Behold the power of getting enough sleep. That’s pretty much the only healthy thing I did this week and yet, I lost six pounds. Seriously, it was a bad week for healthy habits. Between sugary drinks over the weekend at my friend’s going away party, a box of Samoas that I consumed on Monday when I couldn’t get myself to cook anything or even get out of bed for more than five minutes at a time, and way too much bacon (is there such thing?) I was sure that it wouldn’t be a pretty weigh-in.
The two things I did right were getting enough sleep and drinking enough water. That’s all.
Though, let me tell you, frozen Samoas are delicious… even if they have been in my freezer for six months or something like that. Or it could just be that because I was sick anything I didn’t have to put any effort into cooking seemed amazing.
So, I was really surprised to have lost any weight this week and even more surprised that it was such a substantial loss. I’m going to make sure that I remember this the next time I feel like staying up too late.
Let’s talk goals.
1) One cup of coffee a day – With the exception of one day I completed this goal. I’m not sure if it contributed to the weight loss from this week but I realized that I actually only need one cup of coffee a day anyway. I’d prefer to not be reliant on coffee anyway but every time I think about quitting it altogether, I see another study saying that coffee drinkers live longer or something like that. I can’t decide if I think it’s actually a healthy habit or not.
2) Get enough sleep – I had a few days this week where I definitely didn’t sleep enough because I was finishing homework and/or finals. The other nights, though, I made sure to get enough sleep and after the weekend I caught up quite a bit because I stayed home sick from work and slept all day. It wasn’t the way I had intended to achieve this goal but I’m glad that I took the days to let myself rest.
3) Take it easy on myself – It was a battle to let myself stay home. I actually went to work on Monday morning but left mid-morning. I thought I might be able to stick it out but when I started to feel really awful, I decided that it wasn’t worth it and that I should take care of myself and let myself rest. I’m so glad that I made that decision.
This Week’s Goals
1) Get enough sleep again – Because I think that this is so important, I’m going to make it a focus again this week. When my “go to bed” alarm goes off at 10:30 pm, I’m actually going to shut down my laptop and turn off my lights. Whether I feel ready to go to sleep or not, it will give me 30 minutes to actually fall asleep. I try to go to sleep at 11:00 pm since I wake up at 7:00 am.
2) Make some meals for later – I do best when I’ve done this, yet I keep getting out of the habit of it again and again. I guess the fact that it requires planning ahead makes it a little more difficult for me when I’m really busy. Still, it makes everything so much easier in the long run. My sick days would have been much more pleasant had I already had some food made and ready to eat. The Samoas would probably still be in my freezer if I’d had anything else handy.
3) Finish resume – I’ve been half-assedly working on my resume for some time. Despite the fact that there’s been a lot of talk here at work about changing my position and using more of my skills (and paying me more!!), nothing’s actually happened. It’s been a few months and I just feel like it’s time to start looking elsewhere. I have the skills and the work product to be in a much better paying position. As much as I like my company (sometimes) and my three block commute, I need to think about the long run and what’s best for me. Staying here might not be the best option.
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So, there we have it. I’m finally done with class for a while, ready to get rested, and looking at what comes next. What are your goals for this week?
