Archive for February, 2009

Why Sleeping Beauty Wasn't Fat

People who desire to lose weight should examine their sleep cycles as much as their eating habits before going on any kind of diet. If they aren't getting at least seven to eight hours a night they may need more sack time in order to be sucessful at any kind of weight loss plan.

While it stands to reason that if people spent more time in bed they would have less time to think about food and eating the wrong things – the greater benefit, if you can believe this, is that people who sleep longer actually have a greater sense of fullness and will spontaneously lose weight. Could this be the famous, Lose Weight While You Sleep Diet, or is this actual fat-busting science at work?

Forget about the fads and the pills that claim to have you losing weight while you sleep. It turns out that sleep may be the easiest and cheapest treatment for obeisty there is. Our fat-busting scientists have identified hormones in our bodies that have an effect on feelings of both hunger and fullness. Sleep deprivation can cause an imbalance of hormones in favor of hungry hormones (ghrelin) over the ones responsible for making us feel full (leptin) making us feel hungry even when we really aren't. Ergo we eat. Combine this condition with what I call head hunger (wanting more when you feel full) and you have a situation where your diet can be seriously de-railed.   

Why Sleeping Beauty Wasn't Fat

People who desire to lose weight should examine their sleep cycles as much as their eating habits before going on any kind of diet. If they aren't getting at least seven to eight hours a night they may need more sack time in order to be sucessful at any kind of weight loss plan.

While it stands to reason that if people spent more time in bed they would have less time to think about food and eating the wrong things – the greater benefit, if you can believe this, is that people who sleep longer actually have a greater sense of fullness and will spontaneously lose weight. Could this be the famous, Lose Weight While You Sleep Diet, or is this actual fat-busting science at work?

Forget about the fads and the pills that claim to have you losing weight while you sleep. It turns out that sleep may be the easiest and cheapest treatment for obeisty there is. Our fat-busting scientists have identified hormones in our bodies that have an effect on feelings of both hunger and fullness. Sleep deprivation can cause an imbalance of hormones in favor of hungry hormones (ghrelin) over the ones responsible for making us feel full (leptin) making us feel hungry even when we really aren't. Ergo we eat. Combine this condition with what I call head hunger (wanting more when you feel full) and you have a situation where your diet can be seriously de-railed.   

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Stress Can Make You Fat

I believe that stress is the main reason I fall off the healthy food wagon occasionally, finding it near impossible to resist my old comfort foods when stress gets the better of me. It's so easy to say to yourself, whew!, I had a really hard day, I deserve a "fill in the blanks" – cocktail, chocolate bar, pasta dish, mashed potatoes, bread, etc. All the stuff that got me into trouble in the first place just cause I had a total jerk for a boss.Toss in a couple of financial issues and watch the high-carb food monster take over!

The problem is that the boss ain't going anywhere soon and I am the one that suffers the consequences of a binge. While it feels heavenly to my taste buds and soothes my stress hormones (yes, there are such things) giving in to carb cravings because of stress at work or kids or bills, etc, is just going to make things worse. When the last donut, cookie, cake, pie, etc has slid down the high-carb highway into my stomach all I have to show for it is a sweet taste in my mouth and a bitter reminder of my weakness for sugar. Plus I just added more negative energy to my stress levels by giving in to temptation. How can sugar make you so high and then so low within minutes? Why can't I capture that exact feeling of guilt and failure that I feel when I cheat before I eat the high carb stuff – what rotten little devil on my shoulder makes me do it?

Do something besides eat when you are stressed out, make time in your schedule for stress relief of some sort such as yoga, laughing hysterically or even, God forbid, exercise. I make mosaics when I feel the need to distract myself from thoughts of sugarplums dancing in my head – mostly because I get to smash things with a hammer and it keeps my hands busy. I drink a lot of water doing this and I feel better about myself when it's time for bed and I didn't eat that ice cream bar for my night time snack. 

I also learned as I got older not to be so hard on myself when I did stumble and I have managed to lose considerable weight because I didn't give up on my whole weight-loss plan just because of one bad day. You gotta get right back on that horse if you want to succeed. The other thing I discovered was when the weight does come off – the stress levels go down – go figure!

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The Cheater In The Weight Loss Game Is Fat

How is it that a short, fat guy – 5'9" tall and weighing in at 260 (me) be considered healthier than men much taller and thinner? In spite of my allergy to regular exercise I still manage five sets of 10-pound fork presses at the dinner table, am able to regularly walk 3 miles a day, play vigorously with my chocolate lab, camp in my RV and dance like Arthur Murray on Saturday nights. I should be in shape, right? then why is it that whenever I see a picture of myself I want to crawl into a bed of pasta and hide? I read somewhere that fat doesn't play fair and now I am beginning to understand why.

What helped me to understand my dilemma were these new Fat-Busting scientists, geeks who spend their days poking and probing chubby mice, experts in the field of epidemiology (the study of health in populations), who can now talk about openly and convincingly about how genes, hormonal imbalances, some viruses, stress, even ear infections play a role in obesity. Ok, fine. All we want to know is – how do us regular folks find someone who can say with confidence; this is why you can't lose weight. Then tell us how we can!

That day may be closer than you think. Those chubby mice we talked about earlier taught scientists about the "fatso" genes in all of us. People with two or more fatso genes are more likely to develop diabetes and be more overweight. And they say that there could be as many as 100 fat genes out there! What does that say for our chances of losing weight just by diet alone? Maybe genetics plays more of a role than just the cute little dimple you acquired from Mom. 

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Deals Are There For Hawaii And The Caribbean

Land-based travel opportunities are plentiful and there are aggressive deals right now being offered on Hawaii and the Caribbean. Finding flights to get to and from these areas can be a bit challenging, but the deal may well be worth the extra cost of the flight for the experience, especially with all-inclusive resort packages in the Caribbean and Mexico.

All Inclusives, The National Parks and Las Vegas Are Dealing

All-inclusive resorts are great for multi-generational trips, offering something for people of all ages. In addition, for families, Disney is being very competitive offering deals at Disneyland, Disney World and on Disney Cruises. Domestically, Las Vegas is starting to again offer deals for close-in bookings at various times when large conventions are not dominating the town. Other popular domestic travel destinations this year are the national parks (book early as lodge space is limited), and Washington D.C. There aren’t necessarily many deals for DC but it is emerging as a popular destination.

What is the major challenge for travel this year? The airlines. The major carriers have made some major changes in the way they do business. Using mileage programs is becoming more difficult with fewer seats available under these programs. Capacity cuts have made finding convenient flight schedules more challenging. Airline bankruptcies have reduced competition and ala cart services are driving up the price of airline tickets through extra charges for baggage, seat location and meals. However, that’s not to say good deals can’t be found.

Consult A Travel Professional

Trends these days are finding that many people, instead of spending hours on the internet are again consulting a travel agent. Agents have the ability to tap right into the airline system inventory and look at combining flights in ways that the general public may not. Yes, there is a minimal ticketing fee charged, but then again, even the airlines are charging people ticketing fees when calling in for assistance. Also, having an agent book your tickets gives you someone in your corner to help if there are changes, cancellation of your flights, or other issues with your travel.

Protect Yourself

Last but not least, no matter where you travel, or how you book your vacation plans, be cautious with whom you are conducting business. Make sure to work with an accredited company that has a good reputation, a strong financial backing and will be there in the months ahead, especially if you are making plans for later in the year or into 2010. One way to protect your vacation investment is to take out a travel insurance policy with a third party insurance company. These policies offer coverage for supplier default in addition to traditional trip cancellation/interruption and medical coverage. Buying insurance through the tour company may be a lower cost in some, (not all), cases, but it does not cover you if the company goes out of business. When working with major players like cruise lines, and large tour companies this is not usually a concern, but when working with a smaller, lesser known company, make sure and conduct your due diligence.

Whether traveling for long weekends, a family reunion, special occasion, or a two week vacation there are lots of deals to be had. People still need a break from the day-to-day wear and tear of ordinary life, so get out there, enjoy life and travel safe. Happy Trails and Happy Travels!

Roxanne

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