Well, it was a short two weeks!
I wasn’t planning on stopping blogging for that long, but it was really nice to let my computer collect a little dust over the last two weeks 😉 I’d like to do a “catch up” post (over the last two weeks). months, haha), but I wouldn’t even know where to start. When I was blogging daily, I started having a hard time thinking of things to write about; While I don’t have anything important to write yet, it feels good to not feel totally blocked when I sit down to write.
If I had to sum up the last two weeks to one main point, it’s that I don’t do well without having a routine (which we all already know). A couple of months ago, I managed to get into the most normal sleep routine I’ve ever had (and I’ve never had a “normal” sleep pattern – insomnia has plagued me my entire life). I forced myself to turn off the lights at 10:00 pm, which is unheard of for me (my mind just won’t turn off). At first, it was very difficult to fall asleep so early, but as I’ve gotten older, I’d rather get up early than stay up late. So I forced it and eventually slept a full six hours (from 10 to 4) almost every day. And only waking up once or twice during the night!
[Another reason I like going to bed early is because it stops me from snacking at night, which is a big issue for me.]
A couple weekends ago, Jerry and I went to a friend’s house to play some board games. I was a little worried that it would keep me awake, but I don’t want to be held hostage on weekend afternoons from going out and doing things! We had a lot of fun and it wasn’t even very late at night; I think we got home around 11:30.
However, I was wide awake and didn’t fall asleep until just after 3:00, and then managed to sleep until 7:00, but all it took was that one day to throw off my sleep schedule. After that, my body wanted me to stay up late again. A week later, just as I was starting to get back into the old routine, we had another “late” night on Sunday (a few days ago). Jerry and I took the kids to see Bill Burr in Detroit (a Christmas present). I loved spending time with just the four of us and we had so much fun! Again, it wasn’t a very late night, but now I’m having a hard time sleeping. Again.
For those of you who go to bed early (“early” is different for everyone, obviously; in my opinion, I’m thinking between 9:00 and 10:00 or so), how do you handle being out “late” on the weekends? ? Does it mess with your routine? I’m thinking that if I continue to get up at the same time every day, even after a very late night, it will be easier to fall asleep the next night. I’ll try it next time, instead of trying to sleep in.
Anyway, with my disrupted sleep schedule, I kind of ruled out all kinds of other things. And plus, Jerry is doing a project at work that caused his schedule to change slightly (fortunately, only for two weeks!).
Although I haven’t blogged, I’ve been keeping myself busy working on projects at home (and a few projects for other people). Oh, and spring cleaning! We’ve had a couple of wonderful, warm days recently. I love opening the windows, playing music, and cleaning and organizing. Cleaning seems like a less complicated task on a nice day with the windows open. My house was so clean yesterday; A clean house always puts me in a good mood.
As for my diet over the past few weeks, it has been going well. It’s not great, because staying up late always causes me to snack; However, for meals it went quite well. I figured it balanced out pretty well, because my weight was about the same as it was two weeks ago.
It was at 143.2, down from 143.6; It’s still about 10 pounds heavier than I’d like, but as long as it doesn’t gain, I’m not complaining 😉
For next week, my main focus will be to work on going to bed earlier (and therefore not snacking). One of Dr. Greger’s 21 Adjustments [for weight loss] suggests not snacking after 7:00 pm, and I’ve noticed that there is a big difference in my weight when I follow that guideline. The last couple of times my weight dropped into the 120s was when I stopped snacking at night (or ate a piece of fruit or some dates or prunes or something).
I also want to write more frequently. At the very least, I want to do Friday Night Photos because it’s always been a kind of diary for me, a summary of my week, and I like having it. I haven’t done one in a while, so I’ll have to choose what to share, but after that, I’d like to get back to doing it weekly!