[Alberta's Child]

I think you've hit the nail right on the head. I'll build on that and make a couple of more suggestions, too:

1. Exercise is the morning is probably better for you than exercise in the evening. It helps you get a head start in the morning, and speeds up your metabolism for the entire day. Imagine going to work in the morning feeling like you don't need a dose of caffeine.

2. The single most important factor in weight loss may very well be SLEEP. Your metabolism will slow down if you don't get a good night's sleep every night -- and by this I mean enough sleep that you can wake up without an alarm. And whatever a "full night" means to you in terms of sleep should always be within the night itself -- not when the sun is up. Sleeping eight hours from midnight to 8 AM is less effective than sleeping six hours from 10 PM to 4 AM.

[Ingtar]

heh - I wake up after 4 to 4 1/2 hours every night. However, many times those hours are in the daylight.

[RockinRight]

1. Exercise in the morning That's a knee slapper!

2. Enough sleep to not need an alarm? I've heard that and tried it, but I sleep so erraticly anymore it's all but impossible. Even if I 'sleep in' I usually wake up due to the cats or just not being comfortable in bed anymore.

[Ingtar]

heh - I wake up after 4 to 4 1/2 hours every night. However, many times those hours are in the daylight.

[jwh_Denver]

“Sleeping eight hours from midnight to 8 AM is less effective than sleeping six hours from 10 PM to 4 AM.”

Do you have a source for this?

[RockinRight]

I seriously understand the sleep thing re: daylight, but to do that in the summer, I’d have to basically do this:

Get up
Work
Come home
Go straight to bed
Get up
Work
Come home
Go straight to bed

[muggs]

I agree that exercise and sleep are key. I quit smoking over 2 years ago and didn't gain weight but I worked out 5 to 7 days a week at the gym and biked and hiked with my husband often.

I just had surgery on my foot and had to stop working out for 6 weeks and gained 5 pounds. I'm now back at the gym and expect the weight will be gone soon. I need to have surgery on the other foot but I want to lose the five pounds first.

[parisa]

Sleeping eight hours from midnight to 8 AM is less effective than sleeping six hours from 10 PM to 4 AM.

Why do you think that is so? I thought deep, uninterrupted sleep was the goal to maintain healthy metabolism.

[Neoliberalnot]

“1. Exercise is the morning is probably better for you than exercise in the evening. It helps you get2. The single most important factor in weight loss may very well be SLEEP. Your metabolism will slow down if you don’t get a good night’s sleep every night — and by this I mean enough sleep that you can wake up without an alarm. And whatever a “full night” means to you in terms of sleep should always be within the night itself — not when the sun is up. Sleeping eight hours from midnight to 8 AM is less effective than sleeping six hours from 10 PM to 4 AM.”

I do the early morning exercise, but with some caffiene on board. My sleep is the best between 9:30 and 3:30a.m. I am an early riser and likewise to bed.