SleepCare.com Weight Loss Series: Diet

Sleep Apnea is the most common sleeping disorder and its primary cause is obesity. Excess weight leads to the narrowing and collapsing of the airway at night, preventing the intake of oxygen and causing numerous awakenings, which can lead to a variety of other serious health complications. Weight loss is the most effective treatment for sleep apnea, and can improve overall sleep dramatically. Yet finding the most effective weight loss plan is a challenge for many people.

Numerous weight loss methods, pills, and guides can seem overwhelming, intimidating and sometimes have ill effects on overall health. Through the confusion there is one major concept that proves to be the most important and is often over looked; diet. More specifically a proper and balanced diet that provides an appropriate amount of energy and nutrients to support a healthy body is the foundation of weight loss.

Weight Loss Series: Diet, Salmon

Calories are the fundamental element of diet and weight loss, as they represent the measurement of energy stored in the food that we eat and the energy that is burned during exercise. When more calories are burned during exercise than are consumed from food, weight loss occurs. The average adult male requires roughly 1800 calories per day, while women require roughly 1200 calories per day; these estimates vary widely with individual build and lifestyle.  When deciding how many calories you should consume a good guide is that 3,500 calories are equal to approximately one pound, meaning if you burn 3,500 more calories than you consume in a week you will have lost one pound.

Counting calories and knowing what foods are high in calories can play a major role in weight loss.  Common high calorie choices can easily be replaced to eliminate unnecessary caloric intake. For example, choose skim milk instead of whole milk, water rather than soda, or popcorn instead of potato chips. Being aware of the amount of calories you consume and burn is a vital component in a healthy diet and can easily be tracked to help you lose weight. Numerous calorie-counting tools are easily available to help, such as the LiveStrong Calorie Counter (http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate) and even calorie counting apps for smart phones.

A concept related to calorie counting is portion control and is often a tough obstacle to overcome when executing a proper diet. The amount of food that is placed on your plate is considered a portion. Portion sizes in many restaurants and grocery stores have grown enormously and now must be paid close attention. Often people feel that when eating healthy foods more can be consumed through larger portions, which simply is not true. By following a few visual cues, portion distortion in your diet can be eliminated altogether.

Common visual cues can eliminate the need to carry around lists, pictures and measuring cups to every meal when trying to maintain portion control. For example, one small apple or medium orange is close to the size of a tennis ball. This equals one fruit serving. The proper serving size of meat is 3-ounces. That often compares to the size of a deck of cards. Your fist is closely the same as one serving of milk, yogurt, or vegetables. By utilizing these simple visual cues you can easily control proper portions in a quality diet.

Once calorie requirements and portions have been determined, the type and quality of food being consumed is an essential factor in a quality diet. Protein is an essential building block of a healthy diet as it is the fundamental component required by all living cells to build and repair tissue, and create antibodies. Choosing proper proteins not only can boost energy levels for your day-to-day activities, it has the ability to curb your appetite due to its slower digestion rate than other foods.  Lean proteins from animals and plants that are low in fat and calories are an important part of any balanced diet. Excellent examples of lean protein from animal sources include skinless chicken breasts, fish, egg whites, and reduced fat milk and yogurt. Quality plant sources include green peas, whole wheat bread, rice and beans, and nuts.

Carbohydrates are another important element of diet and another primary source of energy.  Carbohydrates or “carbs” mainly consist of starches and sugars, are often calorie rich, and come in simple and complex forms. Simple carbs have little nutritional value consisting mostly of processed sugars that give you a short-term energy boost, but in the end leave you feeling sluggish once the sugar has been digested. Simple carbs have also been associated with a high incidence of diabetes. Complex carbohydrates are high-fiber foods, which improve your digestion. They help stabilize the blood sugar, keep your energy at an even level, and help you feel satisfied longer after your meal. These carbs can be found in foods that are closest to their natural forms; fruits, vegetables, whole wheat, oatmeal, rice, potatoes, etc. Avoid processed foods such as table sugar, candy, any baked good with white flour, soda and most packaged cereals. Other obvious foods to avoid are those with high saturated fat and cholesterol content, such as fried foods and fatty meat sources.

Choosing quality foods, actively being aware of portion sizes and calorie counting are all vital characteristics of a proper diet. A quality diet is the basis for not only weight loss but also a healthy mind and body. Developing a healthy daily intake of food will boost energy, your metabolism and self esteem.