Sleep More for Better Weight Loss

It has been a global truth that sleep has effects on our weight, and if we do not sleep, we are bound to gain weight. Naturally speaking, those who do not sleep well, would drink lot more latte or espresso or even steamed milk to keep up with their hectic schedules. Because of sleep, we might not be doing exercise as we might feel too tired to the extent of skipping dinner as the whole of routine would seem disturbed. Try some fitness deals in doha.

With all these series of events around us, if we face such situations few times a year then there seems no issue. But if it happens as part of life, as it is the way many Americans do, then we need to address the issue seriously. This is not only because they are not taking enough sleep regularly, but also because they don’t take proper rest between their working hours. We all are aware of the fact, that a good sleep is a key to good health and it is as important for health as exercising, and maintaining good diet etc.

When brain turns sleepy, our decision making process and its vitality also declines. The frontal lobe of human brain has dull activity- which is an important place for decision-making as well as impulse control. With a simple short sleep, we start behaving as if we are drunk. We lack the mental clarity needed for making good decisions. Besides this when we feel over tired, natural consequence is that reward centers of our brain rev up and we will start finding something that would let us feel good. We would get up to reach the kitchen in search of something to eat. This is a critical time that our brain does not respond well to over eating and the scenario causes over eating and weight gain besides other complications too.

A research finding points out that, people who are short of sleep tend to eat more at night and they go for snacks having high-carb. Another study reveals that people who are short of sleep would eat more than usual, hence causing weight increase. This is followed by a result from 18 research studies that lack of sleep leads to more craving for food which is full of energy and more of carbohydrates. With these results we may conclude that when a brain is sleepy, we crave more for junk food and our brain does not say ‘No’ to food so easily.

About the Hunger Hormones

Sleep is nutrition towards the brain. People in general need seven to nine hours of sleep in whole 24 hours. If we take less sleep, the body is bound to react as told by Ben & Jerry, the diet gurus. The insufficiency of sleep affects our hunger and the hormones that generate signal “I ‘m Full”. Besides this we have ghrelin and leptin. Interestingly ghrelin sends signals to brain about hunger and eating and when we sleep less, our body makes more of ghrelin. In parallel leptin cues our brain to stop eating. With less sleep, leptin levels drop and that results in eating more food. If we look at the situation impartially then less sleep would cause us eating more and resulting in gaining weight

Besides this there is cortisol spike because of having too little sleep. This way the stress hormone would signal our body to conserve more energy and fueling our waking hours and resultantly we are more apt for hanging on to fat. This way the research confirms that when dieters get less sleep during 14-days, they lose 55% less weight while their bodies made same number of calories. The dieters feel more hunger but they are less satisfied as they eat feeling as if their energy is zapped.

Researchers at University of Chicago tell that we feel “metabolically groggy" as we sleep less. Having less sleep in 4 days, the body reacts adversely. It does not process insulin which is an important hormone needed for converting sugar and starches etc. This way insulin sensitivity drops by 30% and even more. The results are somewhat disturbing. When our body fails to respond properly to insulin, the body faces trouble in processing fats right from the bloodstream and the body naturally stores more fat. This way sleep is directly related to weight loss. 

Tips for Better Night Sleep

The environment in our world has drastically changed. The gadgets like computers, cellphones, TVs all do not let us sleep or they lure us to remain awake at least a little more.

Let’s simplify the understanding:

• Let’s switch off these gadgets at least an hour before taking sacks.

• Fix the bedroom for sex and sleep only. Think to relax and release yourself instead of working more or entertaining yourself through these gadgets. 

• Try having a bedroom routine like having a bath or meditate or even reading before sleeping.

• Follow a schedule to wake up and retire at the same times each day on all week days.

• Do not eat heavy food before bed and avoid alcohol as this causes heartburn and hinders sleep. Avoid coffee, tea, soda even those sweet chocolates after 2pm as the system keeps caffeine for at least 5 to 6 hours.

• Switch off the lights. Darkness helps the body for releasing natural sleep hormone called melatonin. When lights are on, this does not happen well.

Fitness Doha health and fitness qatar women weight loss tips

Ten ways to speed up Fat-Loss

Given below are ten ways to achieve weight or fat loss without regaining mass.

1. Be in good posture: Certain postures bring more of fat in body as mentioned in a study at U.S. Military Academy situated at West Point. If someone is in brace position, he / she can be in a variety of issues. Taking brace position is not allowed at the academy since 1968. Experts consider marionette like posture where string is tied with head. Keep the spine area straight tightening your muscles in abdomen. Try sitting tall, standing and walking tall.

2. Do it in a group: Try achieving weight loss objectives in a group. People remain encouraged and charged in group excercises. May be joining some fat-loss club is a good option.

3. Sleeping cool helps: Very simple point is that avoiding too many covers while in bed helps burning calories. Sleeping cool helps your thermostat to burn more calories. Avoid electric blanket as well as flannel sheets during winter, use single sheet cover in summers. This helps burning several hundreds of calories during the night.

4. Do not use sauna, whirlpools or steam baths: These simply heat up the skin causing lot of sweating resulting in dehydration. In all cases dehydration is not helpful in loosing fats without helping your fitness. Looking at the opposite side, dehydration basically preserves your fats so excessive sweating is bad.

5. Using a scale is good: Use the scale but not too much. Scale only tells your progress and fat burning is usually slow. If you keep watching the scale, that could be self-defeating. Watching too much of your scale is like asking too much, taking reading once a week seems more than enough and natural.

6. The Colors: Colors have impact on our routines. Sharp colors bring more appetite, you see some examples in pizza shops as those shops tend to use red and somewhat orange asking you to eat more. Consider using white or even soft color table cloth to eat wisely.

7. Shorten your TV time in evenings: People take lot of tidbits and snacks in TV sessions without realizing how much they eat. At least avoid eating while watching the screen. Try option of drinking just water or walking around the place or even going to bed an hour earlier would help you saying NO to your TV.

8. Turning to household: Your house is a whole world around you. There are several chores and tasks that wait for you. You may get busy with those interesting things keeping your mind away from food. Bring the house in order joyfully or refinish things around you, there are hundreds of options. Once you think about those and you are bound to get busy elsewhere.

9. Imagine how you would look like: That is the target and that will keep you focused. This will keep you motivated to reach the goal as to why the struggle. This will reshape the approach to eating.

10. Try to Assert: Be sure that if you are lean, you will be stronger. This will happen if you are assertive. Muster the courage to say “NO” to your friends or yourself who want you to eat more or to get out of proportion. Adopt the habit of saying “YES” to those habits that support your cause and bring better control of yourself.


It is life and you make full use of it to remain healthy and fit. Your focus on such things in life is important for your health and yourself too.

excercise group excercises weight loss tips

The Best Slimming Foods...

Banish that muffin top with our pick of the best stomach-slimming ingredients!

Rock that slim look with pride this summer with these deliciously healthy foods. Then now is the perfect time to kick-start a summer eating plan so you look and feel amazing in time for take-off. 

Quinoa 

This ancient South American grain packs a healthy protein punch, making it an excellent slimming aid. Super-versatile, it can be used to bulk out soups and stews and used in place of your usual carb choice. 

Cherries 

Looking for a fruit that works overtime for your health? Cherries are rich in the antioxidant anthocyanins, which increase fat-fighting enzymes. Plus, these little beauties could maximise workout results by warding off post-exercise muscle pain. 

Salmon 

Want to wage war on wobles? Stock up on salmon when hunger hits. This oily fish is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, which keep skin cells plump, whilst keeping you full - curbing the the urge to snack.

Garlic 

Wonderful for adding flavour to food, garlic helps the liver to filter out toxins in the body. These pungent cloves are also packed with a molecule called allicin, which helps keep your immune system healthy, reducing the risk of summer sniffles. 

Avocados 

Packed with healthy monounsaturated fats, avocados help your body manufacture a compound called glutathione, which is needed to detoxify harmful substances. Plus, the good fat content will help to keep summer skin looking its best while filling you up - so you snack less! 

Strawberries

Nothing says summer quite like a fresh punnet of strawberries, and the good news is that this British seasonal staple is actually a slimming food. They rank low on the glycaemic index, which means they help to control the blood sugar fluctuations responsible for food cravings. Plus, they're a powerhouse of skin-perfecting vitamin C.

Eggs 

Cheap and versatile, eggs are a fab source of appetite-curbing protein, making them a dieter's best bud. A 2008 study published in the International Journal of Obesity reported that eating eggs for brekkie helps to boost weight loss for those following a calorie-controlled diet. 

Lemons

Lemons are like a magic wand for weight loss. They're detoxifying and help to promote proper digestion, which keeps bloating at bay. If they're not already part of your morning routine, you're missing a trick. Sipping on a mug of hot water and lemon filters away any impurities in your system, boosts the metabolism and keeps your cells hydrated so your skin glows. 

Broccoli 

Make dark green vegetables like broccoli a priority on your plate and the weight will fall off! Why? This green superfood helps your body to flush out everyday environmental chemicals due to its rich sulphur-containing compounds. Steam your veg instead of boiling to keep the nutrient content intact.

Nuts 

Raw nuts act like a wake-up call for weight loss. Brazil nuts, almonds and cashews are all loaded with protein and omega-3 fatty acids, which help to speed up the slimming process to get you in swimwear-worthy shape. 

Also check out some of the online beauty courses for weight management!

Source: www.womensfitness.co.uk

Detoxification health and fitness motivation qatar women tips & advice weight loss tips women's fitness

How to really tone your legs: 4 key exercises

The leg machine to avoid at the gym

There is a piece of equipment in the gym called a seated leg press. If I had my way, we’d douse all of these leg-press machines in napalm and hurl them into an active volcano. They are more than just a crappy way to build leg muscles; they are ruptured lumbar discs waiting to happen.

Look at the image in the link above and see how she is bent at the waist. What happens in that position is that the lumbar vertebrae open up at the back and close together at the front. Then you add a tremendous amount of force pushing in exactly the wrong direction, and it can cause a posterior rupture in those lumbar discs.

I have two blown discs in my lower back (not from this machine — the tale is long and boring). I can tell you it’s no fun to have that happen to you, and it took a lot of rehab to get me functional again. Don’t ever, ever use this machine, for this reason alone.

Another reason not to use it is that it isn’t exactly a functional movement. Look again at what she’s doing. Can you imagine a real-life scenario where you need to use strength in that specific type of movement? I can’t.

The right way to tone your legs

Focus instead on movements that use a natural downward force of gravity, instead of some lousy machine that imitates it. Working with gravity that is driving straight down is called a “structural exercise,” and it actually helps build and support the structure of your entire body.

There’s been question lately about whether or not this type of weightlifting can build bone density, but it still helps reduce the effects of osteoporosis and fractures as you age — just perhaps not for the reasons people originally believed. Instead, these types of exercises dramatically improve your physical capabilities and strength, so you’re far less likely to fall and a lot tougher if you do. These types of exercises are like a fountain of youth. You want to be tough and spry into your old age, don’t you?

One thing I’ll note is that what I’m about to recommend is pretty intense stuff, and it’s intense because it gets results. If you’re a rookie, you must get proper training. I don’t recommend hiring a trainer at a commercial gym — I believe that many of them aren’t well trained, and have sales quotas of training they have to sell. Instead, go through a university, a private studio, or a community center — find someone with a degree in exercise physiology, and preferably someone certified by the Canadian Society of Exercise Physiologists.

The four exercises for awesome legs

With that motivation, here is what you need to do to build strong and sexy legs, in rank order of importance:

Squats: You knew I was going to write that, didn’t you? It’s almost become a cliche. The reason why is because they’re awesome. Look at the movement in this video — now that is a natural movement that you make all the time. Being able to do that well not only makes those legs look better, it makes your entire body more powerful from head to toe.

Dead lifts: This is old-school, hardcore, bad-ass kind of lifting I want you to do. This one and squats both really require proper technique to get the benefits and prevent injury, so remember what I wrote about qualified instruction. See a graphic here.

Lunges: There are lots of different ways to do these, and mixing them up is always good. Again, a good trainer can show you a variety of types of lunges. Here is one.

Calf raises: There are lots of different ways to doing these as well. You can stand in a machine, sit in a machine, stand on a step and just do one leg with your body weight while holding a railing, or do that last one with a dumbbell in the other hand for added weight. They’re all good.

A few machines that are okay

I think quad extension and hamstring curl machines have gotten a bad rap. Yes, they are machines, and yes, they manipulate the angle of gravity — but they’ve also been designed for use in rehab and can strengthen and improve the look of those leg muscles. I don’t believe in relying on them as a primary exercise for legs, but to finish things off they’re just fine. Another machine that isn’t bad is the hack squat.

What I mean by that is, say you’ve done all of the above and are feeling pretty wiped — but still have a little gas left in the tank and want to do just a bit more focused leg work. If that’s the case, using these machines is fine.

Source-http://www.chatelaine.com/health/fitness/how-to-really-tone-your-legs-four-key-exercises/

crossfit courses training weight loss tips women Women athelets women's fitness workout

Walking or Running- Which Is Better

The Better Exercise: Walking or Running?

As aerobic activities, walking and running alike have excellent health benefits. Both facilitate weight loss and better health management, both boost energy and mood, improve sleep, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels. These activities also decrease the risks for cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

However, there are differences in their immediate and long-term effects. Walking for 30 minutes can burn up to 187 calories, while running at 6mph for the same amount of time burns 365 calories. Walking enables burning more for extended periods. Running can accomplish the same for a lesser period, but may take greater amounts of energy.

Targeting Weight Loss

A study published recently in the Medicine and Science, in Sports and Exercise, called “Greater Weight Loss From Running than Walking,” reports that runners became consistently thinner than walkers from the time they joined the study. Participants were measured for their weight, waistline, diets, and weekly mileage, and measured again six years later. The results show that the runners were able to maintain body mass and waist circumference more successfully than the walkers.

Preventing Disease

Both activities have benefits, but walking reduced risk for diseases more significantly. According to Runners and Walkers Health Study, when compared to walkers, runners are less at risk for high blood pressure by 4.2 percent and unhealthy cholesterol levels by 4.3 percent, as well as diabetes by 12.1 percent and cardiovascular disease by 4.5 percent, for every metabolic energy expenditure. In the same report, walkers’ risk decreased by 7.2 percent for high blood pressure, 7 percent for high cholesterol, 12.3 percent for diabetes and 9.3 percent for cardiovascular disease.

A different study published in the same periodical reveals that both runners and walkers has a decreased risk for the development of age-related cataracts, when compared to non-exercisers.

Managing Appetite

Running reduces appetite and consumption more effectively than walking, based on a report published in The Journal of Obesity. In the study held at the University of Wyoming, participants either walked or ran on a treadmill for an hour. The next day, they were allowed to rest for one hour. Their total energy expenditure was monitored in each session. Their blood levels were taken as well, in order to measure certain appetite hormones. They were then exposed to a buffet, where they could eat at to their heart’s content.

The walkers consumed 50 calories more than they had burned. The runners were a little cautious, consuming as much as 200 calories less than they had burned. They also showed significantly higher levels of a peptide hormone, an appetite suppressant, which the walkers did not have.

Conditioning the Aerobic System

Running entails a greater energy requirement than walking. A running program should be able to maximise aerobic conditioning in the least amount of time. For overweight exercisers, walking may be a better alternative.

For beginners, walking 10,000 steps a day  is the perfect low impact fitness regimen, with a lesser injury risk. It is also easier on the hips and knees. For advanced health buffs, running 10,000 paces is an excellent way to optimise the body and condition it to its limits.

aerobic exercise running walking weight loss weight loss tips