There are different diet types that are popularly making waves like Atkins diet, south beach diet and so on and so forth. However, success of these different diet types still depends on discipline of person dieting. Even if you try all these different diet types but you refuse to exercise, you will never be successful in loosing weight. Exercise is very important in using diet for loosing weight.

There are also different diet types that may help those who want to gain weight, but then again there are exercises necessary for success of this diet. You need to consider metabolism, which is major player in designing your body shape, thus it is always a requirement that before you try different diet types, you need to visit a health care professional. The health care professional will be one to tell you, which among different diet types will suit you and your desired body shape.

Finally, I would like to reiterate that success of these different diet types only depends on discipline of person dieting. Exercise to induce fast metabolism is necessary. Oversleeping is also bad discipline for these different diet types. Programming your eating habit will also depend on type of diet you are following.

Root word for success in these different diet types is discipline. With discipline, you will get body shape you want which ever among these different diet types you use.

Dr. Van Cauter also noted that studies were performed in males only. Because females have higher baseline levels of some hormones (e.g. leptin), sleep restriction might have worse effects in women than in men.

Hey, did you notice groups which were mentioned specifically in last 2 paragraphs that may be more severely affected by sleep deprivation? I'll recap them here again: (1) obese individuals, (2) older adults, and (3) women.

That's really crucial for us because this means if you're a woman over 40, not getting enough sleep will probably make you feel hungry constantly and crave for all unhealthy foods even more as compared to other people. And more overweight you are, more you may be affected by lack of sleep.

Not surprisingly, another study has indeed found an inverse relationship between increased body mass index (BMI) and sleep duration in women. That is, women who do not sleep enough tend to be more overweight than women who get sufficient sleep.

And just in case you still believe in myth that "Oh, it's alright because I'll catch up on my sleep on weekends", you should note that Dr. Van Cauter also made following observation: Sleep debt is generally not paid back fully by weekend sleep. I suppose this is kind of like saying "An apple a day, keeps doctor away" -- eating 7 apples on Sunday instead of 1 a day just isn't going to give you same results!

Now, I'm _not_ saying that you don't have to exercise and all you have to do to lose weight is to sleep it off. Exercise, strength training and physical activities in general are vital components of a permanent weight loss program.

It's simply that if you don't sleep enough, you'll just be making it more difficult for yourself to lose extra weight. There's no point in sabotaging your chances of weight loss success if it's a simple matter of making sure you get enough sleep every night, right? I mean, how much easier can it get?

According to William Dement, Stanford University sleep researcher, adults need about 8 hours of sleep a night. Try your best to get this amount every day, and you'll reduce one more obstacle in your path to attaining your desired ideal weight. Simple idea, isn't it?

Copyright 2005 Tracy Lee

Tracy Lee is the owner of the "Weight Loss for Women Over 40" site. Get the latest news, tips & tricks that can help women over 40 to lose weight safely and permanently, and your complimentary copy of our Special Report "9 Little-Known Insider Weight Loss Secrets To Help Women Over 40 Make Those Extra Pounds Disappear" instantly here: