Day 11 - 11P2G - Sleep Already!

Winning!

Great day! Long day! Rope climbs made it into the HD workout today… and I’m super excited that it did. I was one, maybe 2 pulls from the top today. I smoked all previous attempts and even had Robert ready with the camera just in case. I lost my footing right before this picture was taken and couldn’t recover from it. Rope burns on both legs getting back down, but I was safe and they were right… you simply don’t fall from up there, you just don’t. I did a mini-celebration then finished the AMRAP… I didn’t make any more attempts for the day, one is all I have in me and then the bruising and burns set in on my shins.

Dinner

 Input: Pretty mellow day for eating. Rue and I finished the leftover pancakes for breakfast, instead of lunch I snacked throughout the day on the lunch items I brought to work, chicken and fresh guacamole, a nut pack, and some grapes. I got a call from the furniture store delivering my munchkin’s bed so I rushed home to open the door for them. We had dinner at 5:30P. It was a great dinner, I took some of the leftover sun-dried tomato chicken from dinner last night, chopped it up and added it and some of the tomatoes to a pasta sauce, I put it over noodles for J&R and I enjoyed my portion over a sweet potato. We had a side salad and some organic carrots, great dinner!

Output: Noon HD @SWEAT360.

Warmup with jogging and drills, 5x5 Kettlebell snatches on each arm. Then a 12 minute AMRAP (As many rounds as possible) I think I did 6 rounds… ??? I was so excited from the rope climb I lost track. After round one, I chose the 4 mini climbs instead… for these, you sit on the ground and climb the rope to a standing position and lower yourself back down. The AMRAP was: 1 rope climb (or 4 minis), 7 Burpees, and 10 Box Jumps.

Random: Today was exciting for Ruthie since her new loft bed arrived. Ruthie has been a co-sleeper, well since day one of her life… we had a brief 6 months just before she turned 4 where she slept in her own bed every night but then she worked her way back into ours. Don’t get me wrong, we love co-sleeping with her, but I also miss sleeping peacefully with my husband too. When Rue is in bed with us, I sleep in mommy mode, and every sound or move she makes I hear it, it makes for not so great sleep for me, but it’s been 5 years so I must be getting adequate sleep or at least close. We ordered her bed, that she picked out about a month ago and she has been telling us that as soon as it arrives, she will sleep in her own bed forever… Well it arrived today, at 5:30P and after we had dinner, Rue and I spent the entire evening putting it together. As soon as her Bennie Bear was in place, she climbed in, said goodnight, turned out her light and went to sleep. Hurray!!!!

For some reason, I remembered a challenge I had given to some friends during one of my many attempts of doing a weight loss challenge. I had done some research on sleep and I’m not sure what article this came from so forgive me for not being able to cite the right source but for kicks I found the challenge I had sent out and copied and pasted it here. I don’t get “points” for anything I’m doing now but maybe I should… remembering to and actually getting some good sleep is so beneficial to a weight loss plan and to good health overall. Soooo random copy/paste from an old weight loss challenge I was running and participating in…. enjoy!

Sleep Already!
Getting too much or too little sleep may widen your waist! That’s right Goldilocks: Getting seven to eight hours of sleep is juuuuuust right. People who sleep less or more are likely to gain 11 pounds over a six year period by making no other changes. Skimping on sack time decreases the appetite-suppressing hormone leptin and increases the appetite stimulating hormone ghrelin. What’s more… overindulging means less time moving.

The challenge: Get at least 7 hours of sleep nightly. Points: 1 point per day this is achieved. Report in your daily journal or in a weekly journal which must be received no later than Tuesday 9/2.

Tips: if you have a hard time getting to sleep (me) try these techniques… who knows they might work for you…

1. Pull your hair (not kidding) I watched a study on Oprah not long ago where the scientists said that by pulling on your hair you can actually trigger the nerves in your head and stimulate it in a way that actually helps you turn off all those other things going through your head, allowing you to fall asleep quicker.
2. Fade to black: Apparently the 2nd most common reason people have a hard time falling asleep is because of light in the room. (the 1st is anxiety). Make your room dark, use blackout shades or wear a blackout sleep mask… and oh yeah, turn off the TV and unplug the night light.
3. Get the right pillow for your sleeping style, and replace your pillow every 12 to 18 months.
4. Quietly listen to music with beats similar to your heart rate, 60 to 80 beats per minute. Check out bedtime beats CD’s www.bedtimebeats.com or try some white noise, like waterfalls or rushing river waters.
5. Score a new pad… it might be time for a new mattress or mattress pad (I know it is for me) Make your bed comfortable and you will toss and turn much less throughout the night. 
6. Change your alarm clock… apparently clocks with blue toned digital displays block melatonin production, keeping you up… if you can see your clock and are having trouble falling asleep switch to an amber light instead. (the orange).
7. Down your dog. Mans best friend could be sleeps worst enemy…

Not getting enough good sleep can actually stall your weight loss. So sleep already!