More Sleep = Better Weight Loss

Did you know that getting more sleep may actually help you lose weight? Yep, that's what I hear.

Now, I don't know about you, but I know that I could do a lot better in the sleep department. I don't think it's so much that I'm not getting enough sleep, but I know that I don't have good sleeping patterns which leads to my whole system being messed up. Staying up until one and two o'clock in the morning and then sleeping until 8:30 or 9:00 is not good for anyone. And it really messes up the rest of my day as well.

I used to get up at 5:00 am every day to work-out and shower before anyone else got up. I felt GREAT! My days, and consequently the days of my husband and kids, went so much better. But I've not done that in such a very long time. We're putting the kids to bed MUCH too late, then we stay up enjoying some quiet time, which leads to me surfing or blogging until the wee hours of the mornings, which then causes me to sleep late in the mornings. NOT a good pattern.

Losing weight and getting healthy is a gradual process. Baby steps. Life-style changes, one thing at a time. So getting more sleep and getting back on a good sleeping schedule is one thing I'm going to start working on.

Here is a really good article from WebMD about why more sleep may help you lose weight.

Great Idea From Tonight's Biggest Loser

I really enjoy watching The Biggest Loser. I love seeing the transformations in the people and it really encourages me.

Tonight Bob Harper, one of the trainers on the show, was trying to help one of the young men who had a hard time with his eating. Bob asked Dan if he ever planned his meals. Dan replied that he "planned on going through the drive-through". So Bob showed him an easy way to eat healthy.

He took a Ziploc bag and filled it with salad 'stuff', zipped it up, and tossed it into the refrigerator. Now, whenever Dan was hungry and needed to grab something, or, if he had his meals planned out for the week and in those plans a salad was included, all he had to do was go to the refrigerator and pull out his salad, open it up, pour his dressing in, zip the bag back up and give it a good shake, and wha-la... a nice fresh salad in no time.

This is a great idea, and one I think I'm going to start using here!