This sleep thing is bothering me more now since I've been actively trying to lose weight. If I don't get enough sleep, I make poor food choices. If I don't get enough sleep, I won't work out. And according to Dr Oz in You On A Diet, if you don't get enough sleep, it actually increases your cravings for sugary foods and increases your appetite overall because your hormones are regulated while you sleep! I already have hypothyroidism, I don't need any more hormonal or metabolic issues! So this week, I'm going to do my best to be in bed, lights out by 10:30 pm at the latest. I don't quite know what I'm going to try yet in order to get sleepy. Maybe tea, reading, relaxing music. Sigh. Oh, and the only caffeinated thing I have these days is a coffee at 7 am. After that, nothing caffeinated. Any suggestions are welcome!
What worked well for you this week? Meal planning and preparation worked great and I'm starting to get encouraged by my cooking skills. Previously hidden cooking skills! The other thing that went well was week one of my Couch to 5K running.
What hiccups did you have and how did you go with them? I had a lunch date with a couple of women from work yesterday. We went to Moxie's and they added a sandwich to their menu that I have been dying to try and I pretty much was going to try it no matter what. I ate a light breakfast, ordered the Lobster & Brie Grilled Cheese sandwich with salad instead of fries, and ate a low point supper of fish and lots of veggies.
How did you feel physically and mentally during the week? Both actually had their ups and downs which you can see based on the posts this past week. Every day is a new day.
What are your personal goals for this coming week? (They don't have to be food or exercise related.) I have two goals this week, sleep & clean! Obviously, sleep is self-explanatory at this point in the post. I say clean because since I've started the journey this time around, the majority of my housekeeping has fallen by the wayside and believe me, those skills weren't too strong to begin with! I used to use household chores as an excuse not to have time to work out. I also want to continue with the Couch to 5K week two! I guess make that three goals. :)
Okay, I have to go start some pre-bedtime rituals . . . . Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz . . .
Michelle :)
p.s. Barbell Blast tonight was awesome and I ran for two minutes at 6.5 miles per hour. This has NEVER happened before. Thought my legs would fall off, but in a good way. : ) And I asked the instructor about the Boot Camp class and I think I might try it. Scared? Yes. But I think I'm going to do it.
p.p.s. I somehow managed to cut my leg at the gym and I didn't even notice that I'd done it. I finished Barbell Blast and glanced down at my leg and spotted this. Does anyone know how to get blood out of a shoe??? This is only the second time I've worn my new runners too! Sigh.
Meal planning helps so much doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteBummed about the sleep, but completely relate to it. I make such poor choices when I'm exhausted. Yesterday I actually put my head on the pillow when I got home and fell asleep for 30 minutes instantly - yeh, I was exhausted too, but felt better after the power nap!
Got an article through last night that relates to the sleep thing. Seems like there's recently been a study out to confirm the lack of sleep / weight loss link - check it out here: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/10/20/sleep-more-lose-weight.aspx
Don't know what happened but my follow wasn't up - so, I re-followed you! Have a good week!
Delurking on the sleep issue (love your blog, btw. :) )
ReplyDeleteI had the same issue with trouble sleeping. And when I could sleep, I had issues staying asleep. I had known that my FIL has taken melatonin (not prescription...available in the herbal/GNC type places) for almost 20 years. I researched it and discovered side effects were pretty much non-existent so I decided to give it a try. Oh. My. Word. It has been wonderful! I've been sleeping through the night. Evidently our brains make melatonin as darkness falls and as the levels rise, it helps our bodies relax and sleep. In the morning, our melatonin levels drop as it gets light out and our bodies start to wake up. As we get older, our melatonin production can go down, making falling sleep harder. So anyway, from what I found online, taking too much melatonin is counter-productive for many people, but taking a small dose (300-500 micrograms) can help people fall asleep faster. (I did find alot of stores sell mega doses...I had to hunt to find 1 mg pills that I cut in half for a 500 microgram dose.) I take mine about 30 minutes before bedtime and "help things along" by dimming the lights and putting on restful music. Since supposedly my body should be making melatonin as it gets dark, looking at my computer screen is probably counter-productive, so I try not to do that. (I used to do that "until I was sleepy" which inevitably wouldn't be until 1 am or so.) All the melatonin supplements do is boost the amount of melatonin in my body at the end of the day. It doesn't in any way act as a sleeping aid in the way, say, a tylenol pm or unisom would. So no groggy feeling. I am the biggest opposite of "crunchy granola"/all-natural-herb type personality out there, but I am so glad I gave this a try. I am finally able to sleep at night. Not sure if it would help you, but I thought I'd pass on the info if it might help. ++
Thank you both for the comments and the tips!! That was a great article Catherine. And Piper, I am getting melatonin tomorrow!!! I'd go tonight but I'm too tired, hahaha! I had no idea you could "take" melatonin. Definitely worth a try. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by and joining the Weigh-in Wednesday bloghop!
ReplyDeleteI can so relate to the sleep thing, I get into the same cycles. Up at 3am and then it starts a bad cycle. For me, it's been my job and now that I've decided to quit, I do notice I sleep better. When there's an underlying stress, that's when I don't sleep - sometimes it's not so easy to see what's causing it.
Melatonin, as Piper suggested, has helped me in the past, though not consistently.
I would also suggest getting on a schedule - get up at the same time every day, even on your days off. It puts your body into a rhythm of knowing when to go to sleep.
Good luck!
Hey, bloggy twin: you have trouble sleeping? You don't say! ;) I've done the insomnia dance for aaaaages and have lots of tid bits of info re: sleep hygiene. If you have any questions or would like some more tips, shoot me an email (chibijeebs at gmail dot com).
ReplyDeleteI've decided that I need to have my butt in bed by 9:30 so I can read for a bit, then lights out at 10pm - I'm EXHAUSTED all the damned time and I'm tired of being tired. :(