Fast Weight Loss Through Sleeping

When you think of how to lose weight fast you think of cutting down calories, trying the latest diet program (or at least being more careful about what you eat), fitting in 30-45 minutes of exercise each day and perhaps even trying to get yourself in better mental shape by using yoga or meditation.

Yes, these are certainly valid tips to lose weight, but there is another breakthrough that is under careful study these days – and I bet you are going to like this one!

What do you think of sleep as an effective weight loss technique?

Here’s how it works.

There are at least 3 reasons why sleep helps in safe weight loss:

1. You actually do burn calories when you sleep. That’s right, most people (including me) had thought that you don’t really burn any significant calories during sleep.  Depending on your current weight, sex and metabolism you can expect to burn anywhere between 500 up to 700 calories for a typical 8-hour night’s sleep.  As an aside, throw in sex before heading to sleep and you can add another 100 or so calories to that total…guys, there’s some ammunition you can use with your significant other.

So yes, when someone asks you how to lose weight fast, you can reference getting a good night’s sleep as part of your overall weight loss plan.

2. When you sleep your body’s metabolism slows, it goes into “regeneration and healing” mode and you do not intake food.  So, while your body burns calories, it does so with a metabolism that takes less energy and of course, you don’t eat while you are sleeping. In short, your body is more efficient while you sleep.  If you are only getting 6.5 hours each night (or less) or if you are variable in your sleeping patterns then you are not operating as efficiently from a weight loss perspective as you could be.

3. There is enough research linking eating habits, weight loss and our ability to breakdown food leading to more efficient digestion to stress management that we take this as a given – there is a link between how to lose weight fast and managing stress in our lives.  There is also a very strong link between getting 7.5-8-hours of consistent, quality, deep REM sleep and stress management.

In short, if you want to give yourself the best opportunity for weight control and healthy weight loss, then improving your sleep habits will improve your ability to manage stress (along with exercises such as yoga and meditation) leading ultimately to both a physiological and emotional improvement in your ability to deal with the challenges you face each day in your life.

You know the feeling well, you haven’t had good sleep for a few nights and suddenly everything is blown out of proportion, you can’t seem to control your emotions, you are flipping out of the littlest things – and in many cases, that leads to overeating, under-exercising and poor digestion which results in weight gain.

So now when someone asks how to lose weight fast, we know that nutrition, exercise, life balance AND sleeping are all factors that we can employ to help us finally win the battle of the bulge!

I had a debate with my wife last evening where she suggested that seeing her mother substitute a plate full of vegetables for her typical large meat portion and seeing her heap a quarter cup of olive oil on top was just as bad as seeing her over gorge on meats and starches. 

My take was that olive oil was a good substitute for vegetable oils and the animal fat found in meat — even if she was going a little heavy on the olive oil.

I have yet to come across a study that does not tout the benefits of olive oil, but recent research I came across while studying The Health Sanctuary seems to support the notion that olive oil and vegetables together can not only drastically improve your weight loss goals, it can make you live longer.

Perhaps more than anything else as we age we become more open to the possibilities of “the fountain of youth” or anything that buys us a year or two onto what is quickly approach the last half or last portion of our time here on earth.

These are things I never paid much attention to when I was in my 20’s or 30’s, but start to think about as I enter my 40’s.

Certainly weight loss becomes a big issue as it gets easier and easier to pack on the pounds and harder and harder to take that weight off. 

Now, it seems that studies of Greeks spanning nearly 10-years have proven that extra helpings of vegetables combined with olive oil is the ticket to longevity – at least in their study.  Even more interesting was the fact that just leaving meat out of your diet was not enough – it had to be more vegetables and more olive oil to really make the difference.

So, back to my mother in law.  If olive oil is something that helps her add more vegetables and less meat to her diet, then according to this study, she certainly could be heading for a longer, healthier and more fulfilling life. 

Get the latest weight loss and health tips and articles over at the Health Sanctuary…lose weight and live longer.

While I’m not a strict vegetarian, you certainly could say I have cut back nearly 90% on my intake of red meats over the last few years.  It’s not only for health concerns, I have to say that after cutting back for a few weeks, I felt better overall and wanted to keep feeling that way.

A recent study I saw over at Health Body Sanctuary titled “Vegetarian Diet Weak Bones” argued that there was recent research on a the impact of a strictly vegetarian diet on bone density.   I have to say, the results hardly seemed overwhelming – the writer admitting the results weren’t even scientifically significant – but there was some evidence that you may be at risk of suffering bone loss if you are following a strictly vegen diet.

The answer is to augment your diet with calcium from either calcium rich vegetables or substituting some eggs, cheese or other dairy if you are open to that as part of your diet.

For me, well, not being a strict vegetarian and definitely allowing some dairly in my diet – looks like I don’t have anything to worry about – at least in the bone density department.

For all of the latest health and wellness information see The Health Sanctuary and stay healthy. 

I’m not sure about you, but losing weight when you are in a controlled situation at home – where your schedule is regular, you have control over your meals and have access to exercise (either a gym, pool or simply the sidewalks in your neighborhood for running) is much easier to maintain your weight loss goals than when you must frequently travel for business or pleasure.

There are the crazy schedules that have you choosing from the often unhealthy food options at airports, strange locations that make it tough to find healthy food or access places to workout or exercise.  Then, you have the necessity of sometimes meeting with clients and friends for networking – go for a few drinks and then hit a steakhouse where you can pack on a pound or two just by walking in the front door.

But…you can’t let these irregularities in your schedule interfere with losing weight or you will have lost the battle completely.

Here are 3 tips I use to help me stick to my weight loss goals when traveling:

1. Discipline…we tend to “treat” ourselves and break out of disciplined behavior when we are stressed.  Travel is stressful, lets realize this up-front and learn to expect that stress with a mindset that we will not break our eating or exercise habits.

2. Before and after…it is inevitable at times that we will have a day of interruption in our quest for losing weight – that we may eat something we didn’t want to or miss exercising.  Before I leave for a business trip I make sure to work out extra hard in anticipation that this will happen.  When I get back, I hit the gym hard and fit in an extra aerobic workout – after staying locked up in a hotel for 3 or 4 days, I’m ready to take full advantage of the outdoors and get back on track.

3. Get started with a healthy breakfast.  I find, more than anytime, if I can start my morning with fruit, yogurt, perhaps some hot oatmeal – then I not only eat better during the day, by have more energy and stick to my weight loss objectives that much better.   But…relying on a Continental breakfast of pastries, toast and coffee doesn’t only interfere with losing weight, it means that my energy bottoms out at key points in the day. 

If you travel frequently, then it is essential that you plan carefully when your goal is losing weight, otherwise you will find that a month’s worth of effort at home may be erased within just a few days of being on the road. 

I’ve just spent the last 12-days working on dropping that extra 10-lbs that crept up on me over the last year – (truth be told I’ve been carrying most of it since our second child was born almost 8-years ago!)

Over the last year, I’ve gotten into a regular 3-times/week minimum exercise routine that involves some resistance/weight training (only about 15-minutes 3X week on average) and at least 30-minutes of cardio with one session in the week at least 45-minutes. 

The cardio is not only to lose weight, but also promote heart health and keep my immune system humming along.

This did drop an initial 10-pounds the first month I started this routine, then about 5-more of that came back in the second month as the resistance training kicked in and my fat was replaced by muscle. 

One of the challenges though is that I did not change anything about my eating.  In fact it could be argued that over this winter I got into some bad habits of eating more before bed, reaching for carbs instead of alternative options and hitting the sweets a little too hard at times. 

So, what have I done over the last 12-days to knock off that stubporn 10-lbs – here are the simple weight loss tips I hope you can use to see similar results:

1. I increased the intensity of my normal exercise sessions.  Instead of doing 2-reps of the various resistance training machines, I did 3.  Instead of running 2Km – I ran 3.  Some weeks I even fit a fourth workout in which really does have a big impact on burning fat.

2. I ate less after dinner.  This is a big weakness for me…I’ve always hit the bread, toast, crackers and sweets pretty hard about 9 PM – even binging for an hour in front of the TV.  I didn’t completely eliminate the eating, instead I allowed myself to have 4 crackers with some Almond butter – ate them more consciously and slowly and felt more satisfied with far fewer calories.

3. I made sure to eat at least 50% of my total intake for the day made up of fruit and vegetables.  I thought this would be hard, but really it meant having a salad with every meal (fruit in the morning).  I still had sandwiches, pasta, meat and other foods for lunch and supper, I just made sure I had equal amounts of water-born foods to other foods…the funny thing was that I automatically ate less of the poor foods, but didn’t feel jipped. 

4. I made some other changes to re-focus on taking action in life…I find I eat more when I’m under stress, bored, or otherwise in bad humor.  By busying myself with my main goals, kids sports, working around the house, meditating and deep breathing – I found that food didn’t enter my head (or my mouth) nearly as often during the day.  After a few days the cravings got even less – I’m now at a place where they have all but gone at any time of day under any conditions. 

I have to say, the biggest benefit of applying these simple weight loss tips is not only the 10lbs I’ve lost, better muscle mass than I’ve ever had – but it is the ultimate feeling of control you get from knowing you can lead a healthy and happy life. 

One of the challenges we run into when we decide to burn fat and lose weight is how much to diet and how much to exercise.

We all know that the best way to accomplish weight loss is to combine eating healthy, cutting back on calories from fat and increasing our exercise as well as toning muscle to help improve our metabolism so we can burn even more fat.

Yet there are very few specific guidelines that help us understand how much activity we need to do in order to burn fat and really make a difference in the way we look and feel.

So, a good first target is to burn 400 calories at least 4-times a week – and here are some combinations that can get you there…

Assuming you are a 180-lb male, then you would have to…

• Bicycle at a leisurely pace for 1-hour, that will burn about 250 calories – pick up the pace or hit a course with some hills for half your ride and you will have easily burned your 400 calories
• Go and have a game of bowling for 1-hour and you will have reached half of your target – add to that another hour of moderate walking (30-minutes before work in the morning, and another 30-minutes at lunch or later at night) and you will have burned your extra 400 calories for the day
• Running is a great way to burn extra calories – a 5mph run for 30-minutes will burn about 280 calories, then you can add in a brisk walk, some Tai Chi, a quick game of tennis or 9-holes of golf to reach the 400 calories burned mark.

The point is that you can make weight loss fun – instaed of forcing yourself to run everday when you really don’t enjoy it (or you have gotten bored), then throw in other activities like walking, bowling, golf, tennis, or play some basketball. 

The more you vary your exercise routine, the simpler and more effective your quest to lose weight and keep it off will be.

I remember all the times I tried the latest diet – low carb, vegetarian, cleanse – after suffering through dizzy spells, constant cravings and major disruption in my life I did manage to lose weight quick…but within 30 days I was back on the road to re-gaining the fat all of this hard work succeeding in taking off. 

Each time, the exercise of fast weight loss followed by an almost immediate rebound back to where I was before had me believing that I was destined to always be 20lbs heavier than where my ideal weight lay. 

It was like a pendulum – no matter what the weight loss method, I would end up back where I started. 

I don’t know about you, but feeling that you can’t lose weight – that you don’t have control over your own body is frustrating, demeaning, embarassing and more than a little hit on your own self confidence and self-esteem.

I remember late one night kicking myself over why, no matter what fat loss method I used  – whether it be dieting, exercise, diet pills or a combination of all 3 – there was no lasting ability to lose weight quick and keep it off.

That’s when it hit me…isn’t there a mental and emotional aspect to everything we do?

Just as you don’t work well at a job you hate, or no matter how hard you try, you can’t be great at a subject that you just don’t do well at school – weight management also includes a mental aspect – something that we don’t talk about very much.

That’s when I came across this Think Yourself Thin program, and within a few short weeks I had an amazing experience.

One of the biggest weaknesses I’ve had since as far back as I can remember is a tendancy to eat before I jump into bed at night – no matter what weight loss program I would try, I just couldn’t (and wouldn’t) break that bad habit. 

Within 2 weeks of following the Think Thin Program - I no longer craved foods before bed.

I was stunned!  For 35-years I have had to have toast, crackers, cookies, chips or some other “substantial” food before heading to bed – but now, suddenly I no longer craved that comfort food and within days began to lose weight quick. 

I’m happy to say I have lost 10 of the most stubborn pounds that I’ve been unable to shed in the last 6-years — and that’s only after 3 weeks of finding out about this program.

The best part of all this is that the Think Thin program is based on a very simple, yet powerful method of automatic suggestion based on the highly scientific, proven method of Binaural Frequency Harmonics. 

Without getting into the gory details, because it’s really not necessary to make this work for you too, by listening to specially constructed music and sounds your brain is automatically programmed to overcome major weight loss obstacles resulting in lifestyle changes that allow you to lose weight quick but also keep your weight off for a lifetime. 

It only makes sense that if we’ve tried everything else to lose weight fast, yet we keep returning to the bad habits that prevent us from achieving this goal, we need to change the thoughts that guide our behavior, only then can we experience effortless, lasting results in our quest to lose weight quick. 

This system is highly effective, very quick and very low cost – the best part is there is no pain, no long-term investment in diets, nutritionals or even exercise equipment – just a relaxing, satisfying, enjoyable experience that will improve your quality of life forever. 

You can find out more about this leading-edge Think Thin method here. 

We all hear that living a healthy lifestyle, avoiding or stopping smoking and weight loss are the keys to living a longer, higher quality life…but what does that really mean in terms of years or your chances of living longer?

It’s sometimes tough to stay focused on things like healthy weight loss when we hear each day about another natural disaster, food infection or other major challenge that threatens us in the short term.

A recent study that appeared over at The Sanctuary highlights a study first published in the Sept 17th edition of the British Medical Journal highlights the single biggest advantage is to those who lead an overall healthy lifestyle where they were 55% less likely to die as early as those who participated in all of the risk factors such as smoking and being overweight.

Another factor though that makes the advantages of healthy weight loss that much more real is the discovery that 14% of the improvement could be isolated to weight loss alone. Only smoking was higher at 28%, so obviously a healthy diet and learning how to lose weight are critical to overall longevity.

So, whether you choose to take on a rapid weight loss program where you commit to rigorous exercise and dieting or settle for a moderate approach to healthy weight loss such as ensuring that you get 30-minutes of moderate exercise each day (fast walking, swimming, cycling, jogging, tennis, or other exercise), the benefits can be very real in terms of avoiding common diseases such as cancer and especially heart disease.

Those of you who have been working at both losing weight and building muscle will know that protein supplements are commonly listed as an important part of the muscle building and toning goal, but it appears with some recent studies that protein also plays an important role in weight loss.

Most recently, a weight loss study from Purdue University discovered that men who ingested more protein food such as eggs and lean bacon felt more full for longer and tended to eat less later in the day.

This does make sense, and it likely has more to do with the balancing act protein can have on your insulin production over the course of a day. Since a binging of carbohydrates at the expense of protein foods can cause insulin spikes and make you crave more food, it stands to reason that balancing your meals (especially early in the day) with protein either from food or from protein supplements like whey protein or nutritional bars, will go through less of a rollercoaster ride during the day and thus not crave as much food.

Not only will a higher protein diet make you feel fuller, it will also help to balance your cravings and balance your insulin production over the course of day – all of this is positive to your weight loss program.

How often do you keep track of your calorie intake? If you are like me, trying to casually lose weight, sweating it out in the gym or watching what you eat I bet you are not keeping a daily tab on how many calories and what type of food you are eating daily.

I know I wasn’t – at least not regularly. Sure, one day I would pay particularly close attention to what I was eating, if I was lucky, I would count the calories, but that was far from a daily routine. In fact, some days I would deliberatlely avoid counting calories because I intuitively knew I was WAY over.

Then I came across this article on keeping a weight loss diary and wham, it hit me when they said that research has shown those who regularly keep a food diary tended to lose twice the weight over those that do not – and they kept it off longer.

Now, it does make sense since our ability to lose weight and overall weight loss goals have so much to do with our mental outlook – and if you are comitted to keeping a daily calorie count and food diary then you have made a stronger comittment to yourself to keep your weight loss goals.

I started this last week and let me tell you – I was blown away by some of my calorie counts. Certain days I was way over my count before 2PM in the afternoon while other days I was not eating enough — in other words, I was on a rollercoaster diet.

Niether case is optimal, especially when you are training and working out as part of your weight loss routine, you need calories to feed the muscle building efforts from the resistance training.

Try it for a week, you will find some surprises and you will find that by keeping a closer eye on your calorie intake you will keep your weight loss objectives more in mind and tend to be more conscious at every meal.