Sleep and Your Fat Cells

06 Wednesday Mar 2013

Posted by creatingahealthylifestyle in Healthy Body

Tags

Difficulty Losing Weight, Fat Cells, hormone leptin, Hunger, Hunger Regulation, Insulin, Insulin resistance, Leptin, Losing Weight, Metabolism, Overeating, Sleep and Fat Cells, Sleep and Hunger, Sleep Deprivation, Sweet Dreams, University of Chicago, Weight Gain

Sleep has been shown to affect our fat cells! A new study from the University of Chicago, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, determined that four nights of sleep deprivation reduced insulin sensitivity in fat cells by a whopping 30 percent.

The less sensitive our cells are to insulin, the less our body produces the hunger-regulating hormone leptin. The less leptin we produce, the hungrier we are, and our sensors that tell us when we are full or satisfied don’t work properly. This can lead to overeating and weight gain or difficulty losing weight.

The following are links to previous posts on sleep:

Increase Your Metabolism, Part 2

Why Overcome Sleeplessness

Have You Found The Lifestyle That Works For Your Body?

Sweet Dreams

Love, Health & Happiness,

Phyllis

Have You Found The Lifestyle That Works For Your Body?

09 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by creatingahealthylifestyle in Healthy Body

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Deep Breathing, Feldenkrais Method, Healthy Body, Healthy Diet, Healthy Lifestyle, healthy-living, maintaining weight loss, Meditation, Metabolism, Movement, Obtain and maintain a healthy body weight, Physical Activity, Prevention of Diet Related Diseases, Relaxation, Sleep, Water, Whole Grains, Yoga

Many components make up a healthy body, including what we eat and drink, how much we sleep, some physical activity and relaxation.

Let’s look at each one:

1. What we eat and drink: A healthy diet, made up primarily of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds and lentils has been shown to prevent and reverse diet related symptoms and diseases. Also, since our bodies are made up mostly of water, it makes sense to make this our “beverage of choice.”

2. Sleep: Recent research has shown how important sleep is for our basic functioning and the ability to reach and maintain a healthy body weight.

3. Physical Activity: Movement helps with circulation, burning calories, increasing your metabolism, building agility, stamina and strength. It can also improve mood, blood pressure and build a strong core and back.

4. Relaxation: For some people a regular practice of meditation, deep breathing, Feldenkrais or yoga serves as a way of relaxing the body and the mind.

Love, Health & Happiness,

Phyllis

Increase Your Metabolism, Part 2

25 Tuesday Sep 2012

Posted by creatingahealthylifestyle in Healthy Body, Healthy Eating

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Fiber, Frequency of eating and metabolism, Georgia State University, Health, Healthy Body, Healthy Eating, Healthy Lifestyle, healthy-living, high fiber foods, Increasing Metabolism, Lack of Sleep, maintaining weight loss, Metabolism, Sleep and Metabolism, starvation mode, Vegetables, Weight Loss

While exercise is considered the best way to increase your metabolism (click here for part 1), there are other factors to consider that you have control over.

1. Sleep – Lack of sleep has been shown to have a negative impact on metabolism, slowing it down which can be an obstacle to maintaining or losing weight. Make an effort to go to sleep when you are tired.

2. Frequency of eating – How often you eat effects your metabolism. Every time you eat you stimulate your metabolism for a short period of time. Research from Georgia State University shows that people who eat every 2 to 3 hours have less body fat and faster metabolisms than those who eat only 2 or 3 meals per day. Also, by eating frequently, you teach your body not to go into starvation mode, where it will conserve fat because it doesn’t know when the next meal will be.

3. What to eat – Include a serving or two of vegetables with lean protein or nuts. Increasing the amount of high-fiber foods, like vegetables is one of the best ways to raise your metabolism. First, your body tries to break down fiber, which is a non-digestible carbohydrate, this burns calories and boosts your metabolism at the same time. Second, vegetables are low in calories and high in nutrients aiding in your ability to lose weight or to maintain a healthy weight.

Love, Health & Happiness,

Phyllis

Rev Your Engine With Exercise

20 Thursday Sep 2012

Posted by creatingahealthylifestyle in Healthy Body

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

boosting your metabolism, Burning Calories, Calories, Increase Metabolism, Intensive Exercise, Metabolism, metabolism rate, Muscles, Physical exercise, Sluggish Metabolism

Is your metabolism sluggish? Metabolism is the process of breaking down proteins, carbohydrates, and fats to provide the energy your body needs to maintain itself. Your metabolism rate is determined by many factors including, age, level of physical activity, the number of calories you consume, the foods you eat and the amount of water you drink.

One of the most effective ways of boosting your metabolism is to increase your amount of intensive/aerobic activity. The reason being, is that your body is efficient and will burn carbohydrates first and then fat, if it is needed for energy. Thirty minutes a day, of intense exercise, five to six times a week is recommended for adults.

Did you know that our bodies continue to burn extra calories after intense exercise or weight lifting for up to 24 hours? Also, being more muscular increases your metabolism as each extra pound of muscle you carry can burn up to 50 additional calories just to maintain itself!

Now, I’m ready to go work out, how about you?

Love, Health & Happiness,

Phyllis

Time For Breakfast

06 Thursday Sep 2012

Posted by creatingahealthylifestyle in Healthy Eating

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Breakfast, Breakfast Cereal, fruits and vegetables, Health, Healthy Eating, High Fiber, High Fiber Cereal, leftover vegetables, Leftovers, Low Sugar, Metabolism, Nutrition, Weight Loss, Whole Grains

We’ve all heard that breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day, but do you know why?

A healthy breakfast fuels your body with calories so that your body can function. It provides needed nutrients, especially phytonutrients from fruits and vegetables. Also, eating breakfast can help boost your metabolism and that may help with weight loss and weight control.

Plan ahead so that you have time to eat breakfast. Sometimes I take out what I need the night before. For example, I usually have oatmeal, so I’ll take out the oats, a bowl, a spoon, and a measuring cup. Then in the morning I don’t have to go looking in the cupboards and drawers for these items. All I have to do is cook the oatmeal, and add cut up banana or blueberries, and walnuts, flax seeds or chia seeds.

A high fiber, low sugar breakfast cereal is another option. Add low-fat milk or almond or soy milk and fruit for a satisfying healthy breakfast. If you eat dairy, adding fruit and a spoonful of walnuts or almonds to plain yogurt is a good choice.

Breakfast can consist of any leftovers of whole grains like quinoa or brown rice and vegetables, or an omelet with leftover vegetables and a side of cooked beans. You could even have soup for breakfast or a salad.

Just like your other meals, a healthy breakfast will be comprised of some fruit or vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, nuts, seeds, and/or legumes.

Love, Health & Happiness,

Phyllis

Creating a Healthy Lifestyle

Tag Archives: Metabolism

Sleep and Your Fat Cells

Increase Your Metabolism, Part 2

Rev Your Engine With Exercise

Time For Breakfast