Sometimes you'd think doing the opposite would seem to make sense, right?

1. If you're in the habit of staying up late, maybe you'd expect to burn more calories...

If you burn more calories, you burn more fat...right?

Well, staying up late can set off a multi-pronged attack on your body composition.

No doubt about it, sleep is vital for mental and physical health as well as recovery.

If you don't get enough sleep, your body won't build or maintain as much muscle...no matter how much time you spend in the gym.

Less muscle mass = less fat burning power.

If you're sleep-deprived, you increase levels of the stress hormone "cortisol."

The connection between stress and cortisol release = obesity is well established, but it gets worse.

A recent study (Epel, Yale) shows that cortisol related fat storage tends to be around the vital organs and they're the worst possible places to store fat in your body.

If that's not enough...

Lack of sleep is linked with glucose intolerance (diabetes), lower Growth Hormone levels, a weakened immune system, low energy, and more ...

Tip: Get a full night's sleep (7 to 9 hours), make sure your place of rest is peaceful and pitch dark.

Your natural sleep hormone, melatonin, is suppressed when there is too much light.

2. Do you skip breakfast?

Many busy people on the run tend to skip breakfast because they haven't the time, don't feel hungry or they think it will help them to lose weight.

It sort of makes sense, fewer calories in - more fat burned, right?

The reality is skipping breakfast actually lowers your metabolism.

That means your next meal you may tend to overeat.

To make it worse, the food you eat on a lowered metabolism is more likely to be stored as fat.

Tip: If you're stretched for time, eat foods that are light yet filling...grab a handful of assorted nuts and you've got a healthy start to your day...

3. Are you popping pills?

Many of the drugs you're prescribed not only have hidden side affects...

Some also play havoc in increasing appetite, or edema, and some actually slow your metabolism.

That's a recipe for more problems...plus getting and looking, fatter.

The most commonly prescribed drugs that have these common effects include:

Oral contraceptives

Anti-depressants

Hormone (estrogen) replacements...

Tip: Check with your doctor to reduce your intake of prescription drugs or find better, more suitable alternatives that won't make you sick or fat.

To learn more interesting facts about your health and fitness, go to: http://www.exercise-fitness-info.com