An adequate amount of sleep is extremely important in fat burning & weight loss.

The amount of sleep you regularly gethas a profound influence on your hormones. The data available with the National Sleep Foundation reveals over 63% of the Americans manage less than 8 hours of sleep regularly. The conclusion of this data is the majority of us are deprived of adequate rest. The impact is profound for those struggling to lose that extra flab.

Vital Weight Control Hormones,
Fat Burning & Sleep Loss: What You Never Knew

There are key hormones that regulate your appetite that over time become altered with lack of sleep. Ghrelin increases our appetite and leptin transmits to your brain, your stomach is full and decreases your appetite.

When your body is deprived of adequate sleep the secretion of the “full hormone” leptin falls. Simultaneously there is a rise in the “appetite hormone” ghrelin. 

 The body fails to actively metabolize the carbohydrate content of your diet and inadequate sleep negatively impacts the metabolic system of your body. As a result glucose content rises in your blood which in turn leads to a higher
insulin level which directly impacts fat levels and fat burning is negated.

 As you learned in earlier post – as leptin levels drop your body begins to crave more carbohydrates and the vicious cycle begins. Weight gain is just one dangerous result of this cycle.

 The Growth Hormone and Sleep

The body  secretes a growth hormone that’s main function is to regulate the ideal proportion of fat and muscle in your body. The time during which this growth hormone is produced is night. Inadequate sleep reduces this production and secretion. 

It is easy to see how lack of sleep can make it difficult to assist fat burning and losing weight. Not only do the
chemical process in your body make it more difficult when you’re tired and fatigued you’re less likely to eat right and engage in exercise.

Adequate sleep is an often overlooked essential factor in effective fat burning and weight loss. It is difficult to
determine a certain number of hours as a universal requirement. Numerous factors like age, sex, and predominant mode of activity help to determine how much sleep is ideally required by an individual.

On an average seven to nine hours of sleep is considered optimal. This needs to be restful sleep. Watching TV in bed and
falling asleep in front of the TV don’t promote the deep sleep we need. 

Here are a few suggestions to help you deepen the quality of your sleep:

• Stressful activity in the evening must be avoided. Consider reading a book or listening to soothing music before bed. 
• Engage in a regular bedtime routine to signal the body that it’s time to sleep. 
• Drink aherbal relaxing tea an hour or two before bedtime. 
• Products that contain caffeine such as coffee should be avoided. Similarly alcohol and tobacco can also affect the quality of sleep.     
•  Dinner and exercise should be at least three hours before retiring to bed.

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Generally, there is a relationship between the lower glycemic response and the related insulin response. A lower glycemic response is generally equated with a lower demand for insulin. This in turn means a better control over the bloodglucose level and a considerable reduction in blood lipids. To measure the insulin level in the blood, there is another index. It is called the insulin index, which gives a measure of the insulin response to a food.

The Glycemic Index of a food is calculated by measuring the two hour blood glucose response curveor AUC following the intake of a fixed portion of carbohydrate (generally 50gm.) In order to calculate the GI of a food, the AUCof the test food is divided by the AUC of the standard blood glucose level and multiplied by 100.  

The average GI of a food is calculated from the results obtained from 10 human subjects. The standard and the test food must contain equal amount of available carbohydrates. The average GI obtained gives a ranking of the food.  

In the present system of accessing the Glycemic Index of a food, the GI value of glucose is 100. Glucose is accepted as the reference food for the calculation of GI as it is the most abundant carbohydrate in the world. It generally gives a standard value, when tested in the labs.

Using GI in Deciding What to Eat & Fat Burning

Knowing the GI of a particular food is important to make proper choices about what food to eat and when. A high GI food ishelpful for immediate recovery of energy after high endurance exercises.A food with low GI is suitable for normal diet, as these will release glucose and energy slowly and steadily into the body.

The glycemic effects of various types of food are dependent on various factors. The most important factor is the type of starch that the food substance contains. It can be amylopectin oramylose. The fat and protein content of the food also determines the glycemic effect the food will produce. The other important factor is thepresence of other organic salts and acids in the meal.

For example, the presence of vinegar in the meal will lower the GI of any food substance. The presence of fat and other soluble dietary fibers affects the GI value of any food substance. Both the fats and fibers slow down the rate of digestion in turn reducing the GI value of the food.

A recent study revealed consuming alcohol just before a meal actually reduces the GI of the food substances by as much as 15%. The study also concluded that it is better to consume alcohol afterhaving a meal, rather than before.

Since you now know the impact of insulin on weight loss, fat burning and overall health you can understand the importance of knowing the GI of foods.  Making food choices with the GI in mind is a very potent way to avoid obesity, lead a healthylife, and be energized. By making more educateddecisions on what you eat, this will help you with fat burning.

Quick and simple tip. Pre- plan your daily food intake. Spend a little bit of time in preparing what foods you will be eating the next day. Rule of thumb when determining what to eat – High GI foods are approx 70 and above. Medium GI foods are approx 56-69. Low GI food are approx 55 and under.  You do not need a complexmathematical table to follow Start with a simple switch over from high GI carbs to low GI carbs:

Opt for breakfast cereals based on barley, bran and oats. Use wholegrain breads, Sour dough and stone ground flour, increase your vegetables and fruits and decrease the amount of potatoes you eat. Pasta, noodles and quinoa are low GI advised to eat smaller portions. And if you want a sureway to get that fat burning going enjoy plenty of vegetable salads with vinaigrette dressings. That should really give the metabolism a break and head you into fat burning.  You can do it. Small simple steps and becomingaware of what you putinto the body will help you with your fat burning. Just remember simple steps and you will get there Keep your eyes on the prize. The prize is YOU.A healthier, vibrant, energetic, shaplier YOU.

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The Glycemic Index of a food is calculated by measuring the two hour blood glucose response curve or AUC following the intake of a fixed portion of carbohydrate (generally 50gm.) In order to calculate the GI of a food, the AUC of the test food is divided by the AUC of the standard blood glucose level and multiplied by 100.

The average GI of a food is calculated from the results obtained from 10 human subjects. The standard and the test food must contain equal amount of available carbohydrates. The average GI obtained gives a ranking of the food.

In the present system of accessing the Glycemic Index of a food, the GI value of glucose is 100. Glucose is accepted as the reference food for the calculation of GI as it is the most abundant carbohydrate in the world. It generally gives a standard value, when tested in the labs.

Using GI in Deciding What to Eat & Fat Burning

Knowing the GI of a particular food is important to make proper choices about what food to eat and when. A high GI food is helpful for immediate recovery of energy after high endurance exercises. A food with low GI is suitable for normal diet, as these will release glucose and energy slowly and steadily into the body.

The glycemic effects of various types of food are dependent on various factors. The most important factor is the type of starch that the food substance contains. It can be amylopectin or amylose. The fat and protein content of the food also determines the glycemic effect the food will produce. The other important factor is the presence of other organic salts and acids in the meal.

For example, the presence of vinegar in the meal will lower the GI of any food substance. The presence of fat and other soluble dietary fibers affects the GI value of any food substance. Both the fats and fibers slow down the rate of digestion in turn reducing the GI value of the food.

A recent study revealed consuming alcohol just before a meal actually reduces the GI of the food substances by as much as 15%. The study also concluded that it is better to consume alcohol after having a meal, rather than before.

Since you now know the impact of insulin on weight loss, fat burning and overall health you can understand the importance of knowing the GI of foods.  Making food choices with the GI in mind is a very potent way to avoid obesity, lead a healthy life, and be energized. By making more educated decisions on what you eat, this will help you with fat burning.

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Seeds and nuts can be vital in helping you burn fat & lose belly fat. They have good anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant attributes. And they also possess good levels of proteins, essential fats, fibers and lignans.

 The primary benefits that they provide are:

 Nuts are rich in healthy fats. This is why; even a handful of nuts can meet your nutrition and fulfillment quotient for quite some time. This results in a reduction of further food cravings, thus helping you to keep good check on your weight. When you work on weight loss, you resort to healthy snacks.

The sesame seed is a vital member in this family of healthy nuts. Its scientific name is ‘Sesamum Indicum and is the planet’s oldest cultivated food product. Sesame seed has a wide number of lignans. They are sesamin, sesamolin and sesamolinol. All of them are phyto-nutrients with a host of remarkable attributes. Sesames are anti-oxidant, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-viral.

The health benefits obtained through consumption of this nut are:

 1.      It may greatly lower your cholesterol levels.

 2.      It acts as an anti-inflammatory agent.

 3.      It has a high level of anti-oxidants.

 4.      It may effectively counter high blood pressure.

 5.      It may increase the levels of vitamin E in your body.

 6.      It is a rich calcium source; its calcium content is thrice more in comparison to milk.

 7.      Rich in magnesium.

 8.      It may protect the liver from the damages entailing from the oxidation process.

 9.      It promotes fat burning.

 10.  It works in tandem with other important nutrients such as gamma tocopherol, CLA (conjugated linolenic acid) and fish oil. This eventually results in an increase in the power and effectiveness of these substances in your body.  

11.  It stimulates the process of fatty acid oxidation. 

12.  When you take sesame seeds in combination with fish oil, the anti-inflammatory property of the fish oil is enhanced. This actually protects it from the process of lipid peroxidation, where the fatty acid gets oxidized. 

Studies suggest that sesame lignans may aid in weight loss by enhancing fatty acid oxidation in liver tissues. The fat content of the nuts helps in the absorption of the essential phyto-nutrients, minerals, vitamins and the host of anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties present in them. They can be enjoyed as a snack in itself, as additives on your salads or even stir-fried. But, one needs to take care regarding the amount of quantity consumed. The servings must be restricted only to a small handful. If this is not taken adequate care of, you might just end up undoing your good work.  Fat burning wasn’t meant to be boring and tedious. Adding the right nuts to your diet can not only help with fat burning and losing belly fat but they also taste so good.

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