One Simple Weight Loss Tip MEN Can Apply

Weight loss for men – a lot of people don’t realise that there is a link between sleep and weight loss. We spend one third of our life sleeping so it has to be extremely important.

During sleep we release hormones to physically repair and recharge us, but we also release hormones to psychologically restore our cognitive function and your neural function.

When we don’t get enough sleep or the quality of our sleep is poor there are risks to our health. One of those risks are weight gain.

Why do we gain weight when we don’t sleep?

One of the reason why we start to put on weight if we don’t get enough sleep is because our body’s cortisol levels are going to be too high.
Cortisol is a stress hormone which is a fight or flight response. It affects the levels of our blood sugar, it affects the food choices we make and large amounts lead to long term storage of fat in our bellies.
If you are not getting enough sleep each night and your trying to lose weight you are making it more difficult for yourself to lose weight.

Even if you are working out at the gym, its not the workout that makes you better, it’s the rest and rebuilding that occurs during sleep that makes the magic happen.

What happens to your brain when it doesn't get enough sleep?

The performance of your brain suffers when you don’t get enough sleep. For example, you are going to find that your decision making is worst as a result of lack of sleep.

This is because the performance of your frontal lobe is reduced. Your frontal lobe controls your decision making and impulse control.
The lack of clarity is similar to when you are drunk and you just want to eat anything as a result of the lowered impulse control you experience.

Fatigue causes your brain to seek something that can make you feel good. In ordinary circumstances you may be able to resist sweet foods, but its more difficult when your tired.
We know this because studies have shown that people that are sleep starved experience a greater desire to snack late at night compared to people who are well rested.
Sleep starved people also have a greater desire to eat foods high in carbohydrates and fats compared to people that have had sufficient sleep.
Lastly, there are studies that have shown that being sleep deprived causes you to eat bigger portions, and craved energy dense foods.
When you think about why we sleep, it makes sense that you would want to eat more if you haven’t slept well.
We need to sleep to repair and balance the body.Sleep is a crucial part of recharging are energy levels. If your energy levels are low through lack of sleep it makes sense that your body would try to find that energy from food.

After-all, that is what food is for. Energy!

You have two hormones called leptin and Ghrelin which tell your body when your hungry or full. Ghrelin is released and signals to the brain that your body needs food.
When you have had enough food and you are full your body releases leptin so that your body stops eating food.
During sleep deprivation your body has a higher amount of Ghrelin and a lower amount of leptin.

This means that you are more likely to feel hungry and your brain will find it difficult to receive a signal telling it to stop eating food.

How much is enough sleep to help with weight loss for men?

Weight loss tips for men


8 hours is considered to be enough sleep for everyone. However, this may differ from person to person. Some people may need more others will need less.
Scientists have determined the best amount of sleep by separating people into 3 distinct groups. Group 1 had four hours, group 2 six hours and group 3 had eight hours of sleep.
Scientists discovered that the two groups that had less then 8 hours of sleep had slower cognitive function and that the group that had only 4 hours of sleep were falling a sleep during tests.
This means that sleep duration and sleep quality are both important to your bodies recovery.
I would determine good sleep to be 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep, as this will allow you to go through all the different stages of sleep.

What are the different stages of sleep for mens weight loss?

The different stages of sleep differ according to heart rate, and brain activity.

There are four stages of sleep that occur approximately 90 minutes in cycles during a night of sleep. The type and speed of brain activity varies during each stage.

The first 3 stages are considered to be non-rapid eye movement

During this stage your body will be between wakefulness and sleep. This is the lightest stage of sleep. Your brain waves are going to be low in terms of how much voltage they produce during this stage.

Stage 2 is a slightly deeper stage of sleep, and it is slightly harder to wake someone in this stage of sleep.

During this stage your brain produces more theta waves, and it also produces some rapid rhythmic brain activity with some larger spikes to suppress cortical arousal.

This stage is known as the slow wave stage because your brain waves are very slow. It will be extremely difficult to wake someone up during this stage.

Stage 4 is the rapid eye movement phase which is characterized by your eyes moving quickly under their lids. Also, your muscles are paralyzed during this stage.
Most of the dreams that you have are thought to occur during this stage.
What happens during a normal nights sleep?
During a normal nights sleep it is expected that you will cycle through each stage 4-5 times during the night for approximately 90 minutes.
However the order you go through sleep is not in order.
You go from stage 1 to stage 2, stage 2 to stage 3, stage 3 back to stage 2, and than from stage 2 to stage 4. Then this cycle repeats itself.

3 Shocking Mistakes That Are Killing Your Weight Loss Efforts

Weight loss tips for men - you’ve been making healthier food choices and hitting the track or the treadmill, but you just don’t seem to be making any progress in your weight loss.

Check this short list and see if you are making these mistakes that are sabotaging your hard work.

Skipping meals and avoiding calories seems like a good idea, right? No, our bodies have evolved into excellent fat-storing machines dating back to the time of our ancestors who lived in times of feast or famine.
When these hunters and gatherers found easy prey or discovered a supply of wild fruits they would feast, but it might be days until their next meal.
Our bodies adapted to this sporadic food supply by storing fat for energy and survival, maybe you’ve noticed that emergency supply around your waist.
And if you are female past puberty, your body stores even more fat as fuel for childbirth, conveniently located on your hips and thighs.
Skipping meals or going beyond 3-4 hours without a small meal or healthy snack can trigger your body’s survival instinct to store some emergency fat during this “famine”.
While you are trying desperately to burn and lose layers of fat, your body is slowing your metabolism and releasing hormones in order to maintain as much fat as possible until that next “feast”.

You will not win this “fat war” with your body. You can work around it by eating smaller, healthier and more frequent meals and by increasing your metabolism, your inner thermometer, through exercise.

Additionally, don’t skip breakfast. You are breaking the “fast” of the night before and you need to make time for it, and make healthy choices.

A small balanced meal including lean protein and slow (complex) carbohydrates including fiber and a healthy fatty acid will provide energy, help you feel full longer, and prevent you from grabbing the first unhealthy junk food you find when you are suddenly “starving” later in the day.

Yes, cardiovascular training does burn calories by moving large muscle groups, and keeping your heart rate elevated for prolonged periods of time.
However, spending hours on the treadmill or stationary bike will not get you the results you desire. You will need to mix it up
Have you tried resistance training for weight loss?
You need to add some type of resistance training. For example weight training is great for weight loss.
Weight training does not have to make you big and bulky. If you do weight training properly you will be able to improve muscle strength without size.
However weight training is not the only form of resistance training. You can do:

Once you begin to build and strengthen and tone your muscles your body will begin to burn more calories.

This additional muscle mass results in a higher caloric requirement for the day – the more muscle mass that you have, the more you will be burning fat for fuel.

Other options
Another form of cardio training is HIIT training. HIIT training is when you so short burst of intense exercise followed by a rest period of equal or greater length to the period of exercise.

Not only will you complete your workouts quickly by doing HIIT training, but you will also release growth hormone, which can drastically increase your metabolism and weight loss effort.

Remember, that HIIT training can be done anywhere. You can do HIIT in;

  • your home
  • in a park
  • at your local gym
  • In your back garden

Other benefits of HIIT training include:

  • It can be done with equipment
  • without equipment.
  • Can be completed in 5-20 minutes
  • Minimal space needed.
Bad day at work? Wouldn’t a few chips or maybe a few cookies make you feel better? Wouldn’t an entire bag of chips make you feel even better?
We reach for fatty, salty or sugary foods when we are stressed – they feed the pleasure zones in our brains and make us feel better.

Try to recognize the difference between emotional hunger and physical hunger

When you have physical hunger it comes on gradually over time.
You wont get the instant gratification from eating like when you emotions take over. Unless you haven’t eaten for a long time.
When you have emotional hunger you will usually crave something sweet and unhealthy. This is because unhealthy foods have additives added to these foods to replicate some of the feel good hormones like serotonin and dopamine.
Do you know what your emotional triggers are?
Try to think about what situations cause you to emotionally eat. Is it when you have had an argument with a loved one, bad day at work or just boredom?

Once you have discovered what the triggers are you need to find other ways to control them

It wont be enough to understand what causes you to emotionally eat, or even the cycle of emotional eating.
However, if you do understand emotional eating you have taken the first step to controlling it. The second step is thinking about other ways you can offset these triggers.
You see, your emotional triggers will always be present in your life. You cant remove the things that trigger you to eat, but you can control how you respond to these stresses.
If you don’t than your eating will get out of control and you will never control your weight.

Go to the gym and burn off the stress of the day and don’t have those fatty, salty and sweet junk foods available. It is all about making small, sustainable healthy choices and making them habits.

More from my site

Copyright 2015 Slimmer Faster Stronger