Your Weight Team

Sleep is the time your body uses to rest and recover from daytime activities; however it has been said that many people have problems when it comes to sleeping. Sleep can be disturbed by physical complaints such as chronic pain, but it can also be affected by non-physical matters ranging from the death of a spouse to the anticipation of a job interview. Various drugs are used to induce sleep, but non-drug approaches such as sleep hygiene may be just as effective and last longer.

Sleep can be difficult in some medical conditions, for example, chronic pain, arthritis, respiratory disorders such as bronchitis, emphysema, asthma or even a cold. Difficulty falling asleep is usually due to anxiety. Depression can cause early morning wakening or prolonged, but less restful sleep. I remember when I was going through my depression and anxiety, all I ever wanted to do was sleep, but I never felt completely rested any of those times because sleep was sporatic. Treating the underlying condition can lead to better sleep. Aging affects sleep patterns. Older people tend to fall asleep normally, but awaken early and cannot fall back asleep again.
Sleep loss tends to increase hunger and affects the body’s metabolism making it difficult to maintain weight loss or lose weight.

A hormone called cortisol which controls appetite has been shown to be affected by sleep loss. This causes you to still feel hungry despite the fact that you have consumed an adequate amount of food. Not only does quanity of sleep affect weight, loss of sleep quality can also affect your weight. An example of this is seen in the fact that decreased amounts of restorative deep or slow-wave sleep have been associated with significantly reduced levels of growth hormone. Growth hormone is a protein that helps the body regulate the proportions of fat and muscle in adults.

Here are a few tips that can help you.
1. Don’t eat right before bed, but make sure you’ve eaten a good dinner so you don’t go to bed hungry.
2. Regular exercise is key to weight loss; however, make sure you exercise at least three hours before you go to bed.
3. Find a relaxing bedtime routine and stick with it–it could be something as simple as a warm bath or reading a book (a really boring book such as a how-to manual is almost guaranteed to put you to sleep fast).
4. Caffeine, cigarettes, and alcoholic beverages don’t help you sleep, in fact they may actually make sleep impossible, so avoid these substances late in the afternoon and evening.
5. Don’t take a daytime nap if you have trouble sleeping at night.
6. Make your bedroom a pleasant place for sleeping. Set your thermostat to a temperature you find comfortable and make your room as dark and quiet as possible.
7. If you have been trying to sleep for 30 minutes and are still awake, get out of bed. Go in another room and do something relaxing until you feel like you are sleepy enough to go to sleep.

If you’ve caused metabolic damage as a result of following starvation diets or losing weight too rapidly in the past, it can be extremely difficult to achieve any further fat loss at all. The good news is, metabolic damage can be repaired. All it takes is the right combination of metabolism stimulating exercise and metabolism stimulating nutrition, all done consistently over time.

The irony is that most of the diet programs that claim to help you get rid of excess weight, only end up making it harder for you in the long run because they use harsh metabolism-decreasing diets and not enough exercise.

It may take a little longer if you have really messed things up with severe starvation dieting in the past, especially if you’ve lost a lot of lean body mass, but it is never hopeless. Anyone can increase their metabolism. This is something that I am personally trying to repair because when I started college I used to put my body into starvation a lot to lose weight. I did manage to lose 20-30 pounds by doing this, but I was really unhealthy and then gained more of it back!!

What’s most important for upping your metabolism is consistancy in applying the right nutrition and training principles every single day. Things like this would include: Meal frequency: eat 5-6 small meals per day. Meal timing: eat approximately every 3 hours, with a substantial breakfast and a substantial post workout meal. Sufficient Caloric Intake: maintain a small calorie deficit and avoid starvation-level diets (suggested safe levels for fat loss: 2100-2500 calories per day for men, 1400-1800 calories per day for women). Food choices: Select natural, unprocessed foods with high thermic effect (lean proteins like chicken, turkey, egg whites and fish are highly thermic, as are all green vegetables, salad vegetables). Cardio training: Push up the intensity a bit if you really want to get a metabolic boost. Walking and low intensity cardio is fine, but higher intensity is more metabolism-stimulating. Weight training: The basic exercises that include the largest muscle groups or even call into play the entire body as a unit will have a much greater metabolism stimulating effect than isolation exercises.

Consistency is the key. If you stop and start, or skip meals and workouts often, you will not even get off the ground. Once you get your metabolic engine running, you’ve got to keep feeding it fuel or the fire will die down. Picture an old fashioned wood burning stove…Imagine you’re in a cabin up in the mountains in the winter. It’s cold in there and you want to keep the cabin warm. Can you achieve this by feeding the fire once or twice per day? Nope. Not enough fuel to burn, so not much heat is generated. What if you just toss an entire pile of wood in the stove all at once? Will that work? Nope. Lots of fuel, but can’t all be used at once… it just smothers the fire and the excess just sits there.

Your goal is to get your metabolism burning hot and keep it burning and this cannot be achieved by missing meals, missing workouts or with sporadic, infrequent training. Trying to starve the fat with crash diets is what causes the metabolic damage in the first place!

Keep all these things in mind when you are on a weight loss program. I am currently in the process of building up and repairing my own metabolism caused by years of putting my body into starvation and then fueling myself with all the wrongs foods that contained grease and fat. It takes time, so you just have to be patient and keep working at it!

Every action we take starts with a mental decision. We did not just accidentally find ourselves overweight one day. We have each made a series of little decisions over the years about what to put into our bodies, what activities to participate in, etc. We let ourselves lose control of our own health and become victims of things that happened to us.

For many of us these food decisions come from emotional responses to stressors in life. When we have a bad or stressful day, we find food comforting. Not just any foods -comfort foods full of sugars and fats. I have never gone to the fridge and stuffed my face full of carrots while I cried.

Sometimes people overeat merely because we are bored and have nothing better to do but eat and participate in a sedentary activity like watching television. Often if unhealthy foods are sitting around we will eat them because they are there, require very little preparation, and taste good. Sometimes people eat unhealthy foods at parties to fit in or they feel obligated to please a friend/host by trying a food. Perhaps you ate unhealthy foods because you never realized how bad for you they are.

Knowledge is power. Knowledge about ourselves and our own behavior is invaluable and really is up to you to determine. While you might relate to someone else’s story, you must face the reasons you let yourself eat unhealthy foods. Whatever the reason, or reasons, we gain weight -they ultimately stem from a mental decision. Unfortunately even if you start eating right/exercising you are quite likely to gain all that weight back. Why? Does it have to be a futile cycle? No, but you have to deal with the reasons you became overweight in the first place. Otherwise, you will find yourself flopping between dieting and binging in a very unhealthy cycle that is tough on your body and tougher on your mind and confidence.

Take a notebook out and write down any and all reasons/times you head to the kitchen. Once you identify why you are eating in excess, you have the power to consciously choose something different for yourself. For example, if you know you eat when sad/upset maybe you can find a physical release for your emotions in a game of tennis against a backboard or sort your feelings out on a bike ride or jogging trip. Often we indirectly made unhealthy decisions, almost unknowingly. But now it’s time to gain knowledge about yourself -and this knowledge will arm to you defend yourself from those destructive behaviors in favor of a healthier alternative.

When I am sad and upset, I don’t go near the fridge for fear that once I get started eating I’ll never stop until I feel sick. And, then I still have to deal with whatever made me sad in the first place as well as all those calories I just consumed. I don’t need to add to the problems in my life. We all say we are not on a diet, instead we have found a new way of life. Part of that new life must be managing boredom/emotions/etc and taking control of your eating decisions. You must stop the cycle in your eating habits and choose what is best for your health. Winning the mental struggle is half the battle. A strong mind creates a strong resolve when it comes to diet and a determination to exercise. Get your mind on your side, and you can achieve anything you choose.

Eating out is a downfall for many of us who are trying to lose weight. We fall victim to the high-calorie loaded menu options that just sound so good, just this once won’t hurt, and we leave feeling not so proud of our last meal. There are several small things you can do to help restaurant experiences be less disasterous.

First, drink plenty of water at the restaurant. They’ll refill the glass for you -just chug down the water. Drinking water will help you feel fuller faster, and you’ll probably be too full to order dessert.

Remember, eating out is about the company and quality time spent, not the food. Focus on quality conversation, not maximizing your calories. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT even look at “what you used to always get” at this particular restaurant. It is nearly impossible that you previously ate something healthy here. Explore the menu anew, but know that your old favorite dish is off-limits and just pretend it does not exist. If you don’t see something acceptable, ask them to change it. Little changes like “no cheese” or grilled chicken, not breaded, dressing on the side, or asking for veggies instead of fries or bread will really lessen the calories without really lessening the taste of the meal. It’s your food -order it the way you want it.

If you’re at a restaurant that generally serves appetizers of free bread or chips and salsa, ask them to take it away from you. Not only will you reach for them out of habit, but it will be much easier to resist if it’s just nowhere near you in the first place. Your waiter will want a tip and not mind little things like not having to refill your bread or chip basket.

When it comes to desserts, see if anyone will split it with you. If you must order a dessert, keep the portion size reasonable. Often, “just a taste” is sufficient. If you can’t have a bite of someone elses, do like the biggest loser has shown in the past and pour salt on the remaining dessert immediately. It’s better to waste it than have to run it off later. If you can though, try ordering a hot tea or coffee so you’re still included in friends having dessert but without the calories. Remember, it’s not about the food it is about the friends.

If at all possible, know the menu before you go to a restaurant. This can be really useful in choosing a restaurant to begin with, and additionally in making healthy choices once there. Really look at the ingredients of what you order too. Often just ordering a salad will not really be sticking to any diet. Many salads are covered in oils, contain breaded fried chicken, cheese, nuts, and other high-calories items that you may as well have chosen to order something else. If the ingredients aren’t well-explained, ask your waiter about how it is prepared. It’s their job to know and give you that information. This can help you avoid ordering veggies smothered in cheese or a burrito drowned in sour cream on accident.

Restaurants are daunting to dieters, but they can be both enjoyable and healthy if you pay close attention to details, come prepared, and ask for things how you want them. Remember, enjoy the company the most!