Sleep

     When I was a kid staying up all night was one of my biggest goals. I would go to slumber parties and stay up all or most of the night . It was the best even though when I would get home from them I would sleep the rest of the day. Now I'm an adult and sleep is like candy. I can never get enough. I know that I have been writing a lot about sleep deprivation because it is something that I am working on . I have not reached my goal yet but I am on my way. It has definitely helped my weight loss efforts. I lost two pounds last week.
    

A Good Night's Sleep

     A good night's sleep is always so hard to attain. Once I am actually in bed I have no problem sleeping but   getting to that point is a challenge. On week nights I am too busy enjoying my freedom from work that its hard to want to go to sleep early. Weekends its too much fun staying up late knowing there is no work the next day. I have read all of the studies about the myriad of ailments that visit those who do not sleep enough hours each night. One would think that that would be enough to get me to snooze more hours. Still.... I am attempting to get more sleep each night. Wish me luck. 

shabbat shalom

every week i vow to get more sleep and every week it is the same. i do not get enough sleep. the weekend is almost here and  i do not have many weekend plans so my sleep debt will go down . have a good shabbos everyone. zzzz....zzzz....

all i need is sleep...

forget love and romance. what i really crave is a good night's sleep. i don't have insomnia its just that i am too busy enjoying life to slow down and get 7 hours of sleep each night.
all through the workday i fantasize about my pillow and crocheted blankets. when i finally return home my second wind emerges.the computer beckons. phone calls consume  the night. i enjoy the crisp chill of my apartment when the heat has been turned down for the night.. by the time i finally wind down i spend a few measly hours lavishing in sleep.
i envy those who have the self-discipline to get enough sleep.
if you manage to get at least 7hrs of sleep each night please share your secret with me .

oh sleep how i love you and miss you
xoxo,
frum single female

sleep like a baby

as neurotic as am i often fall asleep on the subway on my way home from work . one of my co-workers says that the best sleep she gets is on the train.
once when i was on a train i briefly opened my eyes and noticed that everyone else was napping.
though i usually dont miss my stop if i nod off, occasionally i do. thats the worst. not only do i miss the stop, but i feel really groggy.
fortunately im not a restless subway sleeper, otherwise i would be finding my head on someone elses shoulder as i nap. very embarrassing. bubba might not like that.
i have found other subway sleepers heads on my shoulder. i usually wake them up and hope they dont have head lice.

battle of the bulge

my quest for weight loss continues. ive lost 7 pounds since may. not the quickest weight loss, but its definitely a solid 7 lbs. what is my weight loss secret you ask? CUTTING OUT THE JUNK FOOD.
generally my eating habits arent too bad. my major weakness is sweets.
im gratified that my efforts have been netting results, i just hope i can keep it up.
oh... and i have been continuing my quest for more sleep, but my sleep hrs per night still are not where they should be. i still believe that if i improve in this area my weight loss momentum will improve.

the city that sleeps

nyc is called the city that never sleeps. well... maybe manahttan is the city that never sleeps, but brooklyn, one of the five boroughs of nyc, is a borough that sleeps, or more specifically , midwood , brooklyn sleeps. when i get home late from work on say a monday,i can only get take out or junk food . all the grocery stores near me close before 8 pm. in fact i dont even know when they close on a monday night because im never home early enough to find out. if not for shabbos, the grocery stores would not even be open late on a Thursday night.
i know i really need to look in to ordering groceries from fresh direct. according to their website they have alot of kosher products, even chicken. of course , the hardest part of ordering from a place that delivers groceries is that i will have to be home when they arrive . i do think that i may actually explore this venue. i really need to keep away from the junk food.
sometimes i actually go food shopping before i leave the city if i know im low on food. but of course, i have to be in the mood to shlep the stuff home on the train.
we as jews love to eat, but apparently the jewish grocery store owners in my neighborhood arent too worried if anyone eats on monday unless its earlier in the day . perhaps they are trying to discourage night eating? is weight watchers paying them off? i have noticed alot of their products in the local stores.
i know that the brooklyn groceries think that everyone is eating shabbos leftovers on mondays so they can close early, but what about us singles? im busy all weekend, and usually run out of food at the end of the weekend and am starving for real food on mondays!
i need to change my work schedule and get out a little earlier on mondays so i dont starve!

so much for technology

in the old days calls after 9pm on one's regular phone were cheaper than those made before 9pm. one summer i had a roommate and we shared a phone. big mistake. she was a real penny pincher and would freak when i would make calls before 9pm. i found it ridiculous because when one is sharing a phone and then has a limited amount of hours per night to make a call, it becomes ridiculous.
flash back to the future... landlines have unlimited call plans so it doesnt matter what time of the day one is chatting. the catch these days is cell phones... many have ditched their land lines and now have cell phones with finite minutes before 9pm....
on the plus side, this time around i dont have roommates. i have kept my land line . i guess im old fashioned that way. this way i have a lower cell phone bill because i dont need as many anytime minutes.
the thing is, if i even have a shot at getting enough zzzz's i try not to speak on the phone after 9pm.
so much for technology!!

thin for a fat person

well my quest for more sleep has been somewhat successful. ive been getting at least 6 hrs of sleep on work nights, and 7 hrs + on the weekend instead of my usual 4-5 hrs. i cant say that its had an effect on my weight, but i definitely feel more well rested.
i have a subscription to self magazine which also entitles me to join the self-diet club which i joined on wednesday. it seems pretty good so far. they even list cholent and kugel in their food lists so you dont have to estimate their food values.
at the moment im thin for a fat person. in other words, if i was someone who was 60 lbs overweight and then i lost 30 lbs i might even stop trying to lose weight because i would feel "thin enough" . i wouldnt really be thin. i want to be thin for a thin person. which is what i was before i got sloppy and started packing on the pounds.

sleep yourself thin

staying in shape is really tough. i try to watch what i eat and exercise three times a week. for me maintaining my weight and losing weight (as needed) is really tough. ive done weight watchers, where i reached my goal weight, but it was really tough. though age can effect ones metabolism, i dont really think thats my problem. i clearly recall at 24 having to watch myself like a hawk to prevent weight gain.
over the past few years sleep deprivation has been a hot topic in books and magazines. sleeping less than 5 or 6 hrs a night has been linked to weight gain as well as contributing to other health maladies. though ive tried to get enough sleep over the past few years, its been a real struggle.
recently i was chatting with a co-worker about sleep deprivation and weight gain. apparently, she had suffered with this very issue and when she got more sleep she lost weight.
i know that when i stay up too late i tend to keep eating, so if id get to sleep earlier id probably lose weight just because i would have less hours id be eating!
over pesach i made sure to get at least 8 hrs of sleep. i usually gain 5 lbs over pesach which i never lose over the year. this year, although i did not lose any weight over the holiday, i did not gain any weight either. to me this is a real victory.
so far this week ive stayed the same, and ive been making a real effort to get at least 7 hrs of sleep. wish me luck . ill keep you posted as to my progress...