Losing Weight and Feeling Great

Can you lose weight while you sleep?  Well, yes in the respect that weight loss happens all the time — not just while you’re awake.  However, there’s something you really need to know about sleeping and losing weight.

There is a connection.  If you don’t get enough sleep, it may prevent you from losing weight (or at least slow down your weight loss).  But why?

Today I have guest author Gail Davis, who has put together some great information on how sleep deprivation can slow down or even prevent weight loss.  Especially in today’s culture of trying to get as much done as possible, sleep may be losing out to chores, activities, work, etc.  And really, we sleep in order to be healthy.  So let’s see what Gail has written on sleep and weight loss.

Lose Weight While You Sleep;  Sleep Deprivation and Weight Loss

Let me ask a question — are you plagued by sleep deprivation?  Do you get your 8 hours of sleep in a night?  No?  Then let’s look at some facts.

In the past 40 years, American obesity has risen from one in nine adults to one in three.  And here’s something to consider.  During the same time frame, there has been a decrease in the amount of sleep by up to two hours each night!

Unfortunately, this isn’t just an American issue.  A study recently conducted at the University of British Columbia on adults between the ages of 32 and 49 determined that participants who slept less than seven hours a night were significantly more likely to be obese!

Why is this?  Well, there are 2 hormones, leptin and ghrelin that may be responsible for these alarming statistics. Let’s take a closer look.

Your energy intake and expenditure are both regulated by leptin, whose primary purpose is to tell the brain when you’ve eaten enough.

Now for the flip side:  ghrelin’s main function is to trigger hunger. Your ghrelin levels are naturally higher prior to a meal and naturally lower following a meal.

Leptin, Ghrelin and Sleep

How is sleep affected by these hormones?  It’s because when your body is deprived of adequate sleep, it produces more ghrelin, which is the appetite stimulator.  And again the flip side, it also produces less leptin, which is the appetite depressant!  Do you see where this is going?

A study conducted at The University of Chicago in 2004 demonstrated alarming results. Participants, who slept only four hours a night for two nights in a row, had an increase in their ghrelin levels by 28% and a decrease in their leptin levels by 18%!

Appetites on Overdrive

Would you agree that these number show that sleep deprivation appears to cause people to have appetites that are on overdrive?  As if that weren’t alarming enough, the same lack of sleep hinders the body’s ability to recognize that it’s had enough food.  It’s quite a vicious circle.

About the Author:
Gail M. Davis offers more facts about the alarming relationship between sleep deprivation and weight-related. Peruse her website, Easy Weight Loss Tips where you’ll find many weight-related topics such as this in addition to healthy recipes.

Sleep and Your Diet

Thanks, Gail, for this information.  You’ve given us quite a bit to think about.  We’ve always know that we really do need to get the proper amount of rest.  I know for me, it’s at least 7 hours a night, with 8 even better.  I’ve never thought about if getting less than 7 hours regularly would hinder my weight loss.

But I do remember a time in my life where 7 hours of sleep a night was actually a luxury; I usually got 6 or less.  And despite the fact I hadn’t changed anything else (same amount of exercise, no change in the foods I normally ate), I do remember being hungrier.

So, you really can lose weight while you sleep — just not in the way you might expect.  What about you?  Do you get the sleep you need on a regular basis?  Do you notice a difference to your appetite on days where you didn’t get enough sleep the night before?

When it comes to losing weight, we need all the help we can get.  Now consider that sleep is another tool in your fight against weight!

Wouldn’t you agree that cooking light is healthier for us?  Now, would you care to define what light cooking is?  I didn’t think so.  It’s hard, because to some people, it’s using fewer fats and oils.  To others, it’s about cutting calories.  And I guess they kind of do go hand-in-hand.

But don’t you also think that cooking light is also about more natural foods?  More fresh veggies, fewer canned foods?  At least, that’s kind of how I see it.

Today I have Gregory Spence as the guest author.  Greg will tell us something we’d probably all like to know; easy ways to start cooking healthier meals, without tummy rumbles in protest!

Three Easy Ways to Start Cooking Light

Healthier cooking is all about how cooking light can improve your health without producing boring or unattractive food. Today, more emphasis is being put on reducing our calorie intake and eating foods that are better for us. In order to achieve this we need to look at ways to do this that aren’t difficult.

Suggestion 1:  Oils and Fats

To start cooking lighter, why not substitute your regular high calorie or fatty ingredients with their lighter alternatives? There are many alternatives, and you’ll want to try reading labels (it can be an eye-opener). Choose those ingredients that have no trans fats and are lower in calories.

Dressings are particularly high in all the wrong things!  How about try a low fat mayonnaise or fat free ranch dressing in your sandwiches. Avoid using foods coated in oil;p anyone remember how all tuna used to be packed in oil?  it’s not just tuna that’s come a long way — many types of tinned fish are now packed in water rather than oils, and this significantly reduces your calorie intake.

The oil you use for cooking is also an important part of your lighter cooking style. Extra virgin olive oil is ideal but can be expensive.  A cheaper alternative is canola, which has lots of health benefits when compared to vegetable oils.  Still, if you can afford the extra-virgin olive oil for your cooking light, it’s worth it.

Tip 2:  What’s Your Fiber Like?

If you eat a lot of refined white bread then you will not be getting the fiber you need and your fat intake will be high. When choosing bread go for the oat-based alternative or the 100% whole grain variety.

Just because bread is brown does not mean it is healthier for you. Carmel colorings can do that without a drop of whole wheat.  By taking a true whole grain alternative your body will get an increased intake of fiber and lower amounts of fat. 

Idea 3:  Time to Bake

If you are into baking, try using Splenda instead of regular table sugar.  Splenda is a no calorie sweetener; you might also try stevia, which is all-natural.  If you’ve never tried it, unsweetened apple sauce instead of vegetable oil really does taste pretty good in most recipes.

Line your baking pans with no fat cooking spray instead of butter or shortening; better yet, use baker’s parchment paper for your oil-free baking.  That’s really cooking light!

Use semi-sweet or preferably dark chocolate in place of milk chocolate or (even worse) white chocolate.  Dark chocolate has antioxidants good for your body; just don’t over-indulge.

About the Author:
Get more information about cooking light . Learn more about healthy-cooking

Thanks, Greg, for those tips on cooking light.  It’s not always easy these days to get out the fresh veggies and chopping board.  I’ll agree, there are many days where fast food is tempting because I’l so tired.  But fast food is fat food (as I’ve mentioned in several recent posts like this one) so it’s a meal of last resort.

So, guess it’s time to clean out the cabinets again, of some of non-cooking-light foods.  So what will you do?  Are your going to make a more cencerted effort towards cooking light?

Wouldn’t you like 12 diet tips from people who are losing weight?  You know what it’s like; it’s hard to lose weight with all the advertisement, all the fast food drive-though lanes that call to us.  Sure, sticking to your eating plan can be challenging, but here are 12 diet tips to help you out.

I’ve gleaned these from forum postings of people who are in the process of losing weight, so these are up-to-the-minute ideas from people who are kind enough to share what works for them.

12 Diet Tips

Life comes at you fast, but you can always make a U-turn.  Maybe you start a binge or eat something you know you shouldn’t have.  Instead of blowing your diet completely, recognize that one mistake won’t ruin your diet if you do a U-turn and get back on it.

Chew your food slowly and savor each bite.  Don’t just gulp it down and not taste a thing.  Make your meal last longer and you’ll feel full sooner.

Figure out your trigger foods, then stay away from them.  Don’t keep them in the house.  If you have to keep them around because of others in the household, distract yourself when they call to you.  Take a walk, give yourself a manicure, try new makeup or hairstyles — anything to keep you from the food!

Losing weight doesn’t happen in a day, and losing all the weight you need to won’t happen in a week — or maybe month or year.  The key is to be persistent and consistent.

Don’t talk about exercising — just do it!

Portion control tip:  go out an buy a baby food try — the kind that has three dividers.  Put your veggies in the biggest divider, then add protein and a grain.  The size of the plate (plus the dividers) helps keep your portions and proportions without measuring.

10 Habits That Mess Up a Womans Diet
Price: USD 11.53

89 used & new available from USD 1.91

Use a food tracker to really see what kinds of foods and what times you eat.  Do it for at least a couple of weeks to discover not only what you really eat, but what effect different foods have on you.  And review your tracker before you eat dinner, to help make better choices.

Get used to reading labels, especially for foods labeled as low fat, fat-free, low carb or diet.  You’d be surprised what they put in those foods that aren’t exactly healthy!

Quit drinking sodas and diet sodas.  Drink water instead.

Get your sleep!  If you aren’t rested you may fall into the habit of using food and caffeine as a pick me up.

Eat small meals throughout the day instead of skipping breakfast and then eating a large lunch and huge dinner.

Learn to throw away leftovers.  You know, don’t be a member of the clean-your-plate-club.  If you’re full, don’t keep eating just because it’s on your plate.  If it’s big enough, wrap it up for another meal.  If it’s a few bites, throw it away.

There we go, ideas to help you lose weight.  They are pretty good, aren’t they?  I think I’ll put a few of these to use myself!

What about you — which ones do you think will help you the most?

It’s no secret that foods that raise blood sugar are the whites:  sugar, white bread, white rice, etc.  In fact, you’re pretty much safer staying away from anything white (cauliflower being an exception to the white rule).

But there are other foods that can raise blood sugar that aren’t white, and that may be good for you.  These can include sweet fruits like pineapple and potatoes (although potato skins are OK).  Raisins and many dried fruits also fall into that category.  Corn and peas are two other foods that can raise blood sugar more quickly than other healthy foods.

You need to be careful about yogurt.  If it’s low-fat or fat-free, there might be a great deal of sugar in that container.  Fruit on the bottom also has sugar, generally in a syrup.  Yes, yogurt can be healthy, but plain is best as far as sugar goes.  Otherwise…read labels carefully.

Foods That Raise Blood Sugar to Stay Away From

In addition to “the whites” as listed in the opening paragraph, what other foods fall into this category?

As expected, items like cookies, cakes, pies, ice cream show up in this category.  But also are chips and pretzels.  The chips and pretzels contain white flour or corn (both can raise the bloods’s sugar). 

Fruit juice can be counted among the foods that raise blood sugar — and quickly!  Part of it is that most fruit juices for sale include HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) that can send blood sugar skyrocketing.  Otherwise, juice tends not to have any pulp, present in fresh fruit — and the pulp (fiber) helps slow the release of sugar into the blood.  If you must have fruit juice, make it freshly squeezed.

Know Your Body

Some people are sensitive to wheat, even whole wheat, rye, pumpernickle, etc.  If that’s you, stay away from these as much as possible.

Others are sensitive to most fruits, due to the high fructose concentration.  If you’re ultra sensitive to fruit, eat extra veggies instead.

High blood sugar isn’t anything to laugh about, even if it’s not officially up to diabetic levels.  It can damage your body, not to mention help you gain weight (or have trouble keeping it off).  Hmmm, sounds like I’ll be needing a post on the damage high blood sugar can cause the body. 

But for now, be mindful of what you eat.  It’s perhaps unreasonable for most people to cut out high sugar foods in the cold turkey method.  But you can start gradually reducing and then eliminating the foods that raise blood sugar from your diet.

Get the Sugar Out: 501 Simple Ways to Cut the Sugar Out of Any Diet
Price: —

31 used & new available from USD 4.65

Sugar Shock!: How Sweets and Simple Carbs Can Derail Your Life– and How YouCan Get Back on Track
Price: USD 10.17

77 used & new available from USD 4.75

Are you struggling with how to lose weight successfully?  Do you try to be good each day, only to turn to snacks at night…and the diet goes out the window?  Or even more frustrating…you do everything you’re supposed to and the weight stays the same on the scales?

Lose Weight Successfully (Keep it Off)

Losing weight is partly in the mind — you have to be committed to your new eating plan.  And by the way, “diet” should perhaps be banned from the vocabulary.  Why?

Because when you finish losing the weight, you “go off the diet”.  But unless you’ve changed your eating habits in the meanwhile, you’ll likely go back to bad habits.  I’ll bet you’re familiar with what happens next — you gain the weight back and then some!

But if you’ve exchanged your old bad habits for nwe good ones, you are far more likely to keep the weight off.  And incidentally, that’s one reason for a slow weight loss — it gives you the time to develop new habits.

Supplements or Pills?

How to lose weight successfully — can it include supplements?  It’s a mixed answer.

Some supplementation is probably appropriate if you’re taking it for health benefits more than weight loss (even if it has somewhat of a weight loss component).  An example is a green tea extract; good for its antioxidant properties, and with a mild thermogenic effect.

On the other hand, other weight loss supplements…the answer isn’t conclusive.  Some people are helped by the supplements, others aren’t.  However one thing is universally true — no supplement will work all by itself, without following a sensible eating program.  (And exercise as well.)

A Healthy Diet to Lose Weight

Yes, you can lose weight with a fad diet.  But the question of the day is…will you keep that weight off?  Or will you need the latest fad again in a few weeks or months?

A healthy diet to lose weight is one that you can follow for life.  One that has the amounts of proteins, fats and carbohydrates for your body metabolism.

How to lose weight successfully — how to keep the weight off — depends on your commitment to change.  If you keep following your old habits, the weight will just come back.

When I learned about eating smarter, it was a kind of revelation for me.  I mean, I saw  so many of my eating habits in the list, and you know what?  They were contributing to my weight problem.

I then took a look at the way people have to eat after weight loss surgery, and that was another revelation.  Now I don’t plan on trying WLS, but I can certainly pick up some tips from there.

So here’s the list — anything sound familiar?

Do you save your favorite food for last? What I mean here is if you have a plate with 3 things on it, do you eat your favorite last?  Well, that may be part of the problem!

If you save your favorite food for last, you’re more likely to overeat.  Instead of heeding your stomach’s signal of "I’m full, you can stop eating now", you press on and continue — it’s your favorite!

So…eat your favorite first.  Then you’re more likely to stop eating when you feel the "I’m full" sensation.

Do you inhale your food?  I know we’re all busy and on-the-go these days, but do you gulp down your food without even really tasting it?  Well, that also contributes to overeating.  Before your stomach can send the "I’m full" signal, you’ve already eaten more than you should have.

Not to mention that this contributes to digestive problems and acid reflux, because you haven’t chewed thoroughly!

So the trick here is add time to your eating.  If a meal now take you 5 minutes to eat, stretch it to 6 minutes.  Then 7.  Work your way up to 15 or 20 minutes — even a half hour!  The benefit (besides better digestion) is that your stomach and brain get in synch for that "hey, stop eating" message.

Do you eat starches first, protein last?  While this may end up conflicting a bit with the "eat your favorite first", protein is the building block for our muscles.  It also helps to regulate our blood sugar.  Anyway, eating proteins first is a mainstay for people who have had weight loss surgery.  Part of it naturally is because they can’t eat as much, so they need to get the "best" food in first, healthy-wise.  At any rate, it’s something to try.

So, do you have any eating smarter tips?  That can help you curb your appetite, no matter if you are on a weight loss diet or not?  If so — let’s hear them!

It’s a holiday weekend coming up and what’s it going to do for your diet?  Instead of saying, "the heck with it" and binging, try moderating yourself.  Here’s what I mean.

You don’t have to restrict your foods, so much as make the best choices.  Pick vegetable salads over potato salad; grilled chicken over hot dogs.  Drink lots of water, and try to limit beer and soda.

What if you know you’ll be faced with only bad choices at a get-together?  Ask if you can bring something to share, then bring something healthy.

Sure, if you are really craving it, have a few forkfuls of your favorite food or two — you don’t have to totally deny yourself.  Just don’t heap your plate with foods that you know you have a problem with!

And dessert…what to do?  Again, don’t deny yourself (unless you have the willpower).  Instead, choose a small portion of your favorite and really savor the mouthfuls.

No one expects you to diet 365 days a year.  But don’t let your occasional "day off" be an excuse for starting a binge.  Eat smart 90% of the time, and you can enjoy yourself all the more during that 10%!  And surprisingly, once you’re eating healthily 90% of the time, you won’t want to eat nearly as much during those 10% times!  Success all around, wouldn’t you say?

Have a great 4th of July weekend and stay safe, wherever you are!

Weight loss foods aren’t a magic bullet by any means, but by adding them to your current diet, you can maximize your weight loss — a good thing!  Just keep in mind that you can’t add these foods and still continue to overeat (like I said, they aren’t a magic bullet); you have to at least try to eat healthy.  But they can certainly help you out!

Weight Loss Food Group #1

Protein, in proper amounts, can really help a diet.  Now I’m not talking Atkins here — no eating all you want of protein and fats.  No, this is a healthy intake of protein that can boost your weight loss efforts.

Here we’re talking lean and dairy proteins.  Skinless chicken and turkey, tuna in water, string cheese, yogurt, salmon…these are power proteins.  Add egg whites and even a tiny amount of lean red meat, and you’ve got some weight-loss winners!

Fat is Not Your Enemy

Forget about a no-fat or extremely low-fat diet — throw it out the window!  You need some fat in your diet, and your goal is to have the proper fats in the appropriate amounts.

Think of olive oils, fatty fish like salmon, walnut oil and the like — high in the good omega fats.  Stay away from vegetable and corn oils as much as you can, and definitely ban trans-fats from your diet.

In addition to helping to lubricate your body (and digestive system) fats also help level your blood sugar.

Now remember, I’m not advocating fast-food fats — nope, just good fats in proper amounts.

Carbs — What Your Body Needs

Carbs are not bad for your diet…at least not the right carbs.  When it comes to weight loss foods, what are good carbs?

Think of veggies, eaten raw or lightly steamed — broccoli, cauliflower, summer squash, tomatoes, spinach, peppers — you get the idea.  Add a spritz or two of "I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter" if you need the extra flavor, but really — these veggies have a great taste all by themselves!

Fruits are part of healthy carbs, but in smaller amounts, due to their natural sugar content.  Think of fruits like fresh berries (loaded with anit-oxidants), cantaloupe, apples with the skins, citrus.  Be cautious of  really sugary fruits like watermelon, pineapple and the like, because fructose is sugar.

Whole Grains — Eat and Enjoy

While you don’t want a lot of grains in your diet, you do want healthy grains.  They help with roughage and they add a filling sensation.  Not to mention they taste good!

Be careful when you are looking for whole grain foods, though.  Make sure that wheat flour isn’t in the top 3 ingredients.  What you want is *whole* wheat flour.  Regular wheat flour is too highly refined, and acts like sugar in your bloodstream.

Also think of whole wheat or alternative grain pastas (spelt pasta is really tasty).  Think brown and wild rice, or even alternative grains like couscous and amaranth.

Weight Loss Foods Summary & Extras

You might also want to consider adding green or white tea to your diet (minus any sugar), as well as cooking with spices like fresh ginger, chile peppers (even the milder versions), garlic and onions.

Now if it sounds like weight loss foods are suspiciously like a healthy diet…you’re right!  Forget the fads and cutting out food groups.  A healthy, balanced diet with the right kinds of foods is your best long-term weight loss strategy!

Ever feel like you’ve been at your diet for forever and not much seems to be happening?  You’ve come along way, perhaps, but it doesn’t really seem like it.

How about a novel way to document your weight loss — scrap it! 

The Power of a Scrapbook for Losing Weight

I discovered this quite by accident when I was around 13 or so.  I was probably around 40 pounds overweight and knew I needed to lose weight.  But being 13, I didn’t have the money for diet foods.  I didn’t know what I was supposed to eat (only that candy was bad).

I bought some of the teen magazines and in one, I remember a story about a teen who lost 100 pounds.  All kinds of pictures, and stories of what it was like, being fat and being thin.

I cut out that article and put it in a notebook.  And as I found other weight loss articles in other places, I put those in my notebook, too.  Whenever I was feeling low, I’d get out that notebook and look through all the pages.

(Yes, I did eventually lose the weight, got skinny and kept it off for many, many years.  Turning 40 did me in, but that’s a whole other story.)

Create Your Own!

So why not create a scrapbook about you and your weight loss?  No one else has to see it, but it can be there for you to page through when you’re feeling low on willpower.  Make it nice, just like you would any scrapbook.  Find old pictures and take some new ones.  Find motivational stories in magazines and cut ‘em out and scrap them.  Play around with it and have some fun!

Don’t know how to scrap?  If there’s a craft store near where you live (and there should be — they sprout like weeds), they probably have a intro class.  If there’s a scrapping store near to you, they will be more than happy to help you!

There are also some home scrapping parties around — someone you know probably knows someone who does one.

While learning in person is probably best, there are also scrapbooking magazines and books from which to learn.

And of course there is online information.  One place that seemed interesting is Scrapbooking101.  Another you might like to check out is Learn2Scrapbook.

So, scrap your weight loss!  You’ll be able to look back and realize how very, very far you’ve come.

I saw something interesting a week or so ago, and it was an article about how dieters who kept an online blog were more successful in losing weight.  More successful even than people who kept a journal.  Why?

Public accountability.

Sorry I can’t post the direct link to the article; I meant to bookmark it but it slipped my mind…and now I can’t find it again. 

Anyway, the whole idea is that blogging about your weight loss makes you more motivated.  Of course it could be that people who decided to blog are more motivated from the very beginning.  A chicken and egg proposition I guess.

I’ll raise my hand to be a poster child of how this can be; here’s the scoop.  In January 2005, I started a weight loss blog to give me some accountability, and hopefully give others some information.  I think I blogged pretty well for a month, then less and less.  And yes, that kind of paralleled my weight loss success.  The less I blogged about it, the less motivated.  The less motivated, the easier to go off the diet.  Which I did, in a big way.  You can see this old blog here.

Fast forward to Summer 2007.  I finally decided to lose weight again.  And this time keep it off.  I really needed some accountability, seeing as I had (gulp) 135 pounds to lose.  I’d need a ton of motivation and accountability for that!  You can see in the above blog that I had 7 posts from that time, then I quit the writing.  Why?

To start building my Losing Weight Over 40 website.  And then of course this blog as well.

No, you don’t have to build a whole website to get the weight loss benefit (although if you want to, contact me for some information).  Blogs are much cheaper (free, even) and much easier to set up and use — takes 10 minutes or less.

If you want to try this route, why not go for a free blog over at Wordpress.com or Blogger?  Start up a blog and post.  You’ll not only help keep yourself motivated, but also perhaps help someone else with your writings.

If you think this blog you’re reading has helped you, why not put me on your blogroll of links?  Just use the address http://blog.losing-weight-over-40.com when you do (thanks!).

Maybe we can all help each other in our weight loss journey.  To our success!

By the way, is there anything in particular you’d like to see me cover in this blog?  Post a comment and let me know.