Customer Reviews

Sleep Away the Pounds: Optimize Your Sleep and Reset Your Metabolism for Maximum Weight Loss

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Cherie Calbom has written another extremely helpful book for those of us who need real help for real problems. I appreciate how she integrates sound scientific research with practical and useful tips for people who need help getting a good night's sleep. Calbom is known for her expertise and precise research as a nutritionist, yet she is skilled at explaining things so anyone can understand.
She begins with an overview of the newly discovered hormones like leptin and ghrelin that affect our physiology and make it difficult to lose weight if we're chronically sleep deprived. She includes diet and exercise programs that help keep us on track. I have followed her 21 day weight loss program and have been able to lose weight and feel much more energetic. There are also suggestions for supplements that help, along with ideas from alternative medicine, some of which I may disagree with, like Chinese medicine, but that are nevertheless informative. She and her psychologist husband include practical steps for relaxation to help deal with stress, which is probably the biggest contributor to health problems in our society as well as the lack of sleep. I highly recommend the book and have bought copies for a number of my friends.

From: www.BasilAndSpice.com
Author & Book Views On A Healthy Life!

Having trouble sleeping? Cherie Calbom, author of Sleep Away the Pounds, has studied the problem and offers solutions which will not only make you feel better, but will also assist with weight loss.

First, avoid sugar in the diet.

Second, consume omega-3 foods: fish, leafy green veggies, seeds, nuts

Third, eat brightly colored vegetables and low-sugar fruit.

Fourth, pass on foods that could keep you up at night. Such foods contain tyramine, an amino acid that increases the release of norepinephrine--stimulating the brain. These foods can also potentially add to weight gain as well. Examples are: bacon, cheese, chocolate, eggplant, ham, potatoes, sauerkraut, sugar, sausage, spinach, tomatoes, and wine.

Last, add supplements which will promote weight loss and sleep: amino acids (GABA), calcium, CLA, chromium, copper, iron, magnesium, B-Complex vitamins, inositol.

Ms. Calbom's major list of no-no's:

Alcohol; Additives/Preservatives; Coffee; Chocolate in candy, milk, ice cream, desserts, cocoa; Desserts/Sweeteners; Nonorganic foods containing pesticides; Onions; Rich sauces; Spicy foods; Soft drinks; Tea

Foods to consume:

Celery; Chia/Jujube seeds; Dark green vegetables; Lettuce; Mulberries; Oysters; Tryptophan-rich foods--turkey, milk, cottage cheese, chicken, eggs, nuts, lentils, hummus, sesame/sunflower seeds, whole grains, seafood, rice, beans; Vegetables; Virgin coconut oil; Whole grains.

4 Stars

Sleep Away The Pounds. Who would have thought weight loss could be so comforting?

My first reaction to the title of the book though, was one of skepticism. Cherie Calbom walks you through the program, which involves a well-rounded approach to weight loss: diet, exercise, weight management, and sleep. According to research, lack of sleep can be correlated to the overall gain in weight in our society. Lack of sleep can cause hormonal imbalances in areas that affect our body's signals toward hunger. Proper sleep helps to halt this cycle and retrain the brain. When correct levels of hormones are reached within the body, it aids the weight-loss program.

Sleep needs to be refreshing and restorative--when you wake up in the morning feeling refreshed and with energy to tackle the day. The author presents an extensive list of various ways to increase the likelihood of a good night's sleep. Also tips are given on quieting the mind, exercise and diet. Numerous foods are listed which are known to relax the body and increase the likelihood of a good night's sleep.

Included in the book are a 21-day menu plan and a listing of resources.

Armchair interview says: If you have struggled with weight loss and been on too many yo-yo diets, this book presents another aspect which may affect the way you loose weight.

A few months ago I found this very helpful book, because I would like to stop using sleeping pills (after 40 years of bad sleep I finally started using Ambien in 2005 and those were the only 5 restful years in my life that I experienced).

Autogenic training never did anything for me, so I was looking for a book that has a different approach...a book that finally links food to sleeping disorders. This was the only book I could find.

Chocolate contains caffine, so it makes sense to not eat any chocolate after noontime (unfortunately in our culture it's considered an evening treat like nuts and potatoe chips or ice cream). In order to overcome the longing for chocolate, it's important to take a vitamin B complex. I take mine around 4 p.m. as that's the time when I want chocolate very badly :). It helps!

It's amazing how very few books have been written on this topic. After all two thirds of the US population experiences insomnia once in a while or even on a regular basis (like me).

One of the primary points of advice in this book is a natural one, namely get the amount of sleep appropriate for you. After all, if you are sleeping you cannot be eating. One very well documented characteristic of staying up late is that you suffer from a case of the munchies. That hunger fuels the desire for food and the influx of calories helps keep you awake longer. The lack of sleep then leads to a feeling of sluggishness during the day and most people try to cope with that by eating more during the day.
The solution is of course to establish a sleep routine, where the goal is to get restful sleep. Find a simple activity that helps get you to sleep and do it every night before retiring. It can be reading, listening to music, anything that causes your brain to think sleep. Watching television is often counterproductive as the events stimulate the brain, causing you to stay up longer and sleep less sound.
The dietary recommendations are in general good, but sometimes the justification is rather vague. Phrases like, "... which some people have found to aid them" are not convincing. Other phrases like, "According to Chinese medicine . . ." and "Chinese medicine says that the liver filters all our blood through the night, especially between 1 and 3 AM." just sound like inconclusive hearsay. Other phrases like "... an imbalance between the energies of the liver energy (Chi) and the lung energy (Chi), since 3 AM is when the body's energy moves from an emphasis on the liver meridian to an emphasis on the lung meridian." just sound strange.
Therefore, while there is some sound advice in this book, a lot of it sounds like unjustified and unclear pontification.

This book to me... was more of a "if you have these problems sleeping thats why you're fat" book. I anticipated a book about things to do before bed to increase weight loss while your asleep. I was very disappointed!

This book is one of the worst I have ever seen. You may as well wash your body with dawn dish liquid since it says on the bottle that it designed to remove fat.