Sunday:
I played some World of Warcraft with my husband this morning, and then did an hour of Fantasia. I was fine, back to 100%. And for the first time ever I got 5 stars in a song! Yay me. That was right at the end of the hour. In the afternoon I listened to my meditation app and had a nap.
I have chosen and paid for my meditation apps after giving them a good trial. I think they are both by someone called Surf City. One is for sleeping; the daytime one I use has a weight-loss element. There is all the relaxing bit then a visualisation of standing in front of a mirror and seeing the person you want to be. No idea if it has any effect, but I like listening to it. And if it helps me slide into a nap, I really don't mind!
I slept very badly last night, tossing and turning. Too hot and the sheets got all rucked up and I don't know what else. My Fitbit says I was fully awake 5 times and restless 20 times. Felt pretty tired and headachy but refused to let it stop me exercising. Did well today in spite of it.
After some deliberation, and a period of not really tracking at all, I've made the commitment to change over fully to Fitbit with my food tracking. It means starting over with programming in favourite meals and finding substitutions for foods it doesn't list, but I'll have everything in one place.
I'm also rethinking my Plant Nanny app, cute though it is. It requires me to drink 12 glasses of water a day, which is the current fashion. Eight glasses is more traditional, and some nutritionists even say that includes liquid from foods. I'm usually quite dehydrated so I did need to increase my water intake, but I've decided 12 is too much. I hardly dare leave the house as I have to go to the bathroom every 20 minutes, it makes going for a walk or even doing the shopping problematic, and no jumping during exercise! And I'm up too many times at night, which is the wrong choice for me given my sleep issues. It's bad enough if I stop drinking early, but usually I'm having my last glass or two too close to bedtime and I have to get up over and over. So, back to 8 glasses and goodbye Plant Nanny (the plants wilt and die if you don't drink to water them and I can't change the 12 glass requirement unless I tell it I weigh 2/3 of my actual bodyweight. Which I considered).
Speaking of sleep, I've decided to put away my CPAP for the time being, since I haven't used it for weeks. Our bedroom has several built in wardrobes and no space for a bedside table, so I keep it on a stool beside the bed, blocking access to the wardrobe. Every time we want to open the door we have to move it, careful not to spill the water in the humidifier. It is a real pain. I can't bear to use it in this heat (that's my excuse anyway) so it is going inside the cupboard instead of blocking the door to it. I can always revisit this decision later.
Now I need to think about how to increase my exercise intensity. Maybe another three month gym membership.
Report card:
Diet: Good. Right amount of calories, could have had some more vegetables.
Exercise: Great. An hour today.
Water: Great. Eight glasses.
Sleep: Poor. But I did get a nap this afternoon.
Mental health: Good.
I have 11 days left in the first month of this dietbet. I can do it!
Excellent and comprehensive update, Natalie. I have a fitbit too, i still use MFP though-- and it links to the fitbit. I didn't even know Fitbit had a food portion of the program, until recently.
ReplyDeleteYou're getting some wonderful traction, Natalie. I agree with you on the water-- My yogi advised me to drink half my body weight in ounces. She's not the first to make this suggestion. Uh, no. Not doing it. I would need to live in the bathroom if I did that. I believe 8 cups--along with the other water based drinks (for me-namely coffee) and my foods, I'll be fine in the hydration department. The plants app does sound cute. I have a history of killing innocent plants.
I sincerely hope, as you lose weight, your sleep will improve dramatically. At times, I felt my CPAP machine was actually hindering my ability to rest--and then, after getting it readjusted, it worked well--until I had lost enough weight to change what my body needed--then it became a hindrance again...The good news--and I hope this is your experience too--Now, I haven't needed to use it in months. I sleep fine now after significant weight loss. The symptoms came roaring back after my initial weight loss--so I'm still a little concerned about that possibility--but for now, it seems fine. And of course I love not being tired to it all night. I'm a big proponent of using them when you need--But I also understand if it's not finely tuned to exactly what we need, it can have a negative effect. Unfortunately, for people like us--losing weight changes what we need, and financially, it would be impossible to get a new sleep study every 30 or 40 pounds during the physical changes. Perhaps getting checked again upon getting to a weight you're happy with maintaining, might be a good idea. Hopefully you'll know whether or not this is necessary. For me, so far, so good.
Go get 'em on that dietbet, Natalie!! Take that money!! :)
Thanks Sean. I've been really encouraged by your experience with losing weight helping your sleep apnoea, although it did come back for a while. It's great to know that, like my pre-diabetes, it's something I can fix by losing weight. I have not destroyed my body forever, the damage is reversible. I just need to do the work.
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