Eat and Sleep......Sleep and Eat

Hello Everyone...

Well, my last rule is really two rules.

The first one I want to talk about is getting sufficient proper sleep.  I am a long time sufferer of Sleep Apnea.

Now I know, everyone is going to tell me that they get enough sleep.  Unless you're hitting the 7 1/2 hour mark, with a major portion of that being deep REM sleep, then well, I have to the throw the BS flag.

One of the things the doctor told me when I started my therapy many moons ago, was that oddly enough, my weight should go down, as I would be getting better sleep.  In part he was right, there were a few more factors he didn't mention, but I do in my other posts.

Currently, I am nearing a plateau, and I know this by the rate of my weight loss, it has gone down.  So a took some time to think about it, and here's what I came up with.  I have been putting a lot of time into the blogs and developing some online presence, to eventually build into some thing more, so my sleep has suffered.  Well, this affected two other things, such as my appetite and my attitude.  These have both gone in the wrong direction, and well maybe my choices have not been so stellar of late when it comes to food.

Hence, I have decided to add some sleep time, (again), yeah its just like watching what you eat, you have to watch how much you sleep, as well.

How much sleep is enough, watch your attitude and your weight, these signals will tell you when you are getting enough.

Now onto eating...

If you have noticed, I have not specifically laid out what to eat, or made a recommendation for any specific plan.  Why?  Because I made the choices of what to eat or not eat, that best suited me and my life style.

Last year I noted that when I eat too much chocolate, I get a migraine.  So for me, I had to change how much I ate of it.  Yeah, the offset, when I do indulge, it really is that much better.

Another choice I have had to make was about peanut butter.  I could eat a few tablespoons of good peanut butter for a snack and not even think about.  That was one of my problems, not thinking about it.  I would go through a large jar of peanut butter, in a matter of a week or so.I have significantly reduced the amount of peanut butter I ingest nowadays. 

Both of these decisions about my diet are my own.  I did them for me, and to reach my goal.  I have made other decisions, but mostly they have been about the portion sizes.

You know about 4 oz of meat, should fit into the palm of most adults?  Hmmm,

America is overweight, mostly due to the fact that we overeat.  Now, I understand going out to eat, you want to splurge a little, I do.  You just cant splurge all the time.

You need to ensure that you eat sufficiently through out the day, to meet the needs of your body.  If your going to work out later, by all means, eat a little extra.  but only as much as you plan exercising or working off.

Remember goes in < goes out to lose weight.

If it helps, by smaller plates and bowls and cups...after all our species is very visually orientated, so a small plate with the same amount of food on it, will look more filling than if it was on a larger plate

Once you have your body working normally, you need to ensure you don't end up in the starvation mode, this would be bad, you body then needs to relearn that you are feeding, and then start burning the fat when your body is hungry.

What's wrong with the starvation mode?  You body's main concern is storing if for later.  This is what we are trying to avoid.

The point is, you eat what you would like to within a balanced diet, you don't have to buy into the prepackaged deals if you don't want to.  It takes some time evaluating what you are eating and paying attention to what your body is telling you, to get to the point where you can effectively manage your weight.  It takes practice, and it will be ongoing.

You need to learn what a serving is for all of the different types of foodstuffs.  You only need so many servings a day, if you have more servings, well then you wont lose weight, maybe maintain, or go up  a little.  If you are at your goal weight, then great, your golden.

Make it average out, your weight will average out also.

So there you have it, my rules for weight loss, this is what works for me.

Now I am going to keep blogging, go into more detail on some stuff, point out relevant things on the net, etc...  Otherwise, just try to keep everyone motivated to reach their goal.

If you need some inspiration, let me know, if you want to know more about one of my rules, let me know.

If you want to sell your own product, don't let me know, start your own blog, please do not comment here about your pills or supplements, or a specific diet.  My rules should work for most people on any reasonable diet plan.

May the tape measure be with you....until the next post,

Dan W.