Last week we talked about the crazy anti-snoring surgery a man tried at home , and chances are you’ve noticed dozens of snoring remedies advertised on TV or in the drugstore. But while few of these work, there is one way to really improve your snoring without the help of a doctor: losing weight.
The problem is: losing weight is itself a challenge. But here are five essential tips that can help you lose weight and reduce your snoring.
Small Changes Can Make a Big Difference over Time
In order to lose weight, you have to create a calorie deficit. Basically, you need to take in fewer calories than you are burning. One of the easiest ways to do this is to make small changes and stick to them. You’ll be delighted at how much of a difference this can make.
A pound of fat contains about 3500 Calories, so you have to burn 3500 more Calories than you consume to lose a pound of fat. Now, let’s say you have a 12-ounce soda at lunch every day. Just cutting out this soda will reduce your intake by about 138 Calories, and over the course of a year, you will lose 14 pounds if your weight was stable before. Basically, every 10 Calories you cut from your daily intake will lead to a pound of weight loss at the end of the year.
The same goes for exercise. Jogging half an hour burns about 270 Calories. Jogging every other day is about the same as cutting out your soda, and in neither case have you made a major commitment to changing your life.
Buddy Up
One of the main reasons why people stop dieting or exercise is because it’s easier to quit. You have to make it harder to quit than to keep it up. One way to do this is to partner with a weight loss buddy. Not only will your competitive side make you want to keep up with or get ahead of your partner, it’ll be a lot harder to admit to your friend that you gave up than it is to just admit it to yourself.
Build in Indulgences
Another major reason people get off their diets is that they are craving foods they can’t have. Make sure your diet is set up to allow you to get the food that is so tempting you’d break your diet for it. This will help you keep on your diet.
Get More Sleep
Sleep is essential to weight loss. The more sleep you get, the better your body will regulate your energy and the faster you will lose weight. It’s unfortunate that snoring and sleep apnea both interfere with your sleep, which can make it hard to lose weight. If you’re trying things like adding exercise and cutting calories and you’re not losing weight, maybe you’ve put the cart before the horse and you need to see a doctor about your sleep disorder first.
Lifelong Changes Are Better Than Fad Diets
It’s true that fad diets can work. For a little while. They will cause you to lose weight, which you’ll usually gain right back. Worse, the yo-yo weight loss can worsen sleep apnea and other effects of obesity. If you want weight loss that you can maintain, make changes that you can also maintain.
And if weight loss is proving too hard, we can help with snoring treatments that are effective without weight loss. To learn more, please call (402) 493-4175 for an appointment with a sleep dentist in Omaha at the Advanced Dental Sleep Treatment Center.
