#43 turn on your VCR

YOUR MOTHER, your hairdresser, and your shrink have all told you to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night. So why aren't you doing it - especially now that you're trying to lose weight? Maybe it's time to enlist the help of your VCR.

I had never thought about VCRs as a tool for weight loss until I talked to Robert, an unusually discerning client who had struggled for a long time to keep his wieight under control.

At some point, Robert began to pay attention to his nightly routine. He discovered an interesting pattern. By 10 o'clock at night, he was usually yawning and ready for bed, yet he stayed up until after midnight. Why? Because he was a Letterman freak. he couldn't bear to hit the sheets until he'd laughed at David's latest stupid pet tricks.

Upon further reflection, Robert realized that these Letterman comedy routines wold be just as funny the next day. That's when his dust-gathering VCR came to the rescue. He began setting the VCR to tape that night's show. Once the machine was set, Robert went to bed. The next evening, right after dinner, he'd relax by watching the previous night's show. By 9:30 he was ready to reset the VCR once again.

Robert's Inventory of Benefits

We still haven't talked about why using a VCR in general, or taping Letterman in particular, helped Robert lose weight. Here are some of the reasons:

Robert was now getting to bed early enough to pack in his eight hours of sleep. That made him more alert the next day - and the more alert he felt, the less likely he was to turn to snacks for "artificial" energy.

Robert's late-night sessions with Letterman invariably included munching. Getting his "late-night" TV fix right after dinner, when his stomach was already satisfied, meant fewer empty calories later on.

Early to bed, early to rise. Robert found that he now had enough time in the mornings to exercise and eat a healthful breakfast. Big-time calorie savings, there.

For some clients, THIS IS IT! If you get enough sleep, exercise 30 minutes in the morning , and eat a big breakfast, that's enough to lose all the weight you want and feel great forever. Just ask Vivien and Dan and Michael and Jay and ...etc., etc.

BOTTOM LINE: Lose 16-66 pounds

Just cutting out late-night snacking saved Robert 150 calories a night. A Healthy breakfast - and less snacking later - added up to more saved calories, and his newfound exercise routines also did their pare.

To break it down, Robert stood to lose 16 pounds by not snacking at night; 20 pounds from the exercise, and another 30 pounds by preparing his own breakfast which prevented him from indulging in the 200-calorie midmorning doughnut and from attacking lunch and saving at least 100 calories there. Love that Letterman!