Sleep Loss Can Sometimes Lead To Great Ideas

Ah Mondays! Remember how I said yesterday I was not going to be a cry baby about today because it is a short week and all? Well, I lied! Last night I went to bed at 7:30, could barely keep my eyes open. At 10:00 I woke up and was wide awake! I HATE when that happens!

I spent the rest of the night counting the sleepless hours, checking the clock and telling myself over and over again, if I don’t fall asleep soon , I’m going to jump out a window! I never did . When the alarm sounded at 2:30 I was all ready for it.

I got up and got ready to workout. When I have nights like last night the lack of sleep never hits me until after lunch, so I was ready for a workout. Since I was awake anyway, I did some thinking about my workouts.

I read an interesting article in Men’s Health Magazine. I have a love hate relationship with this magazine. I can do without all the sex stuff that is included for their male readers, but some of the fitness and nutrition  information is really valuable. I kind of feel like the women’s fitness magazines water things down when it comes to really useful info. The men’s mags seem to give a lot of good , no-nonsense , basic tips.

Anyway this article was about trainers who train celebrities and professional athletes, and the different approaches and routines they use to get the results that their famous clients desire. One of the celebrities [all men obviously] mentioned was Bradley Cooper. The trainer said that he wanted to be lean, burn fat , and be cut but not particularly muscular. The trainer described a mixture of circuits and HIIT for him to cut out the boredom, to get him in and out of the gym fast, and to get the most optimal results. I was really intrigued by this and have been thinking about how to incorporate something similar into my own workout routine. I already do both circuits and HIIT, but the way the trainer combined then was something new to me. While I lay in bed fighting to sleep, I made up a new routine to try. This is what I did:

• 15 min. HIIT / treadmill
• Circuit Routine [Medicine Ball 200]
• 15 min. HIIT / treadmill
• Circuit Routine [Medicine Ball 200]
• 15 min. HIIT / spin bike

Wow! What a workout! I did a lot , but it didn’t feel that way because I was doing everything in short spurts. I never had time to get bored or even feel tired because I was going so quickly from one thing to another. It was awesome! I kind of glad for the bad night, because I never would have thought of this if I’d slept all night !

I am really excited to have found something new and different. My workouts needed some freshening up! This new combination really did the trick.

By the time I was done working out, and was walking out the door to go to work I felt energized and ready to face my Monday.

I started my day with a Breakfast Cookie , that I ate when I got to work with a teeming cup of green tea.

Today was a typical Monday. I spent most of my time making up for being off for 2 days. Tons of filing , and searching for things that are right in front of the therapist’s noses, but they can never seem to see! We are also still in the midst of our State inspection, so I am constantly running for someone. By the time lunch time rolled around, I felt like I could take it or leave it, but figured I’d better eat something or I would be sorry later.

I spread Laughing Cow Cheese on a wrap and added a handful of spinach and made a spinach wrap. This is such an easy lunch, and so much tastier that you would think. It is becoming one of my to-to lunches. It doesn’t hurt that it is a really low-calorie lunch as well . I had my spinach wrap with some baby carrots and a clementine.

Once lunch was over, my energy started to wane! The lack of sleep was beginning to catch up with me BIG TIME ! With that came a massive headache! I couldn’t wait to get out of there and get home.

Today as every Monday I had Kate after school. I jumped into the shower, and Matt was nice enough to pick her up for me. I fed her, did homework with her [3rd Grade gets a LOT of homework these days!] and gave her a bath. Then I had my own dinner.

Quick and easy was the name of the game tonight! A Garden Burger on a Sandwich Thin and a spinach salad. I was too tired to even think about what to have , let alone fuss over it.

For dessert I grabbed a handful of chocolate covered raisins , and called it a night!

Right now , I hear the bed calling my name. I hate missing out on sleep, because I never really make up for it. At least there are only 3 work days left in this week!

After New Years I am on vacation for 6 whole days , so I have that to look forward to as well ! Better days are coming!

Sleep tight all!