Tag Archives | sleep

Countdown to Christmas Challenge

By on December 2, 2010 in challenge, consistency/commitment, holiday, R2P4, working out

First off, if you haven’t had a chance to read my post on self-discipline and you have a moment, check it out.  The comments and some conversations I’ve been having with myself (yes, in my head, you gotta problem with that?) are making me think a lot more about that topic.  So there will be more to come on that in the near future!

Countdown to Christmas Challenge

Moving right along, it’s time to recap my week last two weeks for the Countdown to Christmas challenge hosted by Scale Warfare and Bella!

You may remember the rules:

1. Choose a specific, realistic goal that you can achieve by December 31st.
2. Post weekly updates (you choose the day) about your progress.
3. Add the challenge button to your blog post/sidebar.
4. Decide on a gift (reward) that you’ll give yourself when you meet your goal.

The first week of the challenge, I set my goal, which as a refresher is:

  • My goal: commit to and follow-through on four structured workouts/week from now until the end of the year.  I have some travel time coming up, along with the normal scheduling challenges that we all face during the holidays!  So my goal is to make at least four structured workouts (and by structured, I mean “official” and not just a walk – trainer, weight lifting, running, gym, something) a priority in my schedule no matter what.
  • I will post updates about my progress on the challenge on Thursdays each week.

Week before last, I added a couple more goals:

  • Be in bed by 10pm Sunday through Thursday nights.
  • Get up no later than 6:30 Monday through Friday mornings.
  • No snacking on the couch – the only eating allowed is a planned, pre-plated meal.
  • Shut my pie hole by 8:30 p.m. every night – no more eating!

As you all know (unless you are both living in a cave and have your head stuck in a hole), last week was Thanksgiving.  What you may not know is that two other circumstances combined to throw me for a loop – I got sick and Seattle got hit with a snowstorm of epic proportions (okay so it was 4 inches, bite me), making driving anywhere difficult.  Not because of the roads, but because Seattle drivers don’t know how to drive in snow so they create more of a hazard than the snow in the first place!  (Sorry I’m not sorry…you know it’s true!)

So the last two weeks I completed a sum total of…drumroll please…4 workouts.  Yep, you read that right – my weekly goal is 4 workouts, but I only fit in 4 workouts over the last two weeks.  So not what I had hoped to report!  But I am not beating myself up over it; instead I am working on getting back into my workout groove.  I’m confident that next week I’ll report a minimum of 4 workouts completed from today until next Wednesday.

The holiday, time off work, and being sick also threw my sleeping schedule off completely.  So I’m back to struggling to get up at 6 or 6:30 a.m.  Today Kim even gave me an awesome early morning wake up call…and I promptly rolled over and went back to sleep until 7:40 a.m.  This all ties back to the self-discipline post from yesterday, and what I’m trying to figure out is if getting up early is an important goal for me right now.  I think it is, but I am going to be doing some thinking and writing over the next few days so I can be sure I’m doing it because I want this to be my goal, instead of because I’m trying to jump on a bandwagon that’s not really important for me to be on.  So, as I said, more to come later.

And since I am all about the silver lining, I will share that despite my crazy sleep schedule, being sick, a holiday, an unexpected week off work, and being off my game workout-wise…and despite not having my scale to weigh myself in the mornings (something I generally do, it works for me) – I made mostly healthy choices and maintained my weight over the last two weeks.  I count that as a win!

How was your Thanksgiving?  How are you doing with your workout goals this week?

Comments { 4 }

Coming up for Air

By on March 31, 2010 in Uncategorized

I can’t believe how busy my life is.  Caveat – if you have kids, just ignore all of this.  Every time I think my life can’t get busier, it does.  I can’t even imagine how this would feel if I had little ones!

Work

We are converting to a new practice management software at work.  In the long run, the software will increase our efficiency and save us money.  In the short term, it’s a nightmare.  Everyone is required to sit through the training, which was supposed to be 3 hours per day, 2 days this week.  Instead, it’s been 6 hours both days, and there will likely be a third.  I’m frustrated for a number of reasons:

  1. I’ve used this software before, and 80% of the training is stuff I already know.  It’s annoying and inefficient to have to sit through all of that just to pick up a few nuggets of information that are new to me!
  2. One colleague is perpetually suspicious of and, quite frankly, inept with technology.  This individual asks the same questions over…and over…and over again.  Turning a 3 hour session into a 6 hour session.  Someone stab me please?  In the eye?  With a pencil???
  3. In the normal course of my work day, I get up at least twice per hour to go to the bathroom, fill my water bottle, or just move around.  Sitting for 3 hours straight without a break KILLS my back and my calorie burn.
  4. I’m working 10-12 hour days AT MY DAY JOB.
  5. I’m going to have to work 60 hours this week to bill 30 and that just pisses me off.

Sleep/Getting up Early

I’m doing a bit better here, but getting up at 6am has been harder the last couple days.  Today I turned off my alarm and slept in until 6:50!  I felt guilty and groggy and annoyed with myself, so I’m going to get to bed earlier tonight than I have been.  I’m aiming for 9:30 in bed, 10pm lights out.  And tomorrow I’m setting a second alarm across the room again!  I want to be prepared for the 21-day challenge that starts tomorrow!  Are you joining me in that challenge?

Workouts

My workouts are okay but not 100%.  Actually, I take that back.  The workouts I’ve done have been balls-to-the-wall and 110% effort. Last night we were watching The Biggest Loser and my husband asked me if I thought I’d be a big cry-er if I went on the show.  I didn’t know the answer to that, but I do know that if I were on that show, I would leave everything out there when it came to my workouts.  And working out on my own should be no different.

The less-than-stellar part of this report is that I haven’t fit in all of my workouts.  Sunday I opted for a much-needed day of rest with my husband instead of doing my long run.  No problem; I planned to do my long run on Monday, which is scheduled as an active rest/rest day.  Instead of taking my early-afternoon break after the training session as planned, I ended up in training all day and at work from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.  When I left, I went to the grocery store, shopped, came home and cooked 3 meals to keep on hand, and went to bed.  So, no long run in my first week of 10K training.

I did have a kick-a$$ workout yesterday morning!  I did 40 minutes of strength training circuits and then knocked out a 2 mile tempo run.  That was hard and I was sweating like nobody’s bidness, but it felt great.  That kind of effort on a regular basis is what will get me where I want to go.  So, no perfection here, but if you were expecting that, you need to put down that [insert hallucinogenic substance here] and step away…

Food

This continues to be my biggest struggle.  Sweets have snuck back into my diet, so today I’m bringing down the hammer and going sugar-free.  Mostly, anyways – I am having an almond butter and low-sugar jelly sandwich later!  But no chocolate, no candy, no sweet-sweets, if you know what I mean jelly bean.  No!  No jelly beans, either!  Last night I left work at 8pm, which meant I was the last one here.  I put the candy bowl inside a drawer, so it won’t tempt me today.  Someone will inevitably pull it out again later, but I figure every little advantage helps, right?

So.

There you have it.  Life in all its normal busy crazy full challenging stressful beautiful mess.  That’s what I’m dealing with now – how about you?  What’s going on in your world?  Challenges, victories?  Do tell.  I need to get out of my own head, friends.  :)

Comments { 4 }

Reminders

By on February 18, 2010 in Uncategorized

I’ve been reading some good stuff lately, y’all.  Things that remind me of, well, important stuff.

Here’s a list of the best I’ve run into this week:

  • Hard work and determination pay off.  2 + 2 = 4.  If you do the right stuff, eventually – you. will. lose. weight.
  • Indulgences that are unplanned and in-the-moment are rarely worth it in the long run.
  • The best things in life really are free.
  • I never regret working out.  On the other hand, I almost always regret skipping a planned workout.
  • Working out never fails to make me feel good.
  • Getting enough sleep really does make me a different (better, nicer) person.
  • My weight is not who I am – it’s just a number.
  • Shame and guilt have never motivated me as much as joy and determination do.
  • These behaviors I’m choosing?  They are for life.  Every day, every minute, every meal, every workout – I have the opportunity to choose health and to step closer to my goals.
  • Chocolate is good, but losing weight is better.  I can’t believe I just said that.  Somebody smack me!
  • Moderation in all things.
  • Life is good.
  • Counting your blessings and being grateful for them will make you feel happier.

I’m sure there are a lot more of these simple but powerful truths.  What are some of yours?

Comments { 3 }

Mid-Week Update

By on February 17, 2010 in Uncategorized

Hello, friends.  How is your week going so far?  It’s Wednesday – you’ve still got half the week to make it a good one if you’re struggling, like I am!

I wanted to report back on my goals from yesterday.  They were:

  1. Force myself to get an awesome workout in today, whether I feel like it or not. This helps me be tired at night, which makes it easier to go to bed early. Nope, didn’t make this one. I did burn a ton of calories just by having a lot to do yesterday, but no workout.
  2. Eat my super healthy planned food for the day, quit eating at 8:30 tonight.  Sort of!  I stuck to my plan for dinner, mostly, but overdid it on the dessert my brother & his gf brought to share.  I didn’t go terribly overboard on my calories, but after a tough weekend with food, the rest of this week will be all about damage control.
  3. Kick my brother and almost-sister-in-law out at 10pm tonight (they’re coming over for dinner).  Yeah, this SO did not happen!  We got sucked in to watching a GREAT comedy show and they didn’t leave until 11pm.  Then I lounged around with my hubby until midnight.  The good news is that I didn’t have to wake up until 7:15 this morning, so I got a decent amount of sleep and feel much more rested today.
  4. Leave the dishes in the sink, brush my teeth, and get in bed right after they leave.  See above.
  5. Lights out at 10:30 p.m., alarm set for 6:30 a.m  Nope.

Clearly, I have some work to do this week!  The good news?  I’m not freaked out and worried this will turn into days, weeks, or months of struggle.  I know I can make good healthy choices every day.  I just need to reaffirm my commitment to doing that and set myself up to make good choices.  Here’s how I’m going to do that:

  1. My workouts for the rest of the week, however meager, are planned.
  2. My meals for today are planned, tracked, and with me.
  3. My gym bag is in the car for my Thursday and Friday workouts.
  4. I am setting aside two hours on Saturday to read my Beck book, make some new advantages/response cards, write a few blog posts, and generally re-immerse myself in why I’m doing this.  I’ll also use that time to pick a few recipes to cook Sunday and make my grocery list.
  5. I am setting a goal for myself to get 8 hours of sleep each night this week.  Tonight I have to work late, so I won’t be home until 9pm at the earliest.  I’m going to text my hubby and ask him to remind me that I want to go to bed early tonight when I walk in the door.  I never have a problem going to bed early on the nights I do Zumba!  (That’s tomorrow.)  And this weekend the sleep thing shouldn’t be an issue.

It’s a little amazing to me that I can come here and tell you all that I’m struggling.  That I ate too much dessert last night.  That I haven’t gotten a formal workout in since last Thursday.  That my weight is up from last week.  But that I’m okay, I’m not panicking, I’m not beating myself up.  I think I’m learning to be nicer to myself since y’all are so nice to me.  And that’s a revelation.  So thanks!

Comments { 6 }

Things that Make it Hard

By on February 16, 2010 in Uncategorized

I was thinking yesterday about the many things that make this process, this lifestyle, hard.  Or harder, anyways, than it might be otherwise.

My list of things that make it hard to make healthy choices throughout the day include:

  • Not getting enough sleep;
  • Negative self-talk;
  • Viewing these choices as things I must do rather than things I want to do;
  • Not planning my day in advance;
  • Feeling like I don’t have enough time.

There are lots more, I’m sure – we could all add to that list.  What are the circumstances or feelings that make it harder for you to make good choices?

I am realizing that this process is as much about the big picture as it is about the little things.  We always hear talk about how it’s the weight of all the little choices you make throughout the day that add up into a healthy lifestyle.  While that’s true, it’s also true that taking a step back and looking at your big picture can help you identify things that are getting in your way.

For me, the main thing I can identify lately that I am allowing to act as an obstacle is lack of sleep.  Here’s the cycle:

Not enough sleep —-> Me tired —-> Me hungry —-> Me not working out —-> Me sleeping like crap —–> Not enough sleep, rinse, repeat.

All of the other stuff is important too, and I’m sure there will be times in the future when I identify something else as the big thing I need to do to stay on track.  But right now, sleeping enough is my one big thing.  I’ve been allowing myself to get sucked in to watching Olympic coverage at night.  Or I get home late and feel like I don’t get any “me time” if I go to bed at a decent hour, so I stay up late reading.  Then I snooze the alarm 4 times and wake up groggier than I would’ve been if I had just gotten up the first time it went off.  Then my whole day feels off-kilter, my workouts suffer, and I do the whole thing over again that day, despite vowing to go to bed earlier because I’m so stinking tired all day long.

So that’s my big obstacle right now.  What’s yours?  What’s the hurdle standing between you and making this lifestyle, these choices, feel a little bit easier?

More importantly, how are you going to overcome that obstacle in your life?

My plan is as follows:

  1. Force myself to get an awesome workout in today, whether I feel like it or not. This helps me be tired at night, which makes it easier to go to bed early.
  2. Eat my super healthy planned food for the day, quit eating at 8:30 tonight.
  3. Kick my brother and almost-sister-in-law out at 10pm tonight (they’re coming over for dinner).
  4. Leave the dishes in the sink, brush my teeth, and get in bed right after they leave.
  5. Lights out at 10:30 p.m., alarm set for 6:30 a.m.

What’s your plan?

Comments { 8 }