Primal journal : Coll page 42

[lopisheep]

Oh, man, disturbed sleep is so not fun. It's probably the chocolate. Go ahead. Shoot me:-) I can really be obnoxious, yes?

You might not have quite made it in 21 days, but you definitely tried, and that's what counts. So October will be your month, I just know it. And tomorrow, you can get up all nice and rested (I'm praying for a good sleep for you) and ready to get back on track after a minor sidetrack.

Sometimes, I try to figure out why I pig out, and then I just realize "I just love food" -- well, when I'm not being frustrated by it!

I find getting in bed at a reasonable hour with a good book works well for me, as well as not eating late. The trick with the book is not to read too late:-) I'm getting better at saying "lights out" to myself.

[Coll]

My problem is that when I read in bed DH wants to read in bed too. However, when I close my book and am ready to turn the lights out, he is far from done. And I cannot sleep with lights or movement - even the page turning is too much for me.... DH is Mr Nightowl and is far worse than I am at getting to bed, and so for some reason I tend to stay up way later than I want to. I am just really disorganised too.

[Coll]

Oh, and I am sure that the chocolate is playing a part in keeping me awake at night. I can't drink tea after about 3 in the afternoon because of the caffeine so that tells you part of that story....

[lopisheep]

Hmmm! That book issue would be hard. What if you guys read in the living room? Then he could read longer without disturbing you? I know, that's not nearly as cozy:-(

If I have coffee after 3 or 4, I have the same issue.

Sure hoping you got a good night's sleep last night. Is your room really dark? That's an issue for me. I leave a fan on in my room to cut down on the noise which helps a lot in the noise department.

[Judg]

...

I also went through my closet and got rid of some of my 2XL clothes, big step for me. I am always afraid I am just going to regain all the fat and then I will have nothing to wear. But, I am feeling more confident that the weight is not going to just jump back on me when I am not looking Even though I have not lost much weight over the last month ( 5 lbs) it is something and it is in the right direction. So I 'failed' at the 21 day challenge in that I did not reach my goal weight. However I did lose some for the first time in months so from that perspective it was successful. My heel is better and while I am not in the midst of a decent exercise program, I am still doing much more than I was. So I guess that is also a positive.

I was just realising this evening that part of why I have had the munchies, is because I am not being grateful for all the multitude of blessings that I have. Instead I have been focusing on what I want and don't have - this seems to lead directly into overeating too. Definite correlation there for me. Ingratitude = overindulgence! Yikes - not too nice seeing that side of myself But, better than being oblivious and continuing the same behaviour.

I am still not sleeping well - the weather is great and I have occasional good nights but the rest of the time I am restless and having disturbed sleep. And I am still not going to bed at a good time most nights - probably part of the problem there! Anyway, I am a bit of a mess at the moment. Need to try and pick up the pieces and start going again.

Sheesh, five pounds in a month is GREAT! Do you know what a year of that will do? Remember, losing it too fast results in a lot of sagging, because your skin can't shrink fast enough to keep up. The older we get, the truer that is. So rejoice in it; don't resign yourself to it.

When I cheat too much, as I have been doing a bit lately, I cut out a meal. Or two. It's so much easier to do now that I am more of a fat burner than a sugar burner, and it helps restore the balance. It's actually kind of nice not to have to think about eating or cooking. Mind you, with a family to feed, it's more difficult, but making big batches of stuff so there are leftovers they can serve themselves is a great strategy. I use it when my menfolk come home.

I switch to decaf and herbal teas in mid-afternoon too. Sleep is just too precious, and hard for me often also. You might have to have a discussion with hubby to find a solution that works for everybody. Have you tried a sleep mask? That alone might do it, or you might need to add earplugs. If that's too irritating for you, maybe you could talk him into moving his reading activities elsewhere when you need to sleep. Husbands don't like to be nagged or bossed (I mean, who can blame them? Wives don't like it either.) but they often respond well to an appeal based on a legitimate need. With a little creative brain-storming, a win-win solution can usually be found.

One of the great things about picking up the pieces and starting over is that once you've done it a few times, you don't panic anymore about the stumbles. They are not the end of the world, or the end of success, or the end of progress, just a bump in the road. Goals are great to have, but they shouldn't obscure our successes to us either. You had plenty of success over the last three weeks. And you will have plenty more in the future.

[Coll]

Thank you so much Judg for the encouragement! I feel much better this morning after a good sleep - yes! Pam and Judg I slept like a log and slept late too! It was so lovely and chilly last night. DH and I could hear two great horned owls hooting to each other right outside our window. In fact we could see one sitting on the power pole - about 5 yards from where we were lying in bed!! I do so love owls!! The one had such a deep hoot and the other was a much higher call. Birds are wonderful creatures - I grew up doing lots of birdwatching in South Africa (Lots and lots of birds there) and still really enjoy it! For some reason it is sounds that DH or the kids make that I am super sensitive to. If it is just normal sleeping sounds it is not a problem, but if someone is doing awake things I wake up too. I can't sleep with a fan going - just too loud for me, keeps me awake too. Same with music. DH can sleep through a tornado on the other hand

I will chat to DH, he is a very kind person and I know that if I bring the whole reading in bed thing up he will try to understand and accomodate me. The problem is that I am always so tentative about sharing my needs as I feel as though I am being selfish. Good thing I have such a patient hubby Living where we do there is not much noise at night - occasional vehicle going by but otherwise nothing aside from the coyotes, owls and there is a resident skunk who seems to enjoy sharing its delightful perfume with the neighborhood on a regular schedule!

I feel so much better again after choosing to only eat meat at dinner last night. Just that little discipline resulted in much improved outlook and focus. 188 lbs this morning, next goal is 183lbs - that is 5 away so it seems more attainable than a whole 10lbs. I have really been enjoying fresh coconut meat as a 'sweet' at the end of my meals. Seems to sit well in my stomach and I figure I am getting all the oil and goodness in the fresh form. Maybe I will keep on eating the fresh for a while and then try some of that yummy sounding Judg Fudge!

[Judg]

Hey, made with stevia, Judg Fudg is pretty darn virtuous. I added orange extract to the last batch. Yum! Peppermint is nice too. But now I'm out of almond butter so I will have to find my sweets elsewhere, or just skip them altogether. Had a small apple last night. Forgot to put that on my journal too. Oops.

[Coll]

Slept well last night - though I woke up with a start in the very early morning thinking one of the kids was calling me - must have been my imagination or one of them talking in their sleep. Took me a while and I fell asleep again - then I overslept. We needed work done on our truck and got a quote from a place in town... $750 just for the brake booster!! Nevermind the hole in the exhaust!!! Then we thought of calling the place we used to take our vehicles to when we lived on the other side of town - about 20 minutes further away, but it cost us $475 for the brake booster and the exhaust repair!! Needless to say, they will be getting our business in spite of the extra drive! And the truck was in for less than a day ... awesome.

Had a bit of a stressful morning - some character issues with one of the kids. Lots of soul searching on my part trying to see how I am contributing to the issue. And how to help the kid overcome and move on... so when I got home I chomped half a bar of chocolate! Great way to deal with stress - now I feel bad physically on top of the other. It was on an empty stomach which made it worse - bleh! Went ahead and heated up some leftover chili and steak - hopefully that will settle my stomach soon. Got school to do now... see ya later all.

[Siobhan]

Protein...fat...protein...fat...carbs will disturb your sleep. This I know. If you're gonna indulge, do it earlier in the day.

There is another thing I never see here but I have often used myself - if I wake up hungry and want to eat breakfast, that usually means very little or no dinner. IF can work the other way - skip dinner instead of breakfast. Or at least finish eating quite early, 5 or 6 PM. Okay, I will shut up now!

[Coll]

Yup, Siobhan, certain things near to bed time definitely get me going and others seem to help with a good sleep. I basically skipped dinner aside from a bowl of strawberries and cream because I had overeaten at lunch and early afternoon. It was hard making dinner for everyone else but I felt much better for not partaking. And this morning I am down to 187 lbs, it really helps to just shut down the factory if I have eaten enough. I still struggle with wanting to eat all day, at least three square meals! And yet, I do tolerate IF much better than ever before now that I am a fat burner versus a sugar burner. It is just the emotional side of eating that I struggle with really - I LIKE food a lot

I have to say that I love a crispy apple from time to time, just something so satisfying about the burst of sweet and tart juice. I will avoid other carbs to make room for an apple - like yesterday A small apple and a chunk of cheese. Of course yesterday I was not really avoiding carbs! Almost a whole bar of chocolate down the hatch - fortunately early in the day! And the good kind so that is sort of (not really) ok...

Got a pint of cream in the fridge waiting for me to make some primal icecream... it is chilly today, might be a good time to make it We had crazy weather yesterday. Got up to 86F and then the weather changed suddenly, the wind changed and the temp started dropping fast. By evening I got the kids and we went and stripped the tomato and pepper plants of every fruit that could possibly be used and that could still ripen on the counter. Not sure what counter I am going to put it all on!! I had some very healthy happy plants this year. My fingers, ears and nose were so cold! What a shock! I had had the airconditioner running during the day as it was just too hot in the house and then had to turn it off and get a jacket on within the space of a couple of hours!! Lovely. Got down to 38F last night and may have some snow in the next couple of days. Hoping my baby kale and mustard greens, Chinese cabbage etc will cope - not getting lower than 25F by the looks of it. May just toss a tarp or two over the two gardens and see what happens. I am ready to move on to the next season. I have thoroughly enjoy the garden this year - but it has been a lot of work because of the weather. Every morning without fail I had to water or else the hot dry weather would just wilt everything by mid morning. I am loving the cooler weather and less work to keep my veggies alive. Now I can focus on moving my soil pile and getting grass seed in and I am itching to get going with the primal workout. I really want to get some kind of pull up bar going - I think I may just need to splurge and then present it to DH and ask him to put it up for me on the back porch. He is so busy with a myriad of things that I don't think it will happen otherwise.

Oh well, I am off to fry up some eggs for the kids.