaggerated claim", and it is perhaps slightly misleading, but that's no reason to associate it with scammers.
Basically, you might feel cheated if you don't know exactly what losing weight while you sleep involves...
Here's what is it:
The diet programmes that make such claims - that you can lose weight while you sleep - will usually introduce you to metabolism boosting techniques and/or muscle-building exercises.
These are the things that can boost your metabolism, hence - make you burn calories while you sleep.
Here are 2 examples:
(1) If you eat a low calorie snack before bed (such as an apple), you will indeed be "losing weight while you sleep", as your metabolism is not going to shut down, and it takes your body more effort to digest this apple than the apple's worth calorie-wise, so... strictly speaking, you'll have burned more calories than you've consumed, which can be described as "losing weight", and this process occurs while you're sleeping if the apple was consumed before bed.
(2) Similarly, if you've lifted weights or done some form of resistance exercise before going to sleep (and, perhaps, eaten a protein snack in addition), your body will continue burning fat for hours afterwards i.e. while you sleep. The more lean muscle mass a person has, the faster their metabolism, and the more fat their body burns naturally. So if you engage in muscle-building workouts, there's a good chance you'll be "losing weight while you sleep".
So no, people that promise you weight loss while you sleep are not necessarily scammers. Do you want to know who the real scammers are?
The real scammers are those who take mainstream, cliched weight loss advice a la "eat healthy and exercise regularly", put it in a slightly different way, stick a price tag on it, and try to sell it to you as ground-breaking information.
They are absolutely everywhere these days.
Yet nobody slated these people, because their (useless, generic, thoughtless, recycled) advice is supposedly "good for you". They don't tell you what effects this so-called "scientifically-proven" method can have on you if you're one of the people unfortunate enough to have a genetic predisposition to weight gain.
Moreover, some people will go as far as saying that anyone who claims that weight loss without exercise is possible, is a scammer. Ridiculous. Of course it's possible! 100% possible, and even recommended -- by those who know the truth about weight loss.
Yes, it is good for general health to make better food choices and engage in some form of physical activity, but doing these things for weight loss is downright counterproductive, and actually damaging to your mental health if you're not a naturally slim person.

.: Sleep and It's Effects on Weight Loss



How does the lack of sleep affect us? And how does it have any sort of impact on weight loss? Psychologically it does. When we do not get enough sleep, we tend to be like walking zombies at work. The tendency to reach out for the 6th cup of sweetened coffee or the 4th piece of donut for quick energy is very high. These provides a quick energy bolt which lasts a while before you end up reaching for that box of cookies, these also provide a quick bolt to your calorie consumption!
Do not underestimate calories when you are hungry or tired. The small cookies and snacks consumed accumulate VERY fast. Your coffee probably contains sugar which adds up relatively quick. A simple 8 hour work day could end up having you consuming close to 1500 calories just in snacks trying to keep yourself alert. Your waistline will be in serious trouble.
There is also many studies which talk on how the lack of sleep could affect our blood pressure.
Why Does The Lack Of Sleep Cause this?
Scientifically speaking, there is also a rationale on why additional calories are consumed. 3 hormones are in charge of this. Leptin, Ghrelin and Cortisol. The lack of sleep causes the hormones levels to react and cause a larger appetite to be stimulated. Elaborated below:
Leptin: There are researchers who think that the increase of Leptin may affect the release of Ghrelin mentioned below. What Leptin does is that it signals your brain that your body currently have enough energy stores such as body fat. This hormone is in charge of decreasing our appetite. When you do not have sufficient sleep, the levels of this hormone drops, resulting in our cravings for food.
Ghrelin: This is basically a hormone in charge of increasing our appetite. It is produced by the stomach and it gives our brain signals to let us know we are hungry, which causes an increase an appetite and feeling 'hungry'. Normally this hormone level shoots up before food, which tells us it's time to eat, and goes down immediately after food, for approximately 3 hours.
Cortisol: This hormone level elevates when a person is physically or psychologically stressed. An increase of this hormone will signal the body to consume large quantities of food to compensate for the energy loss and the repairing of the body. The lack of sleep results in an increase of Cortisol which is responsible for the huge amounts of food being consumed, and this additional food is being stored as fat rather than used to replace any sort of energy stores.
So basically the lack of proper and sufficient sleep will cause us to crave for food, and chances are the cravings are going to win when the temptations around you are too strong.
The article above results in in many people asking "Why cant I lose weight?"
So How Much Is Enough Sleep?
Most of us are not getting enough sleep every day, 7-8 hours a day is being recommended, but the average gets probably gets approximately 6 hours a day. So, how much sleep is actually needed? Is it really what everyone says? 7-8 hours? Learn more about it in My Report!

.: Proven Weight Loss Strategies For Sleep Apnea Sufferers



My wife just commented to me that just by eating dinner about one hour earlier than usual for the past few weeks, she's automatically lost about 2-3 pounds. We normally eat about 3 hours before bedtime, but by the time we finish dinner and have fruit for dessert, it's about two and a half hours before we go to bed at 10PM. Even our children now seem less tired and more alert during the day. Although we decided to make this change to increase our sleep quality, my wife's weight loss was an unexpected side effect. So how does this apply to sleep apnea sufferers?
The Sleep Apnea Stereotype
At almost every sleep apnea lecture that I've seen in my career, the speaker almost always puts up a picture of Joe the fat boy from Dickens' The Pickwick Papers. If you read any scientific study about obstructive sleep apnea, it almost always starts with, "...typically seen in middle aged or older obese men who snore heavily with large necks."
Although described 30 or so years ago in these stereotypical men, now we know that it can occur even in young, thin women who don't snore. But many overweight people, especially as they get older, will snore or have obstructive sleep apnea. It's estimated that overall, about 24% of men and 9% of women will have it, but by the time you reach your 70 to 80s, the incidence about 55%. Being overweight is still a major risk factor for development of obstructive sleep apnea. If you're overweight and have sleep apnea, then it's much harder to lose weight than if you didn't have sleep apnea. Let me explain why.
How Hormones Affect Your Appetite
It's been proven that poor sleep (quality or quantity) can promote weight gain through various mechanisms. Leptin is one major hormone that provides information about energy status to your brain-essentially, it tells your brain that you have enough energy. Low levels of leptin causes hunger. Normally, leptin increases after you eat, but sleep deprivation lowers this hormone, making you hungry. As leptin drops, your cortisol levels will also increase. Poor sleep efficiency also causes a low-grade physiologic stress reaction that increases your cortisol levels. This hormone also makes you more hungry. Other studies have shown that not only will you be more hungry, you'll tend to crave fattier, sugary, high carb foods.
You can imagine how once this process starts, it's a vicious cycle: Poor sleep makes you more hungry, so you eat more or snack close to bedtime. More frequent obstructions causes your stomach juices to be suctioned up into your throat, causing more inflammation and swelling. These juices can then go into your nose and lungs, causing further inflammation and swelling. Weight gain then narrows your throat further, aggravating sleep apnea, which makes you sleep less efficiently.
First Steps Toward Losing Weight
So what can you do if you have sleep apnea and are overweight? Is it hopeless?
Fortunately, there are steps that you can take that if followed properly, can not only help most people lose pounds, but also sleep better in the process. The first and most important thing is to eat as early as possible before bedtime. I know I keep repeating this, but you'll be surprised by how many people continue to eat late or snack just before bedtime. Three to four hours is the general recommendation to avoid eating before going to bed. The only thing you can have is water within this timeframe. The same goes for any kind of alcohol, since alcohol relaxes your throat muscles, aggravating obstructions and arousals.
The second most important thing to do is to make sure that you can breathe well through your nose. If your nose is stuffy, the challenge is in figuring out what's causing your nasal congestion, since there are a number of different reasons. In many cases, there's more than one reason.
Needless to say, you also have to eat healthy and exercise regularly. I'll leave the specific recommendations for other respective experts in this area. One thing to point out, though, is that if you lift weights or engage in any activity that bulks up your upper chest and neck muscles, remember that your upper airway is unprotected, and that that any degree of neck muscle enlargement and press in on your upper airway. This is why many bodybuilders and weightlifters snore.
Eating earlier helps to reduce inflammation and swelling in your throat, and better nasal breathing lessens the vacuum effect that's created in the throat when you breathe in while sleeping. These two steps alone (along with eating healthy and regular exercise) will help many people, but to various degrees. For some, making these conservative changes alone may be enough, but with others, they will need some form of formal treatment for their obstructive sleep apnea.
Sleep More, Lose Weight
Lastly, most people in general are sleep deprived. Lack of sleep, in addition to inefficient sleep due to sleep-breathing problems, can also cause similar weight promoting issues. A great example is when Glamour magazine asked women volunteers to try to get consistently 7.5 hours of sleep every night for 10 weeks. Many women lost anywhere from 6 to 15 pounds, all just by sleeping more. Studies have shown that lack of sleep (5 hours or less) per night is a major risk factor for significant weight gain.
So whether or not you are overweight, the recommendations outlined above will help you to breathe better and sleep better. Even if you are thin and don't have obstructive sleep apnea, following these recommendations can the onset of sleep-breathing problems and ultimately lessen the risks that can go along with obstructive sleep apnea. If you are overweight, this is the first step toward losing unwanted pounds.
Steven Y. Park, MD is a surgeon and author of the book, Sleep, Interrupted: A physician reveals the #1 reason why so many of us are sick and tired. Endorsed by New York Times best-selling authors Christiane Northrup, M.D., Dean Ornish, M.D., Mark Liponis, M.D., Mary Shomon, and many others. http://doctorstevenpark.com

.: Sleep and Weight Loss: No Sleep = No Weight Loss



Many reports tie sleep and weight loss together, saying that a lack of sleep can be a cause of weight gain; and that getting enough sleep is a fundamental part of successful weight loss. Findings show the need for ample sleep in order to lose weight, and some information even suggests that sleep deprivation increases food cravings.
Sleep and Weight Loss - Blame the Hormones
Ghrelin is a hormone that is produced in the gastrointestinal tract. It is the hormone that makes you feel hungry or stimulates your appetite. Leptin, on the other hand, is a hormone which is produced in fat cells. This hormone does the opposite - it sends signals to your brain to give you the sensation of being full or that "full" feeling.
When someone is deprived of sleep, the levels of leptin in their bodies drop and the levels of ghrelin rises. This subsequently stimulates their appetites, producing a sensation of being constantly hungry - even if they've just finished eating.
Sleeping an adequate amount of time, preferable 7-9 hours per day, is tied to successful weight loss, and also helps a person resist cravings. When a person is tired the next day from a lack of sleep, it's easy for them to seek out the fast burning, carbohydrates for a quick lift. These starches and sugars, and simple carbohydrates raise the blood sugar abnormally, and trigger the body to store fat. This subsequently can stall weight loss, and will even increase your changes to gain extra pounds of fat.
Sleep and Weight Loss - Eating a Balanced Diet
A balanced diet consists of equal amounts of proteins, fast carbohydrates (starches, breads, sugars), and complex, or slow carbohydrates (most fruits & vegetables). A good night's sleep supports better eating habits, which supports weight loss. So, a good night's sleep can both directly and indirectly affect the success rate in one's attempts to lose weight.
Sleep and Weight Loss - More than a Diet
There are many tricks for helping you get a good night's sleep including dimming the lights as bed time draws near, not exercising too close to bedtime, steering clear of all caffeine from mid-day or later, and drinking milk before bed.
Each person is different, so find what works for you. Eating balanced meals can also help the digestive track function well, which in turn produces less incidences of upset stomach or heartburn - both of which can keep you up at night.
Sleep and Weight Loss - It Requires Discipline
The relationship between successful weight loss and getting enough sleep is not only supported by scientific facts, but it's also a matter of practicality. As a sleep deprived individual tries to function, their focus can be poor, discipline can lag, and distractions can more easily sway a person's decisions, which can be a major contributing factor to a poor diet.
A sleep deprived individual will eat in a more undisciplined manner, and act more impulsively in response to an increasing appetite. A person not focusing on the discipline of eating balanced meals will consume more calories, and any progress in weight loss will go out the window. When you lack sleep, or don't sleep comfortably, or continually wake up throughout the night, it negatively affects your ability to lose weight.

.: Effective Weight Loss With Sleep



Sleep is the most underestimated condition of the body that should be prioritized because of its significance in helping you lose weight. Aside from eating healthier, hydrating your body, and engaging in regular exercise, sleeping as much as necessary is also a vital part of your way of life.
Since a person's metabolic rate is still at work during sleep, this goes to show that getting the recommended hours of sleep a day has a relation towards losing weight because of its effect on a person's behavior, hormones, as well as how their mind and body functions throughout the day.
Lack of Energy
Lack of sleep can greatly affect your energy level during a workout because the less sleep you catch the more you will feel tired and sluggish, causing you to want to skip your exercise regimen and feed your craving for energy boosting food and beverages that will only lead to consumption of excess calories. Without a good amount of sleep, your energy and willpower to workout will diminish as well as your improvement in your weight loss program.
Slow Metabolism
Sleep allows the restoration of your metabolism by letting the body recuperate from the day's tiring physical activities. Failure to give the tissues in your body to rest and be repaired can sooner or later lead to the loss of muscles. Without lean muscle mass, your body will stop burning calories at a high rate and therefore result in a slow metabolism. A sluggish metabolism prevents you from reaching your weight loss goal.
Appetite Control
Obesity is one of the effects of continuous sleep deficiency because of its great influence on your appetite-related hormones called leptin and ghrelin. People who do not get enough hours of sleep increase the quantity of ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates appetite, as a result causes constant hunger and cravings. Leptin on the other hand, is reduced which triggers the body to not have control over its appetite. Catching more z's can truly help in controlling how much and how often you eat for a better weight loss.
Getting a good night's rest should not be taken for granted in order to prevent the negative effects on your health such as lack of energy, a slow metabolism, and an uncontrollable appetite. Your health is at risk when you do not prioritize the amount of sleep necessary for your body. Successful weight loss programs thrive because of healthy eating, regular exercise, and plenty of sleep to rejuvenate the body.

.: Sleep - The Secret to Permanent Weight Loss



Is the lack of sleep making you fat? When in the midst of a weight loss journey, there are many people who may put their focus on diet and exercise. While this is not wrong, it is also not balanced. You see, there are several aspects to effectively and safely losing weight; and if you miss one of the important points, you may severely impact your overall success. In the same way you can't have a decent cake without all of the necessary ingredients; you can't have the weight loss success you want without a balanced approach.
The aspect of weight loss that we are discussing in this article is sleep. Ah... sleep, the first thing to go when life gets hectic and there is more to do than hours in the day. Sleep: that thing that "you get plenty of when you're dead". Thinking that staying up all night studying or playing has no relevance to your weight is a mistake that millions of people make on a regular basis.
Does it Really Matter? Diet books, magazines and news stories are replete with advice on getting plenty of Z's each night; but do we really need all that is touted? There is no need to jump to the other end of the spectrum and insist on sleeping 10 hours each night! Getting more sleep, if you already get 7 ½ or more hours per night, isn't going to begin a weight loss phenomenon. However, if you are one of the many who sleep less than 7-7 ½ hours a night, a little more sleep could prove to be THE factor that helps you break out of a weight loss rut.
A Closer Look The obvious need for sleep is the direct impact on energy. Clearly, when you are tired from lack of sleep, you have less energy and motivation to head outside for that run, or hit the gym for some intense training. We tend to stick with the obvious and see this impact only, missing the hidden dangers of sleep deprivation.
When there is a lack of energy, the natural physiologic response is to reach for foods that will provide the energy the body needs to operate. Thus, those who are sleep deprived run more of a risk of ingesting high carbohydrate foods; especially unhealthy ones, such as potato chips, coffee or sugary drinks. While it might seem harmless to take these foods in (they're providing energy to get to the gym, right?), the reality is that their impact on the body lingers long after the workout is finished. In the end, this habit of ingesting high carbohydrate foods to gain energy for exercise turns out to be a vicious cycle.
Sleep is not only a necessary part of rejuvenating the body; but is also highly important to the metabolism. We eat because our bodies are given signals to eat. Those signals come from hormones - two in particular. The hormones ghrelin and leptin are directly affected by sleep; and directly affect our eating patterns. Ghrelin is a hormone that tells the body "Hey! You're hungry!" Leptin, on the other hand, tells the body when to stop eating. When a person is sleep deprived, the result is an increase in the amount of ghrelin and a decrease in the amount of leptin in action. Bottom line: there is a higher craving for food and a lowered resistance to overeating. Double that with the body's need for energy and you've got a recipe for disaster!
Understanding the importance between sleep and weight loss is one thing. Doing something about it is another matter entirely. Lack of sleep may arise from simple reasons, such as not understanding how important sleep really is; or it may come from an underlying issue, such as a sleep disorder or even stress.
In order to facilitate weight loss, take the time to investigate your sleeping patterns and issues.
This list may offer a good place to start:
  • Pets are wonderful for adding joy and companionship to a home. However, allowing pets to sleep in your bed may cause enough disturbances to inhibit a good night's sleep.
  • Diet affects sleep and sleep affects diet. This is a two way street that definitely impacts weight loss success. First and foremost, it is important to eat well before bed time. While you don't want to go to bed hungry, you also don't want to hit the sheets on a full stomach. It is advisable to eat your last meal several hours before bedtime and have a small snack an hour or so before sleep.
  • Keep sleeping space quiet and comfortable. A room that is too warm can impact sleep. The ideal temperature for sleep is 20-22 degrees Celsius.
Sleep can be impacted by many different factors, and has an immense impact on a person's overall health; particularly when it comes to hormones and weight loss. Investigating causes of sleeplessness pays huge dividends on many levels, and may be the key to improving your weight loss efforts.

.: Sleep and the Effect on Weight Loss

By 


We talk about our weight all the time. We try new food plans, we take up different exercise programs and we say positive affirmations until we are blue in the face. We ask our doctors for help and they tell us to try harder, eat less and exercise even more. When was the last time you were asked how well you sleep? Our quality of sleep affects our weight more than we can ever imagine.
Why You Need to Get 7-8 Hours
We run on less and less sleep so we can get more done and connect to more people. This lack of sleep has a harsh affect on our brain. It will not only effect how we make decisions, deal with emotions and are able to concentrate but it will also affect our appetite. Sleep deprivation causes us to make rash decisions. This can lead to more volatile emotions and negative emotions like stress and anger. This leads to stress eating. It can also lead to eating foods that are high in fat, sugar or salt.
Sleep deprivation also increases the feelings of hunger. People who are sleep deprived will eat more frequently to help keep them awake. Again the foods they choose tend to be high in fat, salt and sugar. This just makes it harder to stay on your choice of food plans.
Sleep Disorders Affect Your Weight
Sleep apnea has been associated with many health problems but the biggest problem where your weight is concerned is the effect it has on your hormones. In particular you Cortisol levels tend to be elevated and stay elevated throughout the night. The stress response every time you stop breathing or have difficulty breathing as obvious by snoring your body responds with the fight or flight reflex and Cortisol is produced and stays elevated High Cortisol levels keep you from being able to lose weight.
Treating sleep apnea and snoring requires you to talk to your doctor about the problems you are having sleeping. You will want to explain all your symptoms not just that you are having difficulty sleeping. People with sleep apnea do not always snore so do not assume that you do not have sleep apnea if you do not snore.
There are many doctors who will say "well, if you lose weight you will not have sleep apnea and snoring" but in order for you to be successful with the weight loss you really need to treat this problem. Your body does not like to be stressed and if you are changing your food and your exercise but you are still stressing your body every night you will not be successful at losing weight. You need to be your best advocate.
Do Not Underestimate the Small Stuff
Weight loss is a challenge under the best circumstances. There are little things you can do to help you to make the weight loss journey a little easier. Sleep is one of the biggest influences that require very little specific work. Making sure you sleep 7-8 hours a day and that the sleep quality are two of the little changes you can do that will help you achieve your goal.
Sleep is as important to health as healthy eating and exercise only easier. Sometimes it takes a sleep coach to help you sort through what you need to change to achieve a good night sleep.

.: The Importance of Sleep in Weight Loss



If you are seeking to lose a few pounds, you may or may not have heard about how important it is to get enough sleep. This article will provide the specific reasons why sleep is important in trying to lose weight and how it will aid you in your weight-loss endeavor.
Sleep helps the body with metabolism. Metabolism is the rate at which food is taken in, processed, and digested by the body. People with slow metabolisms and fast metabolisms can eat the same amount of food and achieve different results. Sleeping regularly aids the body in metabolizing food by making it easier for the body to store energy broken down from food.
Sleeping helps keep insulin levels down. You need not be a diabetic to understand the importance of healthy insulin levels- you need only be seeking to lose weight. Healthy insulin levels help the body break down sugars, thus preventing them from being stored as excess fats.
Sleep also helps keep leptin levels normal. Leptin plays a key role on energy expenditure, and helps keep the body regular in terms of hormonal balance and in terms of levels of exhaustion. Like many neurological chemicals, it important to have a healthy balance of leptin.
Sleep also prevents insulin resistance, which is important in preventing diabetes and other blood-glucose disorders. Insulin resistance leads to a storage of sugars as body fat. By preventing insulin resistance, you prevent the aggregation of excess sugars in the body as fat.
Sleeping regularly helps maintain a healthy blood pressure. This is important, because the movement of the blood and other circulation-related functions help the body filter out waste.
Sleeping regularly also helps to keep the risk of heart disease low, because it lowers the heart rate and allows the body to repair itself.
Sleep helps give the brain a chance to relax, reboot, and reprogram. This is important, especially in reducing stress. It also helps improve mood, and thus makes it easier to have a positive outlook on life, physical activity, and otherwise restrictive diets.
Sleep helps the body replenish its energy store, thus lowering cravings for carbohydrates-- a prime energy source. By lowering carbohydrate cravings, you lessen the chances of having excess carbs stored in the body.
Sleep also slows the rate of fat storage. This is particularly important in losing weight, as fat storage is particularly undesirable. Additionally, by lowering the rate of fat storage, the rate of waste removal increases, and the body benefits through the detoxification process.
Sleep is very important in overall health, not just weight loss. Healthy sleeping patterns help the body to perform at peak physical condition and therefore helps you perform at your best in any and all aspects, including cognitively, athletically, socially, et cetera.
It is imperative that you get enough sleep, both during and not during weight loss periods. Using the advice in this article will aid you in deciding when to go to sleep, particularly during weight-loss periods. Choosing to sleep over not sleeping is an important decision but may be the one that looses you the most weight.

.: Sleep And Weight Loss - Sleep Is An Essential Part



Sleep and weight loss are inseparable companions. When you skimp on your sleep, you can't hope to lose weight in a healthy way. Sleep is an essential part of your health. If you don't sleep well or long enough, this can be one reason you can't lose weight or can't keep it off.
In our crazy, frantic world, where production rules and your earning capacity for your company is king, you may not be getting enough sleep to be healthy.
Working long hours or not having time to unwind after a busy day can be a cause of restless nights. Being anxious about how you are performing at world, or if you are facing being out of work, can lead to anxiety. Anxiety is a great sleep depriver.
As a rough estimate, most people need around eight hours of sleep a night. However, this varies with each individual. It's also more a question of the quality of the sleep, than the length of time you sleep. Taking sleeping pills, may mean you are getting some sleep, but they do not give you quality sleep. It is common to feel drugged or tired after taking them.
And it can be far more beneficial to have two shorter sleeps in a day, than one long one. The Mediterranean idea of an afternoon siesta and a shorter night sleep can be far healthier, wherever you are in the world. Sadly, the current work based world doesn't allow for this, outside the Mediterranean area.
Sleep is the time when you recharge your batteries. It is absolutely essential for your health. Sleep and weight loss are partners, just as sleep and health are.
Education facilities realise that children and adults cannot focus for more than around an hour (much less in reality) at any one time. They allow for short breaks every hour, so that the student can rest their eyes and their concentration, and go into the next session revived.
You should do the same at work if you job requirers a lot of focus and concentration, particularly looking at a computer screen. These breaks are highly beneficial. It means you don't keep piling up the work and the anxiety. Quality sleep at night is more likely to occur.
After work, many people are just as frantic to get their family and household jobs done. This means they are still running on supercharge when it comes to bedtime. It is impossible to go to sleep when you are highly charged, when you are still revving from all your activity.
Let some of the less important parts of your day fall by the wayside. The housework will still be there tomorrow.
By combining things you need to do, you can be more time efficient. For example, time with your children is important for you both. By getting them to help in the meal preparation gives you the opportunity of quality time together, teaches them an essential skill of life and gets their creative juices working.
Relaxing and unwinding before bedtime will ensure you have quality sleep. Don't partake in activities which require a lot of concentration before bedtime. It's probably better not to run a marathon at this time either.
Make sure you consider sleep and weight loss as partners in your efforts to keep your body trim and healthy.

.: Number 1 Most Important Weight Loss Strategy



After years of battling weight issues personally and professionally there is one very important strategy that needs to be addressed. Long-term success will be achieved when and only when you understand and master this strategy.
In my practice when counseling weight issues I always come back to treating the mental and emotional aspect of weight. This includes weight loss, weight gain, weight maintenance and eating disorders. There is a reflex from your brain to your hand to your mouth.
The basics of balanced healthy nutrition are a science that can be taught. A Registered Dietitian has a four year Bachelor of Science degree, one year internship and then is qualified to sit for the national exam. The last step qualifies you to be state licensed to practice. For the lay person, knowing your own metabolism is the beginning. Next would be the ability to identify food groups and individual portions. There are other aspects as we go along but the very first issue is always "Who are you"? What have you tried before? How successful were you in achieving that goal? I can assume that you were unsuccessful in the long term and that is why you are reading this article. What do you want to do now? Are you ready to do the work required for long-term success? The answers to these questions are very telling.
In my experience once trust is established the next issue is learning who is sitting in front of me. Light bulbs usually go off because we all have messages that we send to ourselves. Many people are unaware until we start to examine thoughts and what we think of as habits. The subconscious is awesome. Memories come back and after true introspection a different conclusion usually occurs. There are many personas living in the subconscious. The outside environment where they must navigate determines which persona takes over.
Why do you think you might overeat? Is there awareness that you are really hungry and your body is looking for fuel or is a social situation where everyone is eating and food is abundant and available determining your hunger?
Were you told to finish every morsel of food on your plate when you were growing up?
Did you experience unpleasant situations in your childhood?
Are your parents healthy in their lifestyle? What diseases are in your family tree? Can you relate health issues and lifestyles to these disease states?
When you interact with strangers are you worrying about their assessment of you instead of conversing with someone new and learning if you have anything in common with them?
These are some common experiences that my patients have recognized and with my help have developed strategies to change the messages they used to receive that were triggers for among other things, binging, mindless eating, or emotional comfort. We either change the messages, or change the meaning of the messages and triggers into positive action thought processes.
It is a wonderful powerful transformation that has enabled many people overcome obesity or eating disorders.
This is a new year and the best advice I can give is taking care of this first. Learning to take care of you starts with this work. It is not easy and everyone has a different calendar of events to sort through. Once you have delved into your subconscious and understand what messages you were receiving and what triggers they arose, then you can be free to create a healthy plan to reach whatever goal you choose. The best news is this strategy and others are for the rest of your life and you can be a force within your own circle to help others.

.: Your Successful Weight Loss Strategy

By 


The method you must adopt in order to lose weight is pretty straightforward: you must exercise regularly and eat less food. But in reality, it can prove to be rather difficult.
Losing weight over time is not impossible, but it will require a lot of time and dedication. Having your own weight loss strategy is very important to your success. Here are just a few things that should make up your own weight loss strategy.
1. Eat your breakfast. This way you will not feel hungry as the day goes on, which will prevent you from eating more than you really should.
2. Ensure that your refrigerator is filled up with healthy snacks and goods, and limit the amount of snacks that are high in salt and fat, such as cookies and crisps.
3. Eat as much fibre as you can. You should also consider eating vegetables, fruits and whole grains. The fibre content that exists in these foods will ensure that you are filled up, putting you off eating any unhealthy foods.
4. Ensure that you do not lose your way during the weekends. There are many people out there that will devise their own diet plan and follow it during the weekdays, but fall back by eating more unhealthy foods during the weekends. The sad part about it is that you could potentially regain all of the weight that you lost during the weekdays.
5. Eat the right portion of food. Your perception of what you feel is a suitable serving size and what truly is suitable, can differ somewhat. As a result, it's in your best interest to accurately measure all the food that you eat, that way you can be sure that you are only consuming healthy portions of food.
6. Creating your own lifestyle goals instead of weight loss goals. If you commit to eating only those foods that are good for you, then you will lose weight. Constantly monitoring your weight could potentially discourage you, making you want to give up.
7. Whenever you are on a road trip, be sure to take healthy snacks with you. Grab some bananas, granola bars, apples and various other fruits, to prevent you from wanting to eat something that is bad for you while on your trip.
8. Make sure that you don't deny your body the foods that you love to eat. If you are a chocolate lover, then you should continue eating chocolate, just cut down on your intake by eating smaller portions.
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.: Easy Weight Loss Strategy - 3 Ways To Take Things You ALREADY Do And Lose Weight Faster!



Looking for an easy weight loss strategy that will speed up your weight loss goals faster than ever? Well, if you would take out your credit card and impulsively spend $79.95, then for a limited time only, you could get my special super secret diet pills and lose all the weight you want in 2 days (sorry... no money back guarantee)! JUST KIDDING!
In all seriousness, there is a simple strategy to help you speed up your goals to lose weight quicker with your diet and exercise program. This 3 step strategy can be applied as soon as TODAY! Take some time out of your day and read on to learn more!
First Things First...
This strategy I'm about to talk about is not a stand alone method for losing weight. It is a complimentary method designed to help speed up the process (NATURALLY) of losing weight quicker. Having said that, if you are looking for an effective diet and fitness strategy, then I highly recommend going on a 100% all natural diet (which means no fad dieting nonsense), and for fitness, I recommend you focus on doing things that burn fat (such as short duration high intensity cardio and DEFINITELY make sure you build lean muscle). Doing both is what caused me to get leaner, lighter (52 pounds light to be exact), and healthier in 8 weeks... and my results have been permanent!
Okay, now here is that simple strategy you can do to speed up your goals...
1.) Do You Drink Water? You do? Awesome! Otherwise you probably wouldn't be reading this article right now! If you are already drinking water, and you are trying to lose weight, then you can take what you are doing here and cause pounds to disappear in no time. How you ask? Simple. Increase your water intake to about 1/2 your body-weight in ounces (and more if you do high intensity sweat busting workouts) of water each day... AND... decrease your salt intake. Doing both of those things together will cause water weight to drop off your body like crazy! Oh, and by the way, it's actually vital you do this step anyway since it is a crucial part of getting healthier and more fit.
2.) Do You Go To Sleep? You do? Great! Otherwise you are probably having a delusion right now reading this article thinking that it is saying something completely different than what it is!
Many people don't realize that getting more sleep will do amazing things for the body in terms of not just having more energy throughout the day and protecting the health of your brain, but also for losing weight. The way getting more sleep plays a role in losing weight is that you will for one burn more calories during the night (up to 500 calories just from sleeping!) and secondly, getting more sleep prevents you from having stronger hunger pangs throughout the day!
3.) Do You Watch T.V.? You do? Well, if you want to turn your leisure activity into something productive, then what I recommend you do is while you are watching T.V., do a quick bodyweight exercise routine (such as push-ups, crunches, jumping jacks, running in place, mountain climbers, lunges, etc.) during every commercial break! You could literally burn off 300 or more calories during an episode of NCIS!
4.) BONUS TIP - As I mentioned above, I went on a natural diet program. Now, the diet I went on worked extremely well because of three things. One, it is 100% natural. Two, it is very easy to stick to. And three, this diet will skyrocket your metabolism to the maximum peak. So, if you are looking for an effective diet, I highly recommend you look for a program that will boost your metabolism 100% naturally with food. Your results will be quicker, consistent, AMAZING, and permanent.
Are you ready to EASILY Melt Away Fat FAST and permanently lose up to 6 pounds of fat every week? Then I highly recommend the "calorie shifting diet" from Fat Loss 4 Idiots...

.: New Effective Weight Loss Strategy



When you're dying for a sweet treat... a salty snack... or another treasured indulgence, there's a new weight loss strategy you might try to keep from giving in. Postponing it. Those who do end up finding that the snack they were craving is actually less desirable according some experts.
Often, when you get a craving you think you have two choices - give in or resist. If you give in, you end up feeling guilty. If you manage to resist, you feel deprived and may well over-indulge the next time. The third option researchers propose is to tell yourself, "I can eat it later."
Postponing the indulgence gives your mind a chance to cool down, and acts to remove you from a conflict mode before you either feel guilty for giving in, or deprived for not.
Postponing indulgences also appears to have you eating less of the particular food over the following week according to the latest research. The key is to put off eating the desired food until some vague future time. This will help the cravings for the food go down. If you were to give a specific time, you'll likely find yourself watching the clock... obsessing over the treat that's been denied you.
To understand more about postponing, researchers got 99 volunteers to view clips of films and put a bowl in candies within reach of each subject. The first group was told to eat the candy if they liked, another group was instructed not to have the candy, and a third was directed not to eat them, but they could have the candies later on.
After watching the clips, the researchers asked the subjects questions not related to the clips, to take their mind off the study. All the subjects were then told they could then eat the candy, but were unaware that the amount they ate was going to be measured.
As you might expect, those told not to have the candy during the film clips ate the most - a full 1/3 of an ounce. Those who ate freely or postponed eating both consumed half as much as the group not allowed to eat... with the postpone group consuming just a bit less than those who had eaten freely.
What's more, those who were in the postponing group only had chocolate candy once during the following week. Those who ate freely during the screening had chocolate three times that next week, and the ones told not to touch the candy at all had chocolate over 4 times during the following week.
The next step for the team was to see if the same results came when allowing subjects to choose the eating strategy. So they gave just over 100 high school students (average age 15) a portion of chips and either randomly assigned an eating plan or allowed the subjects to choose the one they wanted.
Once again, the group who postponed the snack ate the least, whether they were originally assigned to this group or chose to belong to it on their own. And they ate fewer chips over the following week as well. Postponers had chips 2.4 times that week, while those who ate freely had chips nearly 4 times; the participants instructed not to eat the chips went on to have them over four times in the week following the experiment.
The findings have yet to be reviewed by research peers, however the study does point out the amount of control we all have over what we eat... a plus when it comes to losing weight.

.: How To Follow A Weight Loss Strategy Based On Cognitive Therapy



When eating, focus on enjoying the food nourishment as slowly as possible.
This just needs concentration. But it is often not that simple. You were probably told by your loving parents or grandparents to chew your food slowly with your mouth closed. They were so right. Obviously! But think about how you eat now. Do you load your fork with another mouthful, before you have chewed and swallowed the current mouthful? Stop it. Wait. Concentrate. Think about what you are tasting and chewing. Don't read the newspaper or your emails! Don't watch TV. Honestly, this is really important. Just focus on the nourishment. And do not put the next mouthful even onto your fork or spoon, until you have swallowed what you are eating now. Wait to think about the nourishment that you have just tasted. Then have a glass of water. Then put the next mouthful onto your fork or spoon. You will have to concentrate hard. But why should food be boring?
You will certainly be amazed at two things:
1. How much LESS that you need to consume, to feel full
2. How harmful fatty foods then really start to taste distinctly unhealthy. This can happen immediately, so you feel guilty about consuming any more of them
Work at this rule. Then apply it to every meal - and soon a fist-sized portion of food will become entirely adequate. Apply it to snacks too. One nut at a time. One small portion of that chocolate bar at a time. Most bars have small squares. So eat that one square at a time - and focus on ENJOYING it. Very slowly. Make sure you have that sip of water, fresh fruit juice or fruit or fresh mint tea between EVERY mouthful. Master this rule and then you are well on your way to your weight loss goals.
Keep a Food Diary and measure your weight loss just once each week, when you get up on Monday mornings. This is so important. In our view, successful weight loss is:
50% strategy
10% awareness
20% patience
20% just enjoying it!
So, to track your weight loss target loss of 0.5 kilo or one imperial lb per week, write down your progress. We don't want to encourage starving yourself and training for hours through a weekend, to stay on track. In fact you'll then break a few other rules. But seriously, your weight can fluctuate all through the week depending on your hydration, activity, calorie intake, etc. So sticking to a Monday morning weigh-in keeps a consistent measurement. Also, remember to praise yourself and celebrate, if you have lost that bit more. This could be treating your self to something. Anything. Except alcohol. That will just make the weight all go back. Faster than you can say Cabernet Sauvignon.
Also, a daily food diary really makes you aware of how you are still eating a lot of wrong foods. But don't beat yourself up too much. Just cut back on harmful fats or bad carbs through the following week. And when you do feel that you've binged, also write down what you were thinking. Remember how you felt, both before and after the binge or treat. Then next time you feel like that second or third biscuit or chocolate bar, try to focus on the thoughts that you had, AFTER you let things slip the last time. Really focus on this and you will develop a stronger mindset. Read your food diary when you wake up too. Focus your thoughts on how you will feel when you beat that standard time for a marathon or sportive, Focus on when you win an uphill cycling or running sprint against your club-mates, or are first up your toughest killer hill climb or training test.
Eat with the end result in mind. Remember, you are in control.
Alan Taylor competed at Elite levels and won several cycling road and track races in the UK and Italy. He is now a successful international business consultant and one of the founders of Elite Cycling Fitness. In 2011, he lost 18 kilos in 8 months, with this strategy and other techniques. You can get much more detail on this article for a limited period in a free report on http://www.elitecyclingfitness.com.

.: Choosing The Best Personal Weight Loss Strategy



When we decide to embark on a weight loss regime, we need to take time to select the ideal personal strategy. We are all different, and many of us may have personal requirements and preferences that would make certain diets unacceptable. When we are choosing the best weight loss strategies, we should take these points into consideration:
- How much overweight are we?
If we only need to lose 10 pounds or less, then we may need to make fewer lifestyle changes. Perhaps we already employ a daily exercise regime, and follow a fairly balanced, healthy diet, but we may need to make a few slight adaptations, adjustments and review some of our choices and decisions.
If we have lots of weight to lose, the best personal weight loss strategies will need to be much more structured. Perhaps the best approach would be to have a programme that will guide us through the various healthy lifestyle changes such as overhauling our diet, beginning an exercise regime, and stress and comfort eating management.
- Is available spare time a problem?
Selecting the best personal weight loss strategy will also depend on how hectic and busy our lifestyle is at the present time. Above all, we are going to have to devote some of our time to shedding those unwanted pounds. This may prove more challenging to those of us that have very little available free time than it is for those who have lots of time to prepare healthy nutritious meals and have time to workout for a minimum of 30 minutes each day.
If our days are normally taken over by a rigid timetable of appointments, obligations and responsibilities that we rarely have time for ourselves, we are going to have to seriously review and reorganise our time. There are weight loss programmes that do not require a lot of time, and perhaps this would be a better option than following a time-consuming complicated plan. Even following the simplest of weight loss plans will require us to devote a certain amount of time to it.
- Do we have personal challenges?
Finally, we should consider any personal challenges we may have. Perhaps we have a sweet tooth, detest exercise, or enjoy socializing which involves dining out and drinking alcohol? When we are looking for our own personal weight loss strategy, we need to select the best programme that will help us to overcome these challenges. Maybe we will not be able to find a programme which deals with all our issues, but we may find one which covers some of the main problems, and we can deal with the more minor ones in our own way.
There are numerous ways to shed those unwanted pounds, and there are lots of diets and weight loss programmes for us to try. We can even combine different components of various diets and exercise regimes to create our own personal plan. We need to structure a personal weight loss strategy that is ideal for us in terms of how much time we have available, our personal challenges, our personal choices and our personal goals.
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.: Using Biking As A Great Weight Loss Strategy



It is quite the challenge to lose weight for many people, but you can make it easier on yourself. Find something you like to do as far as your exercise is concerned, and if that is biking, then you have found the right article. Continue reading to learn how you can use your bike as a great weight loss strategy.
You must consider the size of the bike that you need and the style as well. What type of bike do you want? Make sure above everything else that you get the right size bike for your needs. You don't want a bike that is too small especially. Take a look at them online or in person to get a better idea of the size that you need.
You need the right shoes to wear too if you don't have any already. If you have the money, go ahead and buy yourself a new pair to show your dedication anyway. It is a great thing for yourself that you're about to do. Get the right shoes for your needs, and make sure they're comfortable as well. Of course, they have to be the right shoes for biking, so don't buy anything off topic.
When you're planning a nice long ride, make sure you take water and low-fat snacks with you or a sports drink. Think of it like a picnic, and make sure the stuff you pack is healthy. You can stop at the half-way point in your ride and have a little picnic, or you can drink your water and eat whatever snack you pick along the way. Make sure you have some way to carry it with you easily. This means you will want to make sure that either your bike has a storage place or holder for these or you can put them on your person somehow. A backpack is always a good thing to have.
You also need a first-aid kit on your person, so it's probably a good idea that you have a backpack as mentioned earlier if you don't have compartments for things on your bike. This backpack can contain your food and water as well as your first-aid kit. This will ensure that you have the supplies that you need.
You also need to have things to fix your tire in case something happens. Therefore, it's a good idea to have this stuff in your backpack as well. You can also get extra padding to put in your seat, and this will make it comfortable for you to ride longer. You also need to know where you're going so that you don't get lost.
When trying to lose weight, it's important that you do something you like to do for exercise. Make sure you pick and choose a few different activities, and try looking for something new. Biking makes a great exercise routine, and you should remember what you've read to ensure that you have the best biking experience.