20 Sep, 2012
Nine things for Operation Trim: #6 – Perchance to sleep
Posted by andrea tomkins in: Challenge me, challenge you|Yaktivism
Remember waaaay back when I was writing about Operation Trim?
Well, I didn’t finish my list of nine things. A very hot summer in a very hot apartment sucked the energy right out of me. Let’s see.. where did we leave off?
- Post #1 was about water – Sigh. I started out really well but it never became a habit. The only time I can manage to remember to drink water is right after I brush my teeth in the morning and at meals. Hmm.
- Post #2 was about walking – This, I can do. And I AM. Woot! I go for at least one good brisk walk every day.
- Post #3 was about healthy treats – I still love treats with heat. And I enjoy my meals more if they’re spicy. I have been buying a lot of these.
- Post #4 was about meal planning – And you know what, I’m still terrible at it.
- Post #5 was when I went breadless, and it wasn’t long after that that I launched my Daily Lunches challenge (which is still going strong!). I would say that I’ve been moderately successful at eliminating bread from my daily diet. I eat very little processed bread (the stuff that you get at the grocery store in the bread aisle). I have had a bagel from the Ottawa Bagel Shop recently, as well as a baguette from Art-is-in and a freshly-baked buttery croissant from Sobeys. So basically, when I do eat bread, it has to be AMAZING bread. If not, I don’t eat any at all.
Anyway, all this to say that I’m doing well at some things but not others, but it must be working because I’m down a few pounds and my pants are fitting better. Yay!
I think I’ve figured out what works best for me. And here it is, four simple words:
Eat less. Move more. I will be writing more about this in my next post in this series, but now that I think about it I realize I need to add one more word: SLEEP.
Sleep eluded me this summer. It was often too hot to sleep in the apartment, and when I’m restless at night I turn into a zombie by day who feels kind of like this:
And when I’m tired I tend to snack. And snacking is (generally) bad. And when I’m tired I don’t want to go for those energy and mood-boosting walks. Being rested makes everything else – the food prep, the speed walking, the EFFORT – so much easier to bear.
So yes. SLEEP. It all begins with sleep, that’s why I am trying to get to bed a little earlier and get some quality ZZZs.
I would love to be the kind of person who doesn’t need a lot of sleep to get by, but this is not the case. What about you? Are you getting enough sleep?
