Weight Loss Tips

One of the most important things you can do for fat loss, controlling weight gain and for overall health is often overlooked. MORE SLEEP! Yes, you actually need to sleep more to gain less!

A lack of sleep could be contributing to America’s obesity epidemic. A recent Columbia University study found that not getting enough sleep could put you at increased risk for weight gain.

The study, presented at the meeting of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity, analyzed data from 18,000 adults and found that those who slept less than the recommended seven hours a night had an increased risk of obesity. People who slept for less than four hours per night were 73 percent more likely to be obese than those who slept for seven to nine hours. Getting five hours of sleep or less decreased that risk to 50 percent, and getting six hours or less decreased it even more to 23 percent.

While it’s still unclear exactly what causes this increased risk, scientists believe that lack of sleep lowers the amount of leptin your body produces. Leptin is a protein that suppresses appetite and is responsible for telling your brain when your stomach is full. In addition, when you are sleep-deprived, you are less able to make clear decisions and may eat more food than your body actually needs.

What’s the lesson? A good night’s sleep is not only critical for your mental health; it may also be a crucial part of your diet.

So, good night and sleep tight!

Be well & stay fit!

Aimee Deak

Aimee Deak is a certified personal trainer, nutrition analyst and author of the book, “Every Body Loses”, an easy-to follow,
step-by-step guide to fat loss.

You can find more information about fat loss and exercise on her
website http://www.aim4nutrition.com

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The scale: One of man’s most popular inventions

But it could be your worst enemy when it comes to weight loss. Here’s why:

Your scale tells you one thing and one thing only. It tells you how much you weigh. It doesn’t tell you how much bodyfat you’re carrying and it certainly doesn’t tell you how much fat you burned during yesterday’s weight training workout.

Stepping on a scale every morning is a surefire way to depression because your body composition constantly changes. If you aren’t on a scheduled eating plan and eating sporadically during the day, your body composition WILL change. Remember, the scale will only tell you how much you weight, not how much fat you’ve lost.

In order to determine how much fat you’ve lost, I recommend getting an actual bodyfat test done by a fitness professional or if you can find it, get a body fat test done with underwater weighing.

Under water body fat testing is more effective because of one reason - fat floats. As you’re underwater, your bodyfat will float as you sink allowing you to get a very accurate reading since your lean mass is what’s being weighed.

Technology is catching up fast, however. Scales that can measure your bodyfat by sending an electric current through you body and doing a lot of calculations.

I won’t deny, I’ve stepped on one immediately after getting my bodyfat measured and the scale was pretty darn close. Not 100% accurate - but rarely is anything.

I think I’ll stick with my favorite method of measuring bodyfat - skinfold caliper measurements. Lightly pinch and “click”.

If you’re working with a personal trainer, make sure he’s taking your bodyfat measurements at least every 3-4 weeks so you can check your progress. That way you’ll have a good indication of whether you’re losing fat and gaining muscle.

Scales might tell you if you’re losing weight, but bodyfat is a different story all together. If you’re not working with a trainer, make it a point to get your bodyfat measured.

Measuring your bodyfat is a surefire way to make sure you’re staying on track, building muscle, and making sure you’re losing the weight you want to lose (bodyfat, not muscle).

Online home fitness specialist and fitness author and author Lee Smith specializes in helping people get in shape in the comfort of their own homes. For more incredible tips and tactics like these and a free subscription to his “Successful Fitness Strategies” newsletter, visit http://www.howtoachieveyourfitnessgoals.com.

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1) Calculate how many calories you body needs to consume to maintain your existing weight. This is called you maintenance calories.(Search google with “calorie needs” and you will find a few different calculators to help you with this)

2) Initially deduct 10%(to a maximum of 500Kcal)off the total maintenance calories. Drastically reducing your calories will result in muscle and water loss - not fat loss.

3)Divide you calories over 5 or 6 meals rather then 2 or 3. You should aim to eat every 3-4 hours.

4)Cut out all simple carbohydrates (except straight after exercise, eat whole grain, high fibre foods.)

5) Exercise at least 3 times a week, doing 30 minutes of cardio to a reasonable level of intensity. This will help to create the calorie defecit and encourage your body to lose fat.

6)Make simple replacements in your diet, Sweetner in place of sugar, diet drinks in place of full sugar drinks, use leaner cuts of meat etc. At first these changes may be difficult but you will get used to them and make vital calorie savings every day.

7) Drink plenty of water - at least 2 litres of water every day - if you are dehydrated you body will be less efficient and will make fat loss more difficult.

Try to eat low carb(complex only!), low fat and moderate protein. From my experience the South Beach Diet is excellent.

9)Keep a food diary to monitor how many calories you are consuming - it is very easy to over eat.

10) Supplementing you diet can make fat loss easier. A diet high in protein can help preserve muscle (more muscle means an increase in metabolism). There are also some fat loss supplements available which help boost your metabolism, this is useful as your metabolism may slow during extended periods of dieting.

This article is written from my own experiences. I have lost 20lbs of fat and gained 20lbs of muscle. My body fat is 11%. Please consult a doctor for proper medical advice

I am a fitness enthusiast and write about my experience of fat loss and exercise. I have recently opened my own supplement website. http://www.thesupplementsite.co.uk

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