Friday, July 8, 2011

Three Components of Losing Weight

Everyone talks about diet and exercise and how they go hand in hand for successful weight loss.  I agree but I'd add a third partner to the mix: sleep.  I've been sleep deprived lately and haven't felt like exercising and haven't been very good on my diet.  I was trying to get up early and go running and not being able to get to bed at night.  That only worked for awhile until my body said "I need a break".  Now I realize that I need to put sleep first in order for the other two to work.  If I don't get enough sleep, I won't have energy to exercise and I won't have the discipline to make healthy food choices.  My metabolism also slows down and when I do try to exercise, it is harder on my body.  I notice that my heart beats harder and I figure that can't be too good for me.  So sleep has to be more important to me and I have to fit it in my daily schedule.  I found an interesting website on sleeping: http://sleepbetter.org/home/sleep-solutions/  They have a Zzzz score quiz that asks a few questions and provides recommendations on how to get more or better sleep.  I've never paid much attention to my sleep quality before, but I'm now seeing some reasons I might want to.