Lack of sleep can cause weight gain...

Risks of Insomnia


Difficulty falling (and staying) asleep is a common problem. Nightly sleep for the average American has dropped from 10 hours (before the invention of the light bulb) to 6.9 hours, with a third of adults now getting even less than that! In fact, nearly half of all adults admit they sleep less so they can work (or play) more, according to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF).

As an important source of fuel for the body, sleep is a valuable commodity. Surprisingly, what we hear about health usually revolves around exercise and nutrition; the truth about sleep--one of the most important factors to attaining vitality--is often left out of the mix. Research shows that a perpetual lack of sleep can:

• Undermine the body's ability to fight off disease.
• Reduce the quality and quantity of your work
• Mimic the symptoms of impaired glucose tolerance (which can lead to diabetes and hypertension).
• Hinder weight loss and/or cause weight gain
• Impair concentration
• Cause disorientation
• Slow down the body's reaction time
• Increase moodiness and irritation
• Lead to depression

Getting more sleep can help improve your well-being by reducing your risk of health problems and improving your mood. You should work closely with your doctor to develop a plan that is safe and effective for you. But the good news is that lifestyle changes, like proper nutrition, stress management, and regular exercise can improve the quality and quantity of your sleep starting tonight!

Reason #5: Why you might be gaining weight

I lost weight for a while but now it's stopped. 

You eat less to lose weight. Things are going great, but suddenly you plateau—or start gaining. Odds are, your metabolism has slowed down in order to deal with the decreased calories. You're starving your now fit body, so it's doing what it needs to do to survive. The answer to this problem is pretty simple: eat more. 

Again, this is a tough sell, so here's an example. One of our early Success Stories lost 40 pounds during a round of Power 90®, eating only 1,200 calories a day. He then stagnated for a long time and was very resistant to eating more, fearing it would kick-start a regression. We talked him into adding calories until, finally at around 2,000 calories, weight loss resumed. It then became so rapid he dropped through his goal, and about 20 pounds below, until finally, at around 3,000 calories, he leveled out. Then a daily diet of around 3,500 calories a day got him to a ripped 175.

 

So the moral of today's lesson is to trust your exercise program—at least if it's a Beachbody program. We've been doing this a long time and we know what works. There are no magic bullets. Body transformation is based on making consistent, healthy lifestyle changes. Do that and you'll never need to ask yourself why you're gaining weight again.

Reason #4: Why you might be gaining weight...

My friend and I are doing the exact same thing and she's losing. 

Back to adaptation. We all react differently. The only absolute is that our bodies will change over time with a healthy program. A fitness rule called the Specificity of Adaptation states that it takes the body between 3 and 12 weeks to adapt to new stimuli, which is a very broad range. This is why it's vital that you stick to your program and not change it repeatedly based on your daily results! 

In our test groups, two-week results have almost no bearing on who does best in the end. In fact, many people that undereat early and get off to a fast start will stagnate, while those who stick to the plan and eat as advised will start slower but train harder over time, leading to rapid weight loss as the program wears on.

Stay off the scale and focus on how you feel and how your clothes fit.  This will motivate you to keep going.

#3 Reason why you might be gaining weight...

Reason #3: I've been doing hard workouts for weeks. 

On the performance theme, you need to continually improve, which is why workouts get harder as you move through any of Beachbody's programs. It's also why we add resistance (via added weight or gravity, as is the case with jumping) to workouts. If you're doing the same workouts at the same intensity constantly, you are not forcing adaptations that lead to changes in your metabolism. This is called a plateau. 

A plateau, technically, isn't gaining weight—it's remaining the same—but a proper diet and exercise program should continually force improvements (in the form of adaptations). Otherwise, your metabolism won't continue to increase, which is the goal of most weight loss programs.

Muscle confusion is a MUST with any training program.  SHOCK the body into responding.  Soreness is one thing but remember that feeling when you could barely stand because your quads, hamstrings and glutes were sore.  I crave that feeling.  It is what I strive for out of each and every one of my workouts.  Change it up and watch your body CHANGE IT UP!

#2 Reason You Could be Gaining Weight

"I'm barely eating."

Severe undereating causes cortisol release, as it's the definition of a bodily emergency. Beachbody® offers many kick-start (or express) eating plans where you undereat for a few days, but you're always encouraged to get back to a solid maintenance calorie level quickly. A short period of strategic undereating with proper hydration will help your body dispense of unneeded food (most of us chronically overeat) and regulate bodily functions. Go too long, however, and chronic cortisol release is the result. 

This is a tough situation because our natural reaction to weight gain is to eat less. When you're exercising, it's important to keep your eye on workout performance, as opposed to how much weight you're losing. You should be eating enough so that your daily workouts improve over time. As long as that's happening, your body is adapting, your metabolism is increasing, and you will lose weight provided you also don't overeat.

You don't want your body to go into "starvation" mode.  This is a process where your body will store food regardless of the activity you are doing in order to survive.  Eating 3 meals and 2 snacks a day will continually keep your body fueled and maintain a healthy metabolism.  Nutrient dense foods verses nutrient deficient foods are key.  I will cover these foods types later in another blog. 

5 Reasons You Could Be Gaining Weight - Day 1

Nothing taps your panic button quite like gaining weight, especially when you're on a weight loss program. Unfortunately, it's an inevitable fact of life. Luckily, you've got me here to tell you that, as long as you're following a solid program, results will come. It's a physiological certainty (unless you have an underlying issue, like hypothyroidism).

I realize this might take further convincing, considering our instant-gratification society. But this ain't my first weight loss rodeo. I've seen almost every scenario you can dream up, most of which were solved by patience. That said, there are some strategies you can use to ensure you're getting the most out of both your diet and exercise program. Let's tackle five of the most common weight loss conundrums.

1. I'm following the program perfectly. Why isn't it working?! 
   Cortisol is a word you should become familiar with, as it's a key factor here. You've probably heard that it makes you fat, but you have no idea why "they" say that. What is cortisol? It's actually a performance-enhancing stress hormone that serves an important function in survival situations. Unfortunately, when we force too much daily stress on our bodies, we shift into a state of chronic cortisol release. This can cause us to store excess fat as a survival instinct. While it sounds pretty dire, it's generally only a serious problem in those with poor lifestyle habits. 
   
   The beginning of a diet and/or exercise program, however, is a survival situation. In a very simplistic sense, your body releases cortisol, which, in turn, causes excess water retention to help you rebuild broken down muscle tissue. While this is cortisol functioning properly, it does lead to a period of water weight gain as you adjust to a new program. It's nothing to worry about. By following a solid plan, your body will adapt by repairing this muscle tissue. This results in an increase in your metabolism and leads to weight loss if that's your goal. 
   
   The trick is that there is no hard line on how long this adaptation takes. It's based on your individual parameters. Just rest easy in the fact that it will happen.

Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance seems to be a key underlying factor in most of these chronic diseases. Insulin resistant cells don’t properly respond to the normal actions of the hormone insulin. This is bad news.

After you eat a meal, the starches get digested and broken down into glucose, a monosaccharide or simple sugar, which then enters the bloodstream as fuel for our cells. When the glucose level gets high enough, your pancreas releases insulin. The insulin heads for the cells in your muscle and fatty tissue and attaches to receptors on the cells. This signals to your cells to take in the glucose and use it for energy.

At least, that’s the goal.

But when people are resistant to insulin, their cells don’t “hear” insulin knocking at the door. Insulin may not bind to the cells, which means it doesn’t move the glucose into the cells. Glucose is “locked out”. High levels of glucose keep circulating in the blood, wandering around, causing all sorts of problems.

Many factors cause insulin resistance, including being overweight, inactivity, poor diet (especially one high in processed sugars/starches), aging, genetics, some medications and, that’s right, insufficient sleep.

7 Steps to help you avoid this problem:

1.  Eat a diet high in vegetables and fruits. Choose fruits and vegetables that offer an array of colors for the best nutrients, such as cantaloupes, carrots or tomatoes. Avoid vegetables that contain starch, such as corn. Instead, eat green vegetables like spinach, broccoli or green beans.

2.  Eliminate bad carbohydrates. Choose whole grain foods, rather than processed flour or foods with high sugar content. Healthy grains include barley, oats and brown rice. These foods are rated low on the glycemic index (GI), which measures the effect of carbohydrates on blood glucose levels in the body. High levels of glucose can lead to insulin resistance.

3.  Choose snacks with low GI levels, such as nuts, beans and dried fruit. Avoid salty and processed snacks like chips or pretzels.

4.  Exercise regularly to help prevent insulin resistance. Aim for moderate activity for at least 2 1/2 hours a week. Find activities that will raise your heart rate, such as walking or jogging, and incorporate resistance training, such as weightlifting, into your routine. You may start out slowly, even exercising in 10-minute increments.

5.  Measure your body mass index (BMI). BMI's calculate your weight relative to your height. Charts can be found online and used to determine if you are overweight or obese, which could lead to insulin resistance or pre-diabetes. BMI charts are simple to read. Find your height in 1 column and your weight in another. The chart will give you a BMI number. If the chart indicates you are overweight or obese, consult your physician for a diet an exercise program. Losing as little as 10 lbs. (4.54 kilograms) can help prevent insulin resistance.

6.  Check your blood pressure regularly. Blood pressure levels above 130/85 may put you at risk for insulin resistance. If you have high blood pressure, consult your doctor for exercise and diet solutions to lower the numbers. Your doctor may also prescribe medication to regulate your blood pressure, thus lowering your risk of insulin resistance.

7.  Have your physician check your cholesterol levels with a blood test. Good cholesterol (or HDL) should be above 40-50 mg/dL. Overall levels should be lower than 200 mg/dL. Diet, exercise and cholesterol medications can all help lower your numbers to a range that can help prevent insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes.