Waking Up

Many elements contribute to overall fitness. Diet is just as, if not more important than exercise. Hydration and recovery also factor into overall fitness.My problem lately has been sleep. The problem started in early December. When school ended, my schedule became way too flexible and I started staying up late* and sleeping in later. Generally I can go to bed between 10 and 11 and wake up at 6:30. When I don't have a set schedule, I go to sleep and wake up when I please. Strike one.

Then the sheets came.

My mom got me new sheets for Christmas. I loved my old sheets. I got them on sale at Macy's a long time ago and they're super-soft. Maybe these new ones have codeine sewn into them - I don't know. But they are so soft and warm and comfortable. Just one more minute...just one more then I'll face the cold world....Strike two.

I also recently stopped taking a medication that I took in the morning. This medication had somewhat of an alertness effect. I'm glad I stopped taking it. I feel like I'm more myself, but now I'm just sleepier. Strike three.


I've also been working out 5+ times a week. This definitely has made my body tired, but I'm not sure if that's really a cause to my problem. This morning I set the coffee to be done at 6:30, the alarm on my phone, and the alarm clock by my bed. Guess what time I finally got up? 7. I don't know if my body just wants to hibernate or what, but I don't feel much like getting out into the world these days. Maybe the increasing day light will help. Maybe forcing myself on a schedule will help. All I know is that it's noon right now and I have two more classes to teach and it's hard to get my students motivated when I just want to crawl back into bed...


*I won't place direct blame, but this is about the time I realized that Curb Your Enthusiasm and Entourage come on at 11 and 11:30 pm respectively. If I'm awake anyway...

Fitting It Into My Life

I started out the week trying to do a 6am workout. In theory, this should be perfect. In reality, it's not. If I go in at 6am, then I don't get home until about 7:10, then a quick shower, make breakfast (because it does have to be made), hope that I made lunch the night before, if not, I have to throw a salad together, dry my hair, get ready, and try to get to work between 8 and 8:30. I hate being rushed in the morning! I want this to work, but I need to figure out how. We did Grace Monday morning, which was a benchmark workout. It took me a while, but I finished. I've never lifted weights before and I really need to work on my flexibility. We also had a sprint/burpee workout that I didn't think I could do, but managed to get through a few rounds. This week my eating was challenged. I'm part of a group at work that has a potluck every month or so and each time we have a different theme. Even though the theme is Salad, I still debate whether or not I should go this time, because I'm really trying to make paleo work. I decide to go and bring a yummy spinach/strawberry/hazelnut/balsamic salad. Big hit with everyone. I looked around the kitchen at the potluck and realized that I really couldn't eat a lot that was there. But instead of looking rude, I took a little of the salads that looked the least dangerous, and a lot of mine. I stayed away from the freshly made croutons and the ceaser salad altogether. I did my best. And to be completely fair, I'm not completely paleo. I started eating more smoothies with whey protein. I'm also eating Nancy's yogurt with blueberries and almonds. I know I need to cut the dairy out, and I will, I just need to get through this yogurt (I don't want to waste it). I think it's funny that women who are dieting are more likely to eat low-fat Yoplait, with the second ingredient of High Fructose Corn Syrup, instead of full fat natural yogurt. Fat really isn't the problem, especially with something like that. Shouldn't you be eating naturaly foods? I also saw the doctor this week and saw what my weight really was - 153. Ouch. I didn't think it was that bad. I need to go back in a few weeks, so I kept that number in mind. I still manage to impress my friends and coworkers with stories of pull-ups and all the 'crazy' stuff we're doing. I start trying to recruit with no luck. Whatev. Their loss.