Lose weight whilst you sleep

Apparently it is true - sort of. Research has shown that two hormones have been linked to appetite and those same two hormones are also affected by the amount of sleep that we get. The study showed that when we get less sleep the hormones react to this leading to feeling less satisfied after eating and also showed that if the quality of sleep is poor even if there is eight hours of sleep this will also have the same effect.

So what makes for a good night's sleep?

It seems that sharing your bed with your furry friends can affect sleep...

Apart from late night feet attacks your pets also have different sleep patterns, so their restlessness may affect your sleep patterns without you even noticing it.


Coffee and Alcohol

We all know that caffeine has a detrimental effect on sleep but so does alcohol - while initially you may feel sleepy after a drink but as your blood levels drop later on this can cause you to wake up again.

What can you do to get a better night's sleep?

Banish all your electronic gadgets from the bedroom - and yes that does include your TV, Ipad and smartphone as the artifical light can supress the melatonin needed for a good night's sleep.

Go to bed at the same time each night and try and get up at the same time each day.

Keep your bedroom cool and clutter free.

RELAX

The Plank Challenge

So I need a bit of a challenge to get me going so today I decided to embark on the plank challenge.

No it has nothing to do with a plank of wood, but it is a seemingly innocuous exercise designed to strengthen you core abs and back. The perfect exercise for someone like me who has a very weak core resulting in a weak back.

So this is the plank - looks easy doesn't it, well it does until you have to stay like that for more than 10 seconds without your butt creeping into the air!

I timed myself today on my first attempt and it was, a massive,

wait for it ...

35 seconds!!!  How embarrassing but not surprising as I knew my core was weak.  My challenge is to get to 2 minutes - it is not much but I need to break myself in gently, I have no idea how long it will take me to reach 2 minutes but I am going to try and do this every day and hope to reach two minutes in two weeks.  I will keep you posted!  In the meantime please take up the challenge yourself and let me know how you get on.

This week i'll be mostly.....eating!

So we all know that weight loss is simply calories in - calories out.  Using this equation it follows that if you reduce your calories in then you will lose weight. 

Well not quite, the body being the amazing machine it is notices if the calorie intake drops too quickly or by too much and then your wonderful endocrine system slows down your metabolism to compensate thus burning less fat, not quite what you were hoping to achieve huh!  So this week I will be eating plenty but trying to eat well so nuts, fruit, veggies etc in a bid to eat myself thin!

Vitamins, Kill or Cure?

In my bid to become a healthier person, I have been looking at the key ways of improving health.  Looking at the various health and fitness magazines it seems as though alongside diet, exercise and sleep there is another area that I can embrace in the quest for better health - Vitamins.

However after some additional reading including Ben Goldacre's Bad Science and Dr Agus's End of Illness I have been challenged to think again about the way I view vitamin supplements. It has occurred to me that the Western diet should be more than capable of providing all the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that our bodies need unless they are malfunctioning. 

If our bodies malfunction in other ways we seek out medical assistance, for example if we have a fit then we would visit the doctor to see why this had occurred we wouldn't simply assume that we have epilepsy and start self medicating.

So should we not treat a vitamin deficiency as we would an illness and actually get diagnosed with the deficiency first before treating a problem that we might not even have! I am certainly giving up all the vitamins I take, with the exception of my B vitamins (I have had blood tests that show I am deficient in these vitamins).  If my body doesn't need them then why would I waste money on taking them? 

I also think it is important to take into consideration some of the bad press that some supplements have had, where it has been discovered that taking large quantities of antioxidants can actually increase your chance of cancer.  For example the US National Cancer Institute discovered that the antioxidant supplement beta-carotene actually appeared to increase the risk of lung cancer in those predisposed to the disease.

Also the other benefit of taking antioxidants is not unclear.  It was thought that we should banish free radicals at all costs and would therefore take antioxidants to fight off these free radicals, it is now understood that these molecules actually play a vital role in our immune systems by killing tumour cells and invading pathogens.  According to an article in The Telegraph, researchers at Nijmegen University in the Netherlands have suggested that giving antioxidants to people with cancer might actually be counterproductive, given that patients will need free radicals to dispose of proliferating tumour cells.

So for now at least it is probably better to eat a better diet than pin your hopes on the "miracle benefits" that vitamin manufacturers are touting and only take vitamins if you have been recommended them by your doctor.  Most of all though is the reminder to not believe everything you read in papers and on the internet but to go and do some research yourself so you can make your own informed decision.

Paracetamol - think before you pop!

According to research by Edinburgh University just taking a few too many paracetamol tablets over time can lead to fatal liver damage or lead to kidney and brain problems.  Shockingly paracetamol overdose is the leading cause of acute liver failure in Britain. 

The average staggered overdose was 48 tablets – slightly lower than the average one-off overdose of 54 tablets – but the staggered doses could have been taken over a period of up to a week. These are often taken in response to acute pain such as toothache or joint pain and had just an extra few over four or five days.

So please if the recommended dose of paraceamol doesnt work, don't try to "top-up" instead consult your GP!

"Super Healthy Milk"

Reading University have recently released more research on the beneficial properties of Milk including evidence on how milk proteins could help older people maintain muscle mass, and epidemiological links between dairy products and vascular disease reduction.   Also discussed was the research into how changing the diets of dairy cows could change the types of fat in milk and reduce emissions of the greenhouse gas methane, thereby helping to tackle global warming.

Many dairy cows are fed on a diet including palm oil, which is responsible for much destruction of rainforests globally, particularly in areas such as Borneo.  Also palm oil which features heavily in everything from chocolate biscuits to fish fingers to pizzas and pasties, is high in heart damaging saturated fat.

Following on from this research, Marks and Spencer have relaunched their regular milk to ensure that is comes from cows fed only a natural diet removing palm oil from the cow's feed.  According to M&S this will result in 6% less saturated fat in their milk. M&S said the diet improved cow health and welfare, while also being better for the environment.  Curiously and disappointly, however according to thier Food Team, M&S organic milk comes from cows that have palm oil in their food and they have no plans to change.

This leaves those of us wanting to purchase healthy milk with the least chemicals and the highest levels of animal welfare in rather a quandry, should we be purchasing this new palm oil free, lower saturated fat milk or Organic milk?

For now I am opting for the palm oil free milk but hope that Marks and Spencers soon see sense and roll this out across their organic range of milk also.

Beautiful day

Fantastic day in the park in Windsor with husband and friends, ate too much good food but at least we have now cemented the need to start hammering the gym next week! I have even bought a new pair of tracksuit bottoms to prevent the "nothing to wear" last minute gym excuses!  First stop is Body Balance on Monday night....