Wow! Only three more days until...
Until what? Maintenance (proceeding with cycle 4 and the shopping trip)? Going for more dramatic weight loss (back to cycle 2)? Staying put (cycle 3) for 17 more days and shoot for 120 to 125 lbs? So many decisions...
I know I said I was going to call it done at the end of Cycle 3. I'm just not sure now...
While hanging out with my besties the other night, we got to talking about -- a lot of stuff, for sure -- sleep, of all things. Some of the ladies have a terrible time sleeping through the night. I mentioned that I am sleeping better than I used to (I didn't have as much trouble as they do, but it was there -- weeks on end of light, minimal sleep) and that I attribute my newfound sleep patterns in part to my new eating habits. Seriously, once I started eating properly, the good sleep followed. I still wake up in the night, but I blame the 64 oz of daily water for that, not the food I'm eating or not eating. And I usually get right back to sleep afterwards.
Dr. Mike discusses the importance of sleep as a part of the whole weight loss plan; apparently you can burn as much as 200 calories in a 7 hour sleep shift. If you don't get enough sleep, your appetite hormone levels willl be out of whack -- you won't be satisfied by what you eat during the day, so you're going to overeat or crave the bad stuff. For me that was plain potato chips with dill pickle dip and/or butter tarts -- sometimes both -- daily. Oh, yeah, I also indulged myself with Smirnoff Ice vodka coolers any chance I got -- not good for a whole host of reasons.
If you don't sleep well, Dr. Mike recommends power naps (if you can) to help get these hormones (cortisol specifically) back under control. That's great news for people who like to nap!
I experimented one night last week. Just before bedtime I weighed in at 134 lbs. In the morning, I was back down to 131 lbs. Now, I'm not sure what that proves, but it must prove something because in the past there would have been no change from night to morning...
Tomorrow morning is the penultimate weigh-in. It should be an interesting one...
