Visualization for Weight Loss -The Gabriel Method

Part III: Physical Stresses that Activate the FAT Programs

Besides causing exhaustion and junk food cravings, sleep apnea elevates cortisol levels, 4 which activate the FAT Programs. 5 It is a vicious cycle; sleep apnea makes you fatter, and the fatter you get, the worse your sleep apnea becomes. So what’s the solution to sleep apnea and oxygen starvation? Get Tested for Sleep Apnea If you’re in a position where you want to lose more than 100 pounds, chances are very strong that you have sleep apnea. Even if you’re certain you don’t have it because you think that you’re sleeping well, please investigate the possibility in order to eliminate a potentially major stress on your body. If it turns out you have sleep apnea, having a sleep study test could easily be one of the most important nights of your life. Sleep apnea is fully treatable, and if you have it, you MUST get it treated. In my opinion and experience, it is next to impos- sible to lose weight if you have untreated sleep apnea. The most common treatment is a CPAP machine, which is a machine that blows air into your nose and mouth while you sleep, keep- ing your airways unblocked. There are also other treatments that are similar. The first step is to tell your doctor that you want to be tested for sleep apnea, and your doctor will refer you to a sleep study center. Typically, you’ll spend a night in a hospital, where they’ll monitor your sleeping and breathing patterns. The night of my sleep study test was one of the most memorable ones of my life. It was the first good night’s sleep I had had in four or five years! In most countries, both the sleep study and the CPAP machine are covered by insurance and/or Medicare. Don’t Eat Instead of Sleeping Most people are tired in the late afternoons, when the FAT Pro- grams are on, and this relates to low blood sugar episodes, which we’ll talk more about in chapter 15. In addition to causing junk food cravings, low blood sugar can also cause exhaustion. If at all possible, take a ten- or fifteen-minute catnap or listen to the Gabriel Method CD in the late afternoon. This can go a

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