Sleep Your Excess Weight Away and Other Tricks

Sleep Your Excess Weight Away and Other Tricks

Wouldn’t it be nice to go to sleep and wake up the next morning at our ideal weight? While those kinds of results are best left to fairy tales, getting enough healthy sleep can help with weight loss. And there are other weight loss tricks as well that are often ignored.

Sleeping:

The researchers wrote in the commentary, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (September 17, 2012), “An accumulating body of evidence suggests that sleeping habits should not be overlooked when prescribing a weight-reduction program to a patient with obesity.”

In two of the studies cited in the commentary, study participants decreased the amount of calories they consumed and either slept 8.5 hours or 5.5 hours. The group that slept less, lost less weight.

Thermogenics (Heat Production):

We have two kinds of fat: white fat (WAT) and brown fat (BAT). The WAT is what we usually store as fat. The BAT on the other hand burns fat when stimulated. Exposing the body to cold temperatures, stimulates the BAT to burn glucose to keep the body warm. And once the fat burning machine is set in motion, it may keep burning fat for a while, even though the cold stimulus is gone. Cold exposure also increases your BAT fat. Ray Cronise from NASA has done research on how to increase the body’s thermal load to lose weight. http://hypothermics.com/home/ . Here are some ways to stimulate the body to burn excess fat through cold exposure.

• Cold showers:

Start with a comfortably warm shower, and then slowly turn the water to cold. Stay under the cold shower for 2 – 3 minutes. For more benefits of cold showers see http://philanthropy2012.hubpages.com/hub/10-benefits-of-cold-showers

• Ice packs:

Place an ice pack on the back of your neck for 20 – 30 minutes, preferably in the evening.

 

• Drink Ice Water:

Drink a liter of ice water first thing in the morning.

• Eat, Swim, Sleep:

According to Michael Phelps, he eats over 12,000 calories per day when in training. Besides that, he swims and sleeps. Period. So if you work out with incredibly high intensity, in your average 82-degree pool, eat mounds of food and sleep, you’ll have to worry about not getting enough to eat to keep up your energy:) Check out what Phelps eats for breakfast: http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/08/13/the-michael-phelps-diet-dont-try-it-at-home/

Why this matters:

Many find that the last few pounds are the hardest to lose. Caloric restriction and exercise just aren’t enough. Ray Cronise found that when you add thermal loading, that is, exposing the body to cold, it is easier to lose those last pesky pounds.

Contact me: 

Many people struggle to take the steps they know they need to take. As a coach I can help you clarify what’s most important and offer support and accountability so you make important changes in your life. Think about the life you could have. To schedule a free coaching consultation, call Edith at 847.913.3900. Isn’t it about time you invested in you and your goals?