Sleep and weight loss

Did you know that the quality of your sleep affects your weight? Lack of sleep not only causes you to have dark circles under eyes but weight gain too. If you have anyone in your family that suffers from sleep apnea then you know what I am talking about.

Constantly waking up during the night forces the body to dump sugar into the blood stream to get the body up. The sugar is coming from recently digested food. That sugar dump actually causes the body to gain weight by not releasing energy stored in the fat cells. The body is now constanly using recently digested food as an energy source and will leave stored fat alone. As long as there is food somewhere in the body, fat will not be reduced. The sugar dump can also lead to diabetes.

If you are overweight make sure that your sleep pattern is not the cause of your weight problem.

Being disabled and overweight

One of the major causes of being overweight in adults is being unable to exercise due to physical limitations. Another factor is depression. Often those 2 factors go hand in hand in the development of an overweight person.

When an adult becomes disabled they often go on social security disability. If their disability is not apparent to the average observer then they could be the victim of ridicule. That ridicule will often cause the disabled person to become depressed and that depression can lead to overeating, alcoholism or even drug addiction.

Contrary to popular belief, being on disability is not a free ride but only enough of an income to barely get by. Next time you see an overweight disabled person consider that over eating might be their "mental crutch" that they have had to lean on due to depression.

Shopping while fat

I have been overweight for the last 15 years. I sometimes get to the point that I really hate to look at myself in the mirror. It is at those times that I find great relief in going shopping. It is not that I substitute shopping for feeling guilty for being overweight, no it is that I go to Walmart and see huge obese women and say to myself I am not that fat after all.

To me shopping and looking at other people makes it a true reality check. I think I have been comparing myself to those skinny gals on TV and not to real life. Whether I am shopping for pond supplies at the local pet store or just cruising down the grocery aisle it puts my own life in a better perspective. Try it for yourself and see if you feel better about the way you look.

Advantages of losing weight

Did you know that besides the added benefits of better health there are other benefits to losing weight? Here are just a few:

• Lower life insurance rates
• Lower health insurance rates
• Lower cost of clothing (stores charge higher prices for larger sizes)
• Saving money on your food bill
• Your furniture will last longer
• Finding a job will be easier. Employers are not supposed to discriminate but they do according to what a person looks like.
  

I bet you can think of more than that small list. I did not include the social advantages like being asked out on more dates or invited to parties.