Tired Of Being Tired…

A few months ago, when I was doing the clinical study for a new depression drug, one of the questions that they would ask me at every check-in meeting was, “Do people tell you that you look tired?”

As I was looking in the mirror this morning, getting ready for work, I realized that, yes, I do look tired.  I can’t remember ever having dark puffy circles under my eyes like I have lately.  It’s no wonder I have no energy, and am getting nowhere with my quest to shrink my body.

I wake up each morning feeling like I’m still exhausted – when I try to set my alarm early enough to get up for a workout, I roll over, turn it off, and go back to sleep.

I’m actually going in for a sleep study, but it’s not scheduled until after Thanksgiving – I don’t think I want to wait that long to see if I can improve my sleep…  To that end, I’ve decided to focus a new #7daychip attempt in this area.

Tonight and tomorrow night will be free days – I am just going to go to bed and sleep until I’m ready to wake up on Saturday and Sunday mornings.  Starting Sunday night, though, it will be in bed by 9:30 pm and lights out by 10.  Monday morning, I will get up and 5:30 am to hit the treadmill.  This will be the plan for Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights.

For Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, it will be in bed by 11 pm, lights out 11:30, and up the next morning at 7.  I’m including Wednesday here because my yoga class doesn’t get done until 8:45 pm – I get home at 9 to have supper and shower, then go to bed.

This schedule may adjust once my current yoga class is finished and I move to a different one on a new schedule, but the base hours and time will still apply.

I’m hoping to carry this effort into a #30daychip – that should be a good foundation for a new habit, and should give my body time to adjust to the new schedule.  It’s going to be tough, though – even as a baby (my mother has told me), I would sleep until 9:30 or 10 every morning.

Since I’ve also read, and been told, on numerous occasions by knowledgeable sources, that being active breeds energy, I’ll be starting a second #7daychip tomorrow, for 10 minutes of DELIBERATE activity each day.  Housework qualifies if I’m up and moving for 15 minutes or more at a stretch.  Climbing stairs in the normal course of a day at work or at home, not so much…  If I decide to take multiple trips up and down the stairs to get my heart rate up, I’ll count half, for the time spent going up.  If I walk somewhere, or bike, that counts, as does, of course, time on the treadmill.

I’m going to keep logging food on MyFitnessPal, but I’m not going to worry about whether I go over my calorie allotment there – I’m going to go by what my Fitbit tells me, as I think that’s a bit more realistic.  I’ll just put in a calorie total each day, because the pre-listed foods on Fitbit leave something to be desired…

I really hope that these changes will help me to realize some positive results…