Sleep and Weight Gain

July 26, 2014

Sleep and Weight Gain – What you should do

Sleep and Weight Gain. Studies have indicated that sleep deprivation is related to weight gain. Sleep well and keep fit.

Could lack of sleep be causing you to gain weight? Do you have any idea how this is happening? Confusing indeed but in a moment I will be telling you how sleep is associated with weight gain and from the information you are just a bout to get you will be able to tell whether your weight problem is related you your sleeping patterns on not and depending on your findings you will make very informed decision going forward. Now let me ask you as we start the discussion how often do you sleep or dose at your workplace? Ponder about that for a while and if your answer is yes then what are you doing about it?

In order to fight that sleep a way probably you may have reached out for a cup of coffee or more and some doughnuts for an immediate shot of energy and before you know it you have just forgot your day’s schedule of exercising and on your way home you pick some junk food home for dinner because time for home cooking is not there. When all these are finally done you are back in bed too wound up to sleep. This then becomes consistent and ultimately the consistency of inadequacy of sleep sabotages your waistline and your health. Wait a minute you’re facing the challenges of weight gain. My dear reader it normally starts in unnoticeable ways like that. With the problem of sleep deprivation and low energy, you will repeatedly go for a portion of potato chips or other comfort foods.

The ultimate result

Unwanted pounds due to poor food choices together with lack of exercise set the stage for obesity and further sleep loss. To illustrate this further the debt of sleep is the replica of credit card debt where all accruing credit card debt you will settle with high interest rates and if you don’t, your account will be shut down until you pay it all off. Therefore accruing too much sleep debt only leads your body crash. You must ensure that you do not brag about your strength of staying up all night because it is not in fact it is a weakness because you do pay a price for staying up late and getting up early.

Understanding the Sleep-Diet Connection

Hardly will you find sleep-diet connection being addressed by most diet authors and probably you have even heard about the sleep diet, which suggests you can lose weight while you catch your ZZZs. Have you? It’s worth noting that not so much that if you sleep, you will lose weight however when you are sleep-deprived (i.e. meaning that you are not getting enough time of sleep or good quality sleep), your metabolism will not function properly. On average people need about 7.5 hours of quality sleep per night and if you are getting this already, a slight increase of say half hour will not help you lose 10 pounds, but on the other hand if you are used to sleeping for say five-hour and you increase this to seven hours a night, you will start shading off some weight.

How specifically will lack of sleep affects one’s ability to lose weight will have a lot to do with our nightly hormones. We have two hormones which are very instrumental in this process and they are ghrelin and leptin.

Ghrelin is the ‘go’ hormone that tells you when to eat, and when you are sleep-deprived, you have more ghrelin.

Leptin is the hormone that tells you to stop eating, and when you are sleep deprived, you have less leptin.

More ghrelin plus less leptin equals weight gain i.e. you are eating more, plus your metabolism is slower when you are sleep-deprived.

The Sleep-Weight Loss Solution

The big question here is, what can you do about sleep deprivation?

First, look at how much you sleep vs. how well you sleep – Some people such as new mothers may only get to sleep for a four-hour stretch. And there are some people who get 7.5 hours of sleep that is poor quality because of pain or an underlying sleep disorder, and this has the same effect as if they got less sleep.

Trouble-shoot both with improved sleep hygiene and for beginners avoid any caffeine in the afternoon because it will keep you in the lighter stages of sleep which are associated with poor sleep at night.

Exercise also helps improve sleep quality. How soon before bed should you exercise? It depends with the individuals because everyone is different. It’s more important that you exercise than it is when you exercise and to be safe avoid exercise right before going to bed even though some people exercise better before bed and it doesn’t affect their sleep.

Take interest on what you’re feeding on before bed time like for instance foods and drinks like pizza and beer before bedtime is not a good idea. It is also not recommended that you eat a big meal moments to bedtime instead eating a few healthy snacks and then having a light meal like a bowl of cereal if you’re running close to bedtime. Heavy, rich meals before bed can also increase risk of heartburn, which will certainly keep you up all night.

Finally I ask what if you are getting enough hours of sleep but wake up and feel sleepy the next day? Talk to your doctor about seeing a sleep specialist. After conducting a thorough evaluation and sleep study, in which you are monitored while sleeping, the sleep specialist can help identify any underlying problem. Together you can develop a treatment plan so that you get more high-quality sleep and maybe even slim down. But generally in all these doctor Dalal Akoury of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center will be there for you for any obesity and weight related problems you may have. Together with her team of experts they will focus on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE.

Sleep and Weight Gain – What you should do

Lose weight the healthy way

July 26, 2014

Lose weight the healthy way – It is possible and you can

Weight lose. Keeping your weight to check involves total life change. What you eat and your feeding habits also counts.

If you ever wanted to lose weight then you must be ready to ready to accommodate high degree of tolerance and patience because the body adapts to slow and gradual changers in terms of food and exercise. It is never healthy to burst to physical activities or crash diet thinking that this will make you lose quickly. For instance if you have not been into physical activities for a long time you must not start very aggressively like running several miles in a day no you will be struggling and develop the feeling of dishearten and demotivated besides this you may get injured along the way giving your fitness schedule a setback. Likewise starving yourself all over sudden diets that severely restrict calories or the types of food ‘allowed’ can lead you to be deficient in the nutrients and vitamins that your body needs. Therefore for you to lose the healthy way you must embrace the following:

Energy needs and weight loss

The body require energy to function well and any energy in excess of what the body needs is stored as fat denoting that when you eat more food beyond what the body can accommodate for its daily activities and cell maintenance then you are likely to gain weight and for you to lose this excess, you must engage the body into doing so by reducing the amount of calories you eat and increasing your level of activities and that is why experts talk about weight loss in terms of diet and exercise.

Introduce changes gradually

The small things you do can make a big difference like an extra peace biscuit a week may make you gain 5lb a year this may look insignificant but it is not because if you remove that biscuit out of your diet you’ll lose the same amount.

You should think of weight loss in terms of permanently changing your eating habits. Even though weight-loss goals are usually set in term of weeks, the end game is to tolerate these changes over months and years, i.e. lifestyle change for life.

Increase your activity levels

People who increase the amount of their physical activities while maintaining the same diet and calorie intake will certainly lose weight. It may not matter your dislike for gym, remember even that small and short 10 or so minutes of walk is beneficial when done consistently. Every single time you exercise more than usual you will be burning calories and fat. Therefore choose from the many ways of increasing like team sports, racket sports, aerobics classes, running, walking, swimming and cycling will all improve your fitness levels.

Reduce your calorie intake

If you’re overweight, you can’t continue with your current eating habits if you really want to lose weight.

It’s not possible to reduce body fat while eating lots of food, cakes and sweets. This doesn’t mean you can never have any treats, but you need to learn how to limit these foods to small quantities and for weight-loss, you can get your body to use up existing stores of fat by eating less and making healthier choices.

Remember there are no shortcuts to losing weight in a healthy and reasonable way. Consider the following ways to reduce calorie intake without having to alter your diet significantly.

Replace fizzy drinks and fruit cordials with water.
Swap whole milk for semi-skimmed, or semi-skimmed for skimmed.
Eat less lunch than usual. For example, make your own sandwich and limit the use of margarine or butter and full-fat mayonnaise (store-bought sandwiches often contain both).
Stop taking sugar in tea and coffee.
Have smaller portions of the food you enjoy.
Avoid having a second helping at dinner.
Cut out unhealthy treats – such as confectionary, sugary biscuits and crisps between meals.
Cut down on alcohol intake.

All these things will influence your health in a positive way.

Finally, don’t be tempted to skip breakfast – or any meal to lose weight. While skipping a meal will reduce your calorie intake for that hour, it will leave you much hungrier later on and because of this you will not overeat to compensate, but you’ll often make bad choices to fill the gap: a cereal bar is not as healthy as a bowl of cereal or as filling, leading you to ‘need’ something extra for lunch.

Be patient and persevere

It might take a week or two before you notice any changes, but they will steadily appear. After the first month you’ll be able to see the results and measure them in terms of looser fitting clothes.

Keeping your motivation up is one of the most difficult aspects of dieting. There will be days when healthy eating goes out the window, and there will be weeks where you may not lose any weight – or put a little back on.

This is normal for everyone – dieters or not – so don’t let it undo your plans for a slimmer you. You’re not doing anything ‘wrong’, but you may need to look at your plan. Do you need to increase your activity levels? Make a few more changes to your diet? Put more effort into sticking to your current plan?

The other side of this is to make sure you celebrate your goals. While there’s joy enough in stepping on the scales and seeing them dip lower, be sure to mark long-term progress with a reward – such as new clothes or time off from domestic chores.

Health benefits

Studies show that overweight women who lose between 10lb and 20lb reduce their risk of developing diabetes. For men, the risk of heart problems reduces considerably.

It may seem like these are problems to worry about in the future, but time flies by and each passing minute counts work closely with the experts like doctor Dalal Akoury who is the founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center. She will help you in many ways including focusing on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE so that your weight is adequately put to check

Lose weight the healthy way – It is possible and you can

Easy way to losing weight

July 25, 2014

Easy way to losing weight – Make it Painless

Easy way to losing weight. It all begins with you being positive that you can make it weight problem will not be a problem.

It the concern of many obese people and those suffering from weight related complications of how best they can effectively deal with weight issues and in the most friendly way to all. This concern is a rising because weight loss has been associated with vigorous physical activities and healthy feeding habits which to many is an uphill task due to the nature of their work and schedule. Many obese people find it difficult preparing their healthy meals straight from the groceries and participating in physical activities due to unavailability of time. This is necessitated by tight work schedule where they leave for work very early and toile into late night and by the time they are done leaving for home they are tired and worn out. At this time what they can do is to walk in to the nearest fast food restaurant and have a quick bite of junk food for breakfast lunch and dinner. I believe you are aware of the consequences of this kind of feeding habit (weight gain, obesity and poor management of weight related problems).

As if this is not enough these people are having very minimal indulgence into physical activities further complicating their situations. The problem could be compounded if they are taking alcohol and smoking cigarettes substances which are addictive and has negative effects to human life. The insufficiency of physical activities is as a result of not being able to go the gym, walk and jog around the park and spending most of their working time in unhealthy office seats. Because of these fundamentals it will be very important that we look into ways of bridging the gap so that even those with such busy and tight schedules are also enjoying life without the scare of obesity. This therefore forms the basis and motivation of this article and so if you are that person then you may want to consider the following to help you bring your weight to manageable levels.

Addition and Subtraction

You may not need to follow diet denial instead add to your diet all those healthy food stuff you prefer like deep-red cherries, juicy grapes, or crunchy snow peas including those preferred fruits into your lunch and breakfast cereal menu and finally add the veggies into soups, stews, and sauces.

Adding in really works and taking away never does, while adding you must be careful keeping an eye on the overall calories. By the way don’t forget to add in something physical too, whether it’s doing a few dance moves before dinner or taking a quick stroll. Having appreciated how busy you are I will tell you how you can be physically active even in your situation of busyness.

Forget About Working Out

There are several things you can do that would help you replace working out like for instance you can be burning calories and stimulate muscles by doing things like washing your car instead of paying the car wash dealer to do it for you, riding your bike within your compound, chasing your dog around the back yard, delight in great sex these are very simple activities you can do without having to go to the gym or taking a work in your local park

Go Walking

In your busy schedule you can still get time to walk around for some few minutes and by the way few minutes can even be 5minutes. Walking in a nice weather condition is very healthy way of keeping fit and you may choose any of the following steps to help you be active the easiest way and without much sweating.

Engage and trade your power mower for a push version while clearing your compound.
When at your work station desire parking your car at the back of the lot to give you some little time walking to and from the office.
Instead of using your car when going to a meeting in the next street walk out of the office building and enjoy walking the meetings venue.
Sweep the drive or rake the leaves instead of using a leaf-blower.
Get off the bus a few stops earlier and walk the remaining distance.
Hike the mall, being sure to hit all the levels.
Take the stairs every chance you get and be consistent in doing so.
Sign up and participate in organized charity walks.
Turn on the music and get your heart rate up the next time you mop or vacuum.

These little movement put together go a long way in motivating your physical activities. If you walk twice a day for 10 minutes and try a few of these tips, you may find yourself with a low-impact, 30-minute workout easily tucked under your belt.

Sleep well

There are several possible ways that sleep deprivation could increase the chances of becoming obese. For instance:

Sleep-deprived people may be too tired to exercise, decreasing the “calories burned” side of the weight-change equation.
People who don’t get enough sleep may take in more calories than those who do, simply because they are awake longer and have more opportunities to eat;
Lack of sleep also disrupts the balance of key hormones that control appetite, so sleep-deprived people may be hungrier than those who get enough rest each night.

Finally by being unable to normally practice weight loss obligations for reason discussed it will be very important for you to seek the help of professionals who will guide you on matters of obesity and weight related problems. Dr. Dalal Akoury, who founded AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, is a medical professional offering her exclusive NER Recovery Treatment to everyone globally and to other physicians and health care professionals through training, clinical apprenticeships, webinars and seminars. Your situation will be very safe with doctor Akoury and progressively you will not only learn from and with the experts but get your life back to the fullest.

Easy way to losing weight – Make it Painless

Obesity and Addiction

July 24, 2014

Obesity and Addiction – Scientific findings

Obesity and Addiction. What happen when you follow on good diet and proper physical activities. Good health and comfort

It is common knowledge in the minds of many people that obesity is caused by overeating and laziness but is this really the true picture? Could some kinds of foods be addictive like substances like cocaine or nicotine? At least these have been the feelings of people in respect of these tow health conditions however new studies are proving differently that some foods rich in fat and sugar leads to changes in the brain in the same way as does with drug addiction. And because of these revelations the perception of what may be driving overeating is changing and this is what we want to discuss in this article.

It is becoming relatively difficult for many people to avoid consuming certain foods. For instance they clear the whole content of a mug of ice cream rather than just having a scoop or two practicing this even when it is not necessary like when they are no starving. Actually in the past overeating and obesity were regarded as failures of self-control or willpower and the professionals were recommending that overweight people eat less and do more exercise to lose some excess weight however new findings suggest that it may not be that simple. Researchers are finding that high-fat and high-sugar foods can trigger lasting brain changes which are likely to make it difficult to resist overeating. There is all indications that those changes resemble what happens in the brain when an individual is addicted to drugs like nicotine, alcohol, and cocaine.

The implications of this research are considerable. More than 33 percent of adults and 17 percent of children and teenagers in the United States for example are obese and about 300,000 people are said to be losing their lives annually because of obesity-related diseases making it the nation’s second-leading cause of preventable death. Economically this is estimated to be costing the authorities a hooping $147 billion as annual medical cost of treating obesity related diseases.

Obesity and Addiction – Hormone Leptin

When studying how food changes the brain structures and functions, scientists are finding more about the neurobiological factors associated with the obesity epidemic. This ongoing research is enabling scientists to:

Understand how food affects the brain’s reward system.

Develop more effective therapies for preventing and treating obesity.

One of the central players in the regulation of appetite is the hormone leptin. Produced in the body’s fat cells, leptin lets the brain know when there is enough energy stored in those cells. It informs the brain when to stop eating, at least for a while. Some evidence suggests the brains of obese individuals are less sensitive to the hormone and in extremely rare cases of obesity those in which the body produces no leptin because of a genetic mutation overeating was cut and weight was lost after leptin injections.

Scientists found out that leptin acted in the hypothalamus, a brain structure involved in the regulation and control of hunger. More recently, they discovered leptin also influences appetite by acting in a midbrain region known as the ventral tegmental area (VTA). This section of the brain contains dopamine neurons, which play a key role in the brain’s reward system the source of the feeling of pleasure we get when consuming some kind foods and in the development of drug addictions.

Obesity and Addiction – Junk Food Diets

While carrying out studies using rats it was established that junk food diets produced addictive-like behavior as well as dopamine-related changes in the brain. In one study, rats were divided into three groups.

One group was fed regular rat food.
A second group was given access to fatty or sugary foods, such as sausage, bacon, cheesecake and frosting, for one hour a day.
A third group was allowed to munch on the junk food whenever they wanted.

The second group quickly started binge eating the junk food, consuming most of their daily calories during the one hour they had access to the junk food.

The third group not only gorged on the junk food, they also became obese. The researchers identified one possible reason why. Dopamine receptors in the reward circuitry of the obese rats had become desensitized, potentially compelling the animals to eat increasing amounts of the food to get the same level of pleasure from it. A similar effect on dopamine receptors is associated with drug addiction, and may explain why addicts crave increasing amounts of a drug.

But overeating wasn’t the only addictive-like behavior observed among the obese rats. The rats also showed compulsive-like intake of food. To test for this, all the rats were trained before the study to anticipate and try to escape a small electric shock to their feet when a light came on. But after the rats became obese, they stopped taking evasive action. When the light appeared, they kept eating. This behavior disregarding the threat of punishment also occurs among rats that have extended access to cocaine and is thought to reflect the development of compulsive-like consumption.

Yet in other research, scientists discovered another similarity with drug addiction. When rats previously fed on junk food were suddenly switched back to a healthier diet, they avoided anxiety-inducing situations just as they do when going through withdrawal from cocaine and other addictive drugs.

Obesity and Addiction – Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF)

Tests showed these rats had five times the normal amount of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) mRNA in their brains during this denial period. CRF helps regulate fear, anxiety, and stress. Once the rats were put back on a junk food diet, they no longer avoided stressful situations, and their CRF levels returned to normal. They also began to overeat even more than before — a finding that may suggest why people who go on and off diets tend to find it increasingly difficult to lose weight.

Through other intriguing research, scientists discovered that a junk food diet can alter the production of dopamine and other genes in the brain’s reward system — even after the diet is abandoned for a healthier one. Studies also found these brain changes can be passed on from pregnant mice to their offspring, making the mice pups more vulnerable to both obesity and addictive-like behaviors in adulthood. Such findings may help explain why overcoming obesity is much more complicated than RESISTING to junk food and may point to possible interventions to help people struggling to make positive behavioral change and doctor Akoury can be of help to you in ensuring these desired changes for a better life a head of you.

Obesity and Addiction – Scientific findings

Major Threats of Obesity

July 20, 2014

Major Threats of Obesity – Life Threatening Illnesses Related to Obesity

Obesity is characterized by certain life threatening illnesses affecting every obese person and especially the elderly.

There are very many life threatening illnesses in the world today and they come in different ways. The World Health Organization while categorizing health risks have classified life threatening illnesses related to obesity as follows:

Cardiovascular disease
Conditions associated with insulin resistance, such as type 2 diabetes
Certain types of cancers, especially hormonally related and large-bowel cancer
Gallbladder disease

Major Threats of Obesity – Cardiovascular disease

Coronary heart disease is accountable for significant morbidity and mortality in aging patients of about 65 years and above. Cardiovascular remains the primary cause of mortality in the US up to 84% of persons aged 65 years or more dying from this disease. It is important noting that this condition can well be addressed by good feeding habit and in fact proper diet if the solution to treating this health condition in aging obese adults.

Obesity is actually the major fundamental factor contributing to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and is also related with multiple other ASCVD risk factors including elevated blood pressure, hypertriglyceridemia, low high-density lipoproteins, high cholesterol, and high fasting plasma glucose.

Major Threats of Obesity – Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes in older adults which occurs as results of interplay between genetic factors and environmental factors that contribute to obesity. A very insignificant weight gain can increase a person’s risk of diabetes by 50%. Coronary disease is the most evident and lethal sequel of type 2 diabetes. Lean-muscle mass begins to weaken after the age of 65. This shrinkage may be related to reduction in physical activity, disability, anabolic hormone production, or increased cytokine activity and if calorie intake remains at the same rate while the muscle mass decreases, then the older person will most likely experience fat weight gain.

The chief goal for obese diabetic persons is to avoid the common cardiovascular sequel. The effect of inactive behavior like watching television, in relation to risk of type 2 diabetes has been a subject of study and the findings were positive that the time spent watching TV is closely related with the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Major Threats of Obesity – Cancer

Obesity is also connected to higher rates of certain types of cancer like:

Breast cancer in older women is progressively being linked to obesity. 25% to 30% of several major cancers, including breast (postmenopausal), colon, kidney, and esophageal, have been linked to obesity and physical inactivity.
Obese men have increased risk of suffering from cancer of the colon, rectum, or prostate, than those who are not obese.
Cancer of the gallbladder, uterus, cervix, or ovaries is more common in women who are obese compared with women who are not obese.
It is important that proper management mechanism of obesity be established to reduce the incidences of these cancers.

Major Threats of Obesity – Gallbladder disease

Obesity is a major risk factor for gallstones because obesity is believed to reduce the amount of bile salts in bile, resulting in more cholesterol. Moreover, gallbladder emptying is decreased as a result of obesity

Major Threats of Obesity – Interventions to Address Obesity

It is the duty of healthcare providers like nurses to help edging obese people to adopt changes to promote a healthier lifestyle with the main objective being the sustainability of life changes through modification of diet, physical activities and use of community supports.

Major Threats of Obesity – Safe Weight Loss Strategies

Older persons present special challenges when making changes in diet and activity levels. In patients over 65, the increase in chronic diseases associated with aging reduces physical activity and exercise capacity, making it more difficult for elderly persons to lose weight.
Widowhood, loneliness, isolation, and depression are other factors that need to be addressed during weight-loss programs.
Participation in these programs by family members, as well as caregiver(s) is especially important if the older person’s vision and hearing are impaired or if there is cognitive impairment.
Appropriate nutritional counseling through referral to a registered dietitian is necessary to ensure that the older adult’s daily nutritional requirements are met during weight-loss programs.
The benefits and risks of weight reduction in older adults should be carefully considered.
Loss of lean body mass, which is already diminished in older adults, may not be appropriate in persons over 65 years of age because the loss of fat-free mass in older adults is associated with significant morbidity and mortality.
A weight loss program that minimizes muscle and bone loss is necessary for the older adults who are obese and have functional impairments or metabolic complications that might be improved by weight loss.
Improving physical function and helping to preserve muscle and bone mass through regular physical exercise is important in older adults who are obese.
Increasing flexibility, endurance, and strength should be the objective of regular exercise in older adults who are obese.

Finally in ensuring that the life of our old people is well cared for the use of professionals who are well conversant with obesity is very necessary all the way. Together we have a duty to help patients and especially the older obese people to manage their weight along with general considerations to facilitate weight loss safely. Doctor Akoury is a trusted and respected healthcare professionals who also the founded AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, she is committed to helping people globally in all matters of weight gain and obesity in the most natural way and putting emphasis on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE. It is therefore time for you to take the lead role in combating the obesity epidemic in our societies today and kick out this problem from our neighborhood.

Major Threats of Obesity – Life Threatening Illnesses Related to Obesity

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