Touching once again on two recurring themes here … sleep and weight loss. Very embarrassed to say that my grand plan to start over and follow a low carb/low cal diet didn’t last long. It’s so frustrating when I look back to that post (February 1st) and realise if I’d stuck to it I’d probably be about 20 kilos lighter by now. Anyhow, I’ve come to realise that this whole health & fitness thing is like a tangled ball of wool for me and I keep pulling on the wrong loose ends to try and straighten it out, and it just gets more tangled. If that makes any sense. Which I know is going to sound like excuse making to some of you, but for me it’s a very true thing. And so, I am now focusing on the sleep thing again. Because a well-rested az is a happy az. And a happy az tends to want and like to do things that are good for her. To wit…
I looked back on all the sleep-related posts I’ve written here, most of which were written while on chemo or after operations. And the thing that struck me was that during those times I just slept whenever I felt like it. No real schedule, just listened to my body when it needed to lie down and have a rest. Even if I didn’t actually fall asleep, sometimes just lying down for 20 minutes or so was quite refreshing. But the best was sleeping at odd hours of the day, because I had no set schedule to maintain. In other words, being a cat.
And the thing is, except for my early morning yoga classes three times a week and my (too few) English classes, I can do my other work pretty much any time I want to. So I’ve been experimenting with sleep patterns in an attempt to find a way of finally getting enough sleep on a daily basis. Seriously, I walk around feeling quite exhausted a lot of the time without really realising it. And I only notice the difference on those rare occasions I sleep an entire eight hours – even one good night’s sleep makes me feel like a million bucks. So maybe this is the loose end that will help untangle things? We shall see. And let me be clear – I’m not trying to find the “easy way” of doing things. It’s more like needing to find the right starting point … I wish I could explain that better but I just can’t find the words.
Anyhow, this past week or so I’ve allowed myself to sleep in on non-yoga mornings and I make sure that I take a siesta on yoga days. Otherwise I’m just trying to pay attention to when I need to rest and when I need to move. Because too often I spend too much time sitting in front of the computer without getting up to stretch or walk around a bit, which is also exhausting. I’ve also started “walking” on the exercise bike at home while watching tv to get my circulation going.Ā Now if only I could find a way of strapping Shadow to the handlebars…
So yes. I am sleeping better. And feeling better.
And I can feel things changing for me.
How about you? Do you get enough sleep?
casa azahar 
I will state categorically that every overweight person I see in my massage practice is sleep deprived. Most of them don’t even realize it, or think they have no choice but to renounce sleep in order to “get things done,” and some just aren’t budgeting their time well or making sleep a priority. There is a traceable physiological smoking-gun trail from sleep deprivation to metabolic slump. So go to bed. š
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Yes ma’am! š
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Not only what sledpress said, but there is actual research done that indicates that people who do not get enough sleep tend to compensate for the lack of energy by ingesting high calorie things, and thus have the devil’s own time trying to keep to a diet. Go to bed. Sleep. And don’t feel guilty about it either. Your body has a lot to do, you are still healing.
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I don’t actually do the compensating thing. In fact – and nobody ever believes me – Nog and I eat pretty much the same things every day except he eats more – and then “fills in the corners”, as he calls it, with snacks. And he’s barely 70 kilos soaking wet. I’m not putting on weight with my daily diet, which I think is fairly healthy, but I’m also not losing any.
I know what to eat/not eat when it comes to losing weight – there’s no mystery there. But what I am trying to do is get my metabolism functioning better so that I don’t have to live on carrot sticks to lose a kilo a month.
I read awhile ago that models tend to sleep a lot (at least 9 hours a day) in order to stay slim. I barely manage 4-5 hours, though am getting more lately.
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Now, now. I was not trying to imply that you were doing the thing that the research finds, although I can see how you might think so. I’m sure that it will take your metabolism a long time to recover from the poisoning it suffered during chemotherapy. Meanwhile, you should rejoice in being alive and not dwell too much on the number on the scale.
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My metabolism has been fucked since the hysterectomy just over ten years ago. After that, although my eating and exercise habits remained the same, I put on 4-5 kilos a year over the following six years. Been more or less maintaining since then, but getting cancer and all that sure hasn’t helped.
And it’s very likely that sometime in the last few years I also went through menopause.
Yeah, it did sound like you were implying that. Thanks for the clarification.
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I agree with the above comments. I think all too often we feel guilty about sleeping enough, as though it were akin to sloth. Eight hours is a very reasonable amount of sleep and, as you are suggesting, I think listening to your body is the most important thing you can do. Some people sleep more, some less, everyone’s physiology varies. Trust yourself.
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I do feel guilty about sleeping in … or well, I did. It always felt like I was “wasting the day”. From those rare occasions when I manage a solid 8 hours (like, every 4 months or so) I always feel so wonderful, so I know there’s something to it. I reckon I’d probably be okay with 6-7 hours a night and an afternoon nap.
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Tell that to Lynx Cat!!! My baby boy has the very annoying habit to wake me up like every 45 minutes from 2.20 am until it’s time to get up. I don’t think I’ve slept a whole night the last year and a half (since he moved in) except from the occasional night when I’ve been away or after Mum’s death when my GP put me on sleeping pills for a short period of time.
It’s a little better in the darkest part of the winter – he doesn’t start until five or so then – but nevertheless my sleep is interrupted.
Usually sharing life,Lair and bed with cat(s) is very relaxing and sleep promoting. Tiny Cat used to lay on my chest purring in the mornings, causing my late arrival to work more than once.
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Ufff, I hear ya. Loki is a little devil at bedtime. Around 11.30 or so it’s like someone flicks a switch and he suddenly goes into full-throttle kitten drive, tearing around the apartment, attacking everything and everyone in sight … total lunatic.
Since Loki came to live with us Nog has started sleeping with his door closed, which leaves me with the little monster in my room. But I find that after Azar and I settle down in our usual cuddle position I can usually calm Loki down by talking to him and letting him chew on my fingers (he doesn’t chew hard). And stroking his front paws also soothes the savage beast. After that he’s usually okay during the night … until 6.30am.
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Looking at the Live Traffic Feed thingy …
DILDO, Canada?
I had no idea such a place existed.
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Newfoundland… Where you been?
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Yeah, just checked that. I should have guessed and probably should have known. I have family there and during my one visit to the Rock when I was 17 was constantly delighted by the silly names.
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Of course, I recall my visit to Oregon where I found that Bend is just down the road from Drain…
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Sleep… Ah. I remember it well.
I have been depending on Ativan to get me to sleep in the last few weeks simply because of the stress of moving/ Of course, I have never been one for getting to bed at a reasonable hour. But before the move was a thought I was actually being very proactive. Chamomile tea before bed and into bed at a good time.
Last night, I went to bed at 10 but couldn’t sleep at all (I didn’t take anything except something for my back which has been spasming like mad). I read for a while and turned out the light but couldn’t sleep at all. After getting up 5 or six times, having a chamomile tea and some toast, reading, tossing and turning…. nothing.
Now, yesterday, I bought two night lights. One for Mom’s bathroom and one for mine. They are bright white LCD lights and I was wondering if that might be affecting me even with my eyes shut. Apparently, in order for your Melatonin to work, you need complete darkness which is something in our modern world is nigh impossible to get unless you live in the middle of nowhere.
I unplugged the night light, went back to bed and aside from the VERY active and crazy dream I had remember nothing after my head hit the pillow.
Oddly, I don’t feel particularly tired right now.
I have to remember to write down what I remember of the dream because it was… crazy!
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Oh… and thins morning my left shoulder was killing me. Tendinitis from moving. Ice every 20 minutes and exercises.. My hand is numb…I can’t do anything but pick my nose and that would likely be painful.
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I can’t sleep in the dark. When I was living in Salamanca I had those built-in window blinds that block out ALL LIGHT. No way. It felt like being in a coffin.
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Speaking as someone who’s been dieting since January – I think you’re being a bit unrealistic to say you’d have lost 20kgs by now if only you’d dieted…
A sustainable weight loss is max. 1 kg per week. Eat healthily, eat to be happy and control your portions. If you drink alcohol, drink less. Drink more water. The weight comes off and you’ll be happier doing it that way than starving yourself and best of all it’s sustainable.
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Ah, the voice of reason.
Though it’s perhaps not totally unrealistic if I include the whole of May – that would make it 5 kilos a month.
“Eat to be happy” … yep. And what I’ve been up to lately not only makes me feel happier but I also like myself better (those who know me well will know that this is quite a big deal for me). And this better-liked self seems quite keen on sleeping well. I reckon it’s just a matter of time until better-liked self will also be okay with the food changes I have in mind.
So how’s your diet going?
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The goal for me wasn’t strictly to ‘diet’ – all I wanted after my surgery was to get fit again, so I joined a gym. After a couple of months I added a calorie controlled diet to the exercise and in total I’ve got rid of 15.5 kgs – 34lbs.
Of course I’m hugely happy about the weight, I’m also quite close to my fitness target, which was to be able to ‘run’ non-stop for 40 minutes. At the moment I’m doing 5k in about 44-45 minutes but there’s some walking involved still.
I really must find some stretches that fix my thighs after doing squats – the PT is particularly keen on them but afterwards I hobble like a pirate for a week or so.
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Getting rid of the phone which used to sit on the bedside table seems to have made a difference to the quality of my sleep.
It was one of those satellite thingies which gets plugged into the mains but takes its signals from the main house phone.
I’m sure there’s a better way of explaining that but I’m feeling particularly dense tonight.
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Well, I might blame sleeping with my iPhone under my pillow but I’ve had the same crap sleep quality almost all my life. Lots of tangled up reasons for that.
Are you being mysterious?
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For me, one of the main symptoms of depression was not sleeping – lying awake all night (mostly crying, but that’s another issue) and consequently feeling exhausted all day. It was so odd because I never normally have trouble sleeping and I need a minimum of 8 hours even to function at anywhere near normal.
I find that a balance of plenty of sleep and plenty of exercise outdoors is the ideal mix for me, now.
So, I TOTALLY hear you on the ‘fix the sleep patterns and the rest will start to fall into place’ thing. Good luck.
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