Domino Effect

Thanks to all who are still reading and for giving me encouragement along the way.  I've spent the last couple of weeks getting caught up on some things at home.  Well, I successfully completed the Daniel Fast just in time for Easter.  This was after no less than 6 Easter egg hunts which culminated in a huge bag filled with candy.  Hmm, maybe I should have planned a better ending date for the fast!  I'm pretty sure that I've spent the majority of this week undoing a lot of the good I did during the three weeks prior.

The good news is that I think I have developed some really great habits that I'm not ready to let go of.  While I have enjoyed adding back in some of my favorite foods that I missed during the fast, I don't feel the need to eat loads of unhealthy foods just because I can.  I've also been able to gain a lot of insight into some of my most unhealthy eating habits.

I came to realize that some of my most unhealthy habits are a domino effect which begins with something that might be unexpected - lack of sleep.  My sleep habits are terrible.  I don't have a set bedtime for myself.  I also rarely actually "go to bed."  I used to wash my face and brush my teeth and get dressed for bed and then go to sleep.  I at least had a nightly routine that I followed, but I still usually went to bed much later than I should.  When I got married, I would often wait for my husband to get home from college courses which he took in the evenings after work.  I'd watch TV many nights and would end up falling asleep on the couch shortly after he came home.  I was impossible to wake up and I'd wake with a crick in my neck, brush my teeth, wash my face and then stumble into bed sometime in the middle of the night.  This habit worsened when I became pregnant with my first child and my husband began working 2nd shift.  I would sleep late, go into work in the afternoons when it was my turn to close the gallery, come home and nap until he got home and then get up and visit with him until 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning.  He worked third shift for a year sometime after the birth of my 2nd child and I don't have any idea how I managed to get any sleep at all during that year.  I would literally stay awake until I just couldn't any more.  When he finally moved to a day shift about 9 months ago, I so looked forward to actually getting on a normal bedtime routine instead of falling asleep when I could no longer keep my eyes open.  We are both night owls and stuck in late-night habits, so this hasn't happened yet.

For my job, I have to meet specific deadlines only three times per month.  Two of these deadlines do take a significant amount of time and focused attention and I usually have one night to do it.  After getting the children in bed and getting to a point when I can start, I am completely worn out.  Most of the time, I can suck it up and do it.  It's usually a really late night and I have to get up the next morning and be ready to school.  Occasionally, however, I end up being so tired that I go ahead and go to sleep and then either A.  have to set my alarm really early to get up and finish the job or B. end up waking in the middle of the night stressed that I haven't finished, get the job done and go back to bed for a couple more hours.

Regardless, I'm not getting the sleep that my body requires on a routine basis and I make it worse a few nights a month by not planning my time well.  So, how does all this effect my food choices?  Not getting enough sleep causes me to wake too late in the morning to accomplish all that I am responsible for.  Something has to give and it's often me grabbing something for breakfast on the go.  Even a healthy choice eaten in a rush in the vehicle on the way to preschool is not substantial enough to sustain me through lunch.  If I don't eat again until lunch, I will end up overeating at lunch or I will end up overeating in the evening hours because I feel dissatisfied throughout the day.  More often than not, my body craves sugary foods because my body is desiring the "quick energy" that can be obtained through simple carbohydrates.   I also place my body in a constant state of stress due to not getting enough sleep.  So, I tend to crave fatty foods or "comfort foods" to help reduce this stress.  The sugary foods give a rush and power boost very temporarily until my body crashes and then I need more to get fired back up.  The fattening foods comfort momentarily but provide little energy and weigh me down (literally and figuratively).  Interestingly enough, when I actually do try and go to bed, I am too wound up to get to sleep, no matter how sleepy I was before heading to bed.  The domino effect has now turned into a vicious cycle destined to repeat itself beginning with the next morning.

I have correlated my poor sleep habits to my difficulty in losing weight, but not for the reasons listed above.  It's common knowledge that a good night's sleep is healthy and that it enables our body to repair itself.  There has also been recent research related to lack of sleep and the over-production of the stress hormone known as Cortisol and it's ability to hinder weight loss and even contribute to weight gain.  Somehow I wasn't getting the connection that the stress of lack of sleep and just being overly tired was directly related to the types of foods I was being more drawn to.

When I'm feeling great and I'm well rested, I not only can think more clearly and make better food choices, but I WANT to choose foods that will allow me to continue to feel great.  I know that if I down something full of sugar or fat that I'm not going to feel great later.  If my body doesn't feel as though it needs a boost, it's less likely to crave the unhealthy stuff and make it a bit easier for me to reach for something that will actually give me sustainable, nutritious fuel.  I'm not suggesting that sleep can make one lose weight, but it sure can do a lot for overall health.  You function better mentally, physically and you're refreshed enough to complete daily activities without feeling so run-down you start looking for a pick-me-up.  You are able to make better choices with a well-rested mind.

My goal for this next week is to begin working on a new habit of starting a nightly routine and making a point to go to bed at a certain time each night.  This will be a very difficult one for me as this is a habit I have had for over 10 years.  I expect that there will be many nights at first that I toss and turn until my body gets used to it's new routine and I can easily fall asleep.

I found the article below while I was a little over half way through with this post.  A lot of my "ah-ha" moments are printed right there in black and white.  It seems so obvious to me now that there is a physiological and hormonal response that is driving some of my food choices.  I just thought I had a complete lack of will power when I just couldn't turn away from the jelly beans during an afternoon lull. :)  

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/excessive-sleepiness-10/lack-of-sleep-weight-gain