Is lack of sleep affecting your health & weight-loss goals?

I have never had problems in the sleep department. As an 8yr old child, my parents had to come and wake me up on christmas day as they had been awake since about 5am and couldn't wait for me any longer! Nothing has changed.
I would even go as far as to admit that I may have a slightly unhealthy obsession with sleep. I simply find that I look forward to the part of the day where I am actually at peace and free of all the stresses and worries that everyday life brings.
I am an 8-9 hours a night sleeper, and find that I struggle if I try to get away with anything less than 7hrs. On the other hand my husband manages quite well on around 6 hours a night, and science seems to suggest that women need more sleep than men.

so there!!

Quality sleep is essential for brain function and body repair.

It is essential that both our brain and our bodies get adequate rest in order to repair and regenerate whilst we sleep. According to the NSF (National Sleep Foundation) 63% of men and 54% of women have some difficulty sleeping a few nights every week. The effects of too little sleep cause memory related problems and reduce alertness. Alzheimers is now being linked to lack of sleep.
Studies have shown that getting less than 6 hours sleep per night  increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and certain cancers.

Are you aware that lack of sleep could be sabotaging your weight-loss attempts?

Lack of sleep will change hormone levels in the body. As sleep decreases, the body produces more (cortisol) a natural hormone that regulates appetite. When its levels increase we continue to feel hungry despite being full. Lack of sleep also causes levels of growth hormone to decline. This reduces muscle mass and strength, increases fat tissue, and weakens the immune system. Insulin the hormone produced by the pancreas to transport (glucose) from the blood to the muscles and other tissues within the body, increases when the body does not get enough sleep. Because insulin causes sugars to be stored as fats, increased insulin makes weight control difficult. When we are feeling tired we tend to crave refined carbohydrates such as biscuits, crisps and pastries when we feel our energy level dropping. As our blood sugar rises, energy returns, but the un-needed calories are converted to fat. If we are feeling tired our bodies burn fewer calories because we lack the energy to exercise or work out intensely, therefore keeping storage of excess energy in other words fat.

  Exercise ideas to promote quality sleeping patterns

• Exercise either early morning or afternoon, avoid exercising 3 hrs before bedtime.
• Aim for at least 30 mins vigorous aerobic activity every day.
• Cycling, running or dance aerobic classes are all good choices.
• Try a yoga class as an evening activity, this class should help you to unwind.
• Tai Chi has been shown to have a positive effect on sleep (slow motion moving meditational activity)

FitFoxy has moved her blog to FitFoxy diet and weight loss specialist

To read an updated versioon of this article, click Lack of Sleep

The Science behind our Diet Program

There are so many health products and dietary supplements out there, that it has become a complete minefield for most people. So many companies make claims on products projecting theirs to be the "Breakthrough Product" that is sure to get you the results that no other product has managed so far.

So let me ask you:

1. Do you understand any of the science behind the products you use?
2. Can you put a face to the person who created these products, or who is able to fully explain just what these supplements can do to improve your wellbeing?

I can give you some incite into the Herbalife Products that I have used myself for over 4 years and continue to use with my weight-loss and weight-maintenance clients.

Herbalife is a successful nutritional company that has been around now for over 30 years and was started by Mark Hughes in the 1980's. His drive and determination to create Herbalife and make it a success was born out of the tragedy of losing his mother to an overdose of diet pills.
My parents and the older generation remember Herbalife for its very many pills and potions, but it has come along way since the 1980's. They now produce an extensive range of successful dietary wellness and sports products and and have a team of experts working within a nutritional laboratory within the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).

This is where Dr Luigi Gratton comes into the picture. he is a Physician and Specialist in family medicine, he is also Clinical physician at the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition in the risk factor obesity programme.

Have a look at the following video where Dr Luigi explains the power of our protein based products and how these products can help with successful weightloss and wellbeing.

Herbalife Core Nutrition Luigi Gratton MBH



Herbalife Core Nutrition Luigi Gratton Part 2



Herbalife Clinical Study Germany University Ulm



If you are interested in our products  and would like to use our support system to lose weight or condition yourself for specific sport fitness:

You can contact me via my email at sherry@fitfoxy.biz or call me on my mobile on +44 (0) 7952713761 for a chat.

Should you wish to have a look at our Shop, click www.fithealthyhappy.biz

Best regards

Sherry Chandler

My Top 5 Health Tips for 2011.

Well its almost a week into the new year and I'm hoping that everyone has stuck with the challenges and goals they set themselves on New Years Day.
It is almost laughable to see the same routine of diet magazines, celebrity fitness dvd's and weightloss adverts that circulate every single year. The diet industry makes an absolute fortune out of us, and people are lead to believe that the next best thing is definitely going to work for them.

WAKE UP PEOPLE!
There is and never will be a miracle diet, dvd, or cure to health and weightloss.
So stop wasting your hard earned money on diet fads and lies that consistently line these huge corporations pockets.


My Top Tips For Optimum Health in 2011

1. Aim to do some form of vigorous exercise 3-4 times per week for 40-60 mins. 

This would include a minimum of 20 mins cardio resistance training, abs and lower back.

NB: If you are elderly, or compromised by health issues or recent illness, you can still improve your sense of wellbeing immensely. Aim to take a walk 6-7 times per week, maybe start with a 15 minute steady pace and build up to half an hour.

2.  Clean Healthy Eating Monday-Friday

A healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner with plenty of vegetables, quality protein such as lean meat and fish and complex carbohydrates such as wholewheat pasta, brown rice and wholemeal bread. Watch your portion sizes, and don't rush your meals. Take time to eat and enjoy each bite, you will then begin to recognise when you are full . Don't be tempted to overload your plate or go back for seconds. Remember no snacking on biscuits, crisps and sweets. I would consider going through the cupboard and getting rid of any foods that you know will sabotage your healthy eating plan. It hurts to do at first, but if there is no temptation there you will not want it.

 

3.  Get plenty of sleep

A few early nights here and there, do you the world of good and help your body to repair and regenerate new cells. We should all be getting between 7-9 hours sleep a night, and research has shown that increased risk of disease starts to come in to play when we get less than 6-7 hours sleep over a pro-longed period of time.

4. Make Sure You are Drinking Enough Water 
This applies especially if you are trying to lose weight, watching your food intake is fine, but the water you consume is also imperative to your weight-loss as the liver needs to convert fat to energy and cannot do so effectively if water consumption is minimal.


5. Give Yourself Some Slack over the Weekend

It is not mentally healthy or realistically sustainable over the long term to deprive yourself of the things that you enjoy. Its perfectly fine to enjoy the things you have stayed away from for the week.

If it is wine have a glass or two, just don't drink the whole bottle. If food is your passion, make your favourite meal just remember that this is a treat and something to look forward to at the weekend. When these indulgences are carried over to your normal five day week, they become a habit and you will not get to your goals if you cannot discipline yourself. 

Hardly Rocket Science is it? 

But I also understand that for many, it really is easier said than done. All I have to say to that is this:  from my experience, the feeling of energy, wellbeing and vitality far outweigh the small sacrifices you need to make here and there in order to enjoy a healthier happier life.

A very Happy New Year to you all

x

To view FitFoxy's new blog please go to www.FitFoxy.biz

To view an updated version of this article please go to Health & Fitness Tips 

Trying to stay slim over the christmas period? forget it.

Yes I'm aware that I'm probably viewed as another one of those annoying preacers of fitness and health, and I'm regularly giving you advice on exercises for this and that etc, but I still believe that we all need a bit of time out now and then. Life is after all for living isnt it?
I've just had 9 days of total food and alcohol over- indulgence and to be perfectly honest I'm feeling like a right Lard Chop right now, but I'm back to work on the 4th of January and then  life will return to normal.
Christmas Eve  Was an F1 Herbalife breakfast shake then a drive up to Wales to stay with friends. Of course no 5 hour journey would be complete without a stop off at the Motorway services for a  Costa coffee and a Burger King special. In the evening we were all off out to the local Indian restaurant for too much food and too much wine and very nice it was too.

Christmas Day  Had my usual F1 breakfast shake, followed by what has to be described as one of the best christmas dinners I have ever had.  follow this with a dark cherry chocolate dessert and copious amounts of Jack Daniels and Baileys Irish Cream. The afternoon entailed polishing off the M&S Chocolate Brazils and Cherry Liquers I'd brought along for the festive gorging. The evening brought us cold meats, mini sausages and various mini pastries that all went down extraordinarily well considering everything else we'd shovelled down our gullets today.  I had however stopped drinking alcohol at this stage "enough already" which is more than I could say for the others.

Boxing Day   Had my F1 Breakfast shake, then off to the Parents for yet another christmas dinner with my two lovely sisters, their families. Yet again lots of food and an awful lot of party crackers with crap toys inside. We had a starter this time so there was no room for the desserts that my mum has since complained she had to throw away.  Again more alcohol, of course more Jack Daniels although my other half poured himself half of a pint of Baileys Hazlenut Liquer, decided it was rather nasty and poured it back in the bottle!

Dec 27th  We had 3 nights in a great hotel on the Wirral, which I have to say impressed me immensely when I saw the Fitness Suite. Okay I know I'm a saddo but they had the best gym in this place, and the pool was to die for.  We did however only manage to use it once.
They had a fab breakfast bar which was paid for so I made the most of their crunchy granola and mixed berries with milk. We took mum out for lunch to some appauling restaurant in a place called Broughton, she later told us she'd never liked it there... why do they do that?
My food wasn't so bad, I had a pasta pesto chicken type dish, my other half ordered a burger that to be fair looked like it had been hanging around on the grill for a week. In true South African style he sent it back and requested another burger without the incinerated appearance. He did get another burger that looked exactly like the first. So it was a money back manoevure for that meal.
We had a nice Chinese meal for dinner and rather generous portions resulting in another overeating spree, oh did I mention..... more wine.

Dec 28th  Shopping spree day, so we had breakfast at the hotel, I stuck with the crunchy granola and mixed berries with milk, whilst the other half got stuck into the cooked breakfast. He did however get a bit of a fright after sending his toast on a forbidden second journey around the rotating toaster almost setting the smoke alarms and the automatic sprinklers off in the dining room.
Lunchtime arrived and halfway around the retail outlet we encountered a Hot Dog stand and opted for a chilli and cheese dog each. Little did we know that a planned visit to my nan an hour later would take us to her favourite pub for another lunch. I picked one of the lightest meals on the menu a chicken wrap. Oh and another 2 Jack Daniels and coke.
The evening was spent with friends and therefore more drinking.

Dec 29th Checkout of the hotel today and on the way down to my sisters in Coventry to spend New Years. This meant a decent breakfast of eggs on toast at the hotel before our 3 hour journey. One stop off at Costa on the way for a Flat white and a piece of Carrot Cake. Then an evening meal at Nandos and its one of our favourite haunts so it had to be a half chicken and spicy rice. No alcohol for me today I had got a bit sick of it by this stage. I did have one of my nieces chocolate caramel bars however to compensate

Dec 30th  I had my F1 breakfast shake as normal and we went out to the town centre and had a blow out on shoes in TK Maxx so at least we weren't stuffing our faces. We then had to transport our bags to Army Accomodation close by so no time for lunch. I ended up having one of my protein bars and waiting until dinner for food. We did however stop by at the local pub for a Koppenburg cider before going back to my sisters for one of her "Slimming World" spaghetti bolgnaise. Wasn't bad actually. Then what? oh yes more alcohol.

Dec 31st Yes finally we get to New Years Eve, I managed to decline my sisters offer of a sausage sandwich in a favour of my F1 breakfast shake, but it was more or less downhill after that. She had made a chilli and a chicken curry for dinner with few platters of indian style nibbley things, some rice and some wraps.
I managed to scrounge yet another Cadbury's caramel bar from my niece and again I managed to consume copious amounts of alcohol.

Jan 1st 2011 And its finally time to go home before I start to look like a giant beach ball, oops too late! I had my F1 shake for breakfast, followed by a lunch of all sorts put together by my sister, followed by a strawberry cheesecake dessert. We had a 3 hour drive home and weren't back until 8pm. By 10pm on New Years Day there was only one option for us.... Dominos buy one get one free................

I have only one more thing to say....

Diet starts tomorrow.

FitFoxy has moved to a new blog click here www.FitFoxy.biz
To view an updated version of this blog, Christmas Diet