With Wooden Sword and Shield in Hand

[Sloth the Enduring]

I'm glad Bearcub is going to have a wonderful year!  Trianguar school food is the best.

 

It sounds like you've got everything in order for a good week.

[Bearlee]

Monday, got 4.5 hours of sleep. Went to bed a little late 9AM and got phone call at 1:30PM and couldn't get back to sleep. Phone call was about dentist appointment I have tomorrow at 10AM, so tomorrow will be get home from work 7:15, take kid to school 8, hopefully take a nap from 8:30 to 10 (wife has appointment first so I'll probably be about 10:30), maybe get home and try to sleep by 11:30, wake up at 2:30 to get kid from school. So if everything goes well I'll get 4.5 hours of sleep. This is not a sustainable model for living.

So at the moment I'm dead tired. I forgot my the food I was going to bring to work at home and instead went out and got a burger and fries. After that fail and despite being tired I wanted to at least get my walk and resistance band training in. Did that, now I'm going to go comatose for a while.

[Shello]

How do you have time to do all the things I read about on your thread and still have time to come over here to lend kind words. Your very inspiring LadyShello.

Tuesday wasn't as bad as I thought but dang near. Got 4.5 hours of sleep in because the guy came late, however they were a bad 4.5 hours of sleep. Either I was getting up to go to the bathroom or the guy was calling to say he was going to be late, on his way, etc. Then when he got there I thought maybe I would be able to get some more sleep. Whenever I tried to lay down he would knock on my door and ask a question, so I just stayed up the rest of the day. So totally exhausted Tuesday. Didn't do any walking or exercising.

Wednesday took kid to school orientation and only got 4 hours of sleep today also. Exhausted and don't see any walking or exercise happening today either. I did walk the kid to school and found out that I got around 2000 steps and the equivalent of 5 flights of stairs in. So starting Friday I get to do that walk twice a day to drop the kid off at school and then to pick him up. That should help me get my steps in for the day.

Despite not walking or exercising I have been eating fairly well. Though I'm eating good food I'm wondering if I'm eating too much? Why does exhaustion make a person so hungry?

I don't know how you do anything on your schedule.  How'd the rest of the week go?  Did BearCub enjoy the start of Kindergarten?

 

This...

 

The new schedule will last from August to May for the next 4 years. And I did try to catch up as much as I could on the weekend.

I cheat on my schedule, that's how I get things done. I do most of my walking and exercise at work (please don't tell my boss ). At home I get almost nothing done, but the walks to and from school should help me now.

 

and this.  I cheat on mine too.  I do 75% of my NF checking and updates from work...  

 

Monday, got 4.5 hours of sleep. Went to bed a little late 9AM and got phone call at 1:30PM and couldn't get back to sleep. Phone call was about dentist appointment I have tomorrow at 10AM, so tomorrow will be get home from work 7:15, take kid to school 8, hopefully take a nap from 8:30 to 10 (wife has appointment first so I'll probably be about 10:30), maybe get home and try to sleep by 11:30, wake up at 2:30 to get kid from school. So if everything goes well I'll get 4.5 hours of sleep. This is not a sustainable model for living.

So at the moment I'm dead tired. I forgot my the food I was going to bring to work at home and instead went out and got a burger and fries. After that fail and despite being tired I wanted to at least get my walk and resistance band training in. Did that, now I'm going to go comatose for a while.

 

The burger and fries may not have been the best choice but given the circumstances and the lack of sleep it's tough to make the good ones. .You did, however, turn it around and go for a walk and get a workout in.  That's something.  Celebrate the wins, remember.  

 

it's amazing what some sleep can do to you to get you moving again.  Glad to see you are progressing on the TGUs.  and yoga again?  That did really seem to be your thing back when we did that PVP.  You've got a solid plan.  Find a way to set yourself up to follow through despite the sleep schedule.  

[The Most Loathed]

...This is not a sustainable model for living...

These realizations suck but are super important. Improving this is likely the most important and impact full thing that you can do.

[Bearlee]

So Tuesday went worse than I thought. I got 1 hour of sleep before my dentist appointment and 2 after. Thought I might get a 2 or more hours of sleep before I went to work but the wife came home late so only got an additional hour for a total of 4 hours of sleep broken up over three sessions. Suffice to say when I went to work Tuesday night I was basically useless and didn't do any walking or my kettle bell training. The saving grace for the day was that I had to go to my kid's school twice on Wednesday so I still got my 10,000 steps total in for the day.

Wednesday I got 5 hours of sleep plus an hour before work which seems to have actually charged me. So far today (Thursday morning) I've gotten 5,000 steps in and did my kettle bell workout (warm up, 100 swings, TGU practice, and 2 sets of lunges). TGU practice is going better, today I was able to get up from a lunge position unassisted on both sides. While I was doing my lunges I've noticed that my left leg seems much stronger than my right.

Since I did miss my workout on Wednesday I had to decide which of my workouts I was going to do, make up the kettle bell I missed or do the resistance band that was scheduled. Since missing workouts is a good possibility for me I've decided that I will keep the rotation of alternating workouts. Since my last workout was resistance bands this one will be kettle bell. It should keep me consistent and keep me from stressing too much about what I should be doing.

[Shello]

I can understand skipping the workout on Tuesday.  With that limited amount of energy you need to focus on just staying awake and staying safe at work.  But it seems you have a good plan to account for skipped workouts and you got right back on track.  

[Bearlee]

Starting the day off well. I was tempted to stop and get food for work but I had some leftover turkey I made today and I knew I had several bags of frozen veggies at work so skipped the drive thru and had a decent meal. Stocked refrigerator FTW.

I've also gotten my walk in and the resistance band workout in. Other than the lack of sleep for a few days and the bad eating decisions that lead to, I'm feeling pretty good about this week. I feel like I'm getting back in the groove.

I'm also feeling proud of myself this week for another reason. My BIL is back to using his Fitbit again and walking a little more. I would like to think that some of the things I did while at his place that has spurred him on to think healthier. Like how I was able to get a resistance band workout in (with three kids taking turns after each of my sets) while he was doing Facebook updates and responses. Or how I used his weight machine a couple of times which he clearly had not because he didn't know where the key to unlock it was at. Or how I took the kids to the park while he napped and got a two mile walk in. I even gave him my sleep machine (CPAP) because with my weight loss I no longer need it and he clearly needs some help with his sleep. My wife was actually scarred when he stopped breathing several times while he was sleeping and commented how his snoring is so much worse than mine ever was. Now I just need to keep going to set a good example.

Also on Thursday I received my NF yoga mat. Which was nice but also reminded me that I hadn't done a yoga session since I signed up for the NF yoga academy. My kid was excited to see it and he wanted to try it out, so I did my first NF yoga session. The kid got bored after the first 5 minutes, but he entertained himself while I finished off the rest of the 20 minutes or so. Nothing too bad other than the fact that the gut got in the way when I was trying to bring a foot forward from a plank position to do warrior pose or lunge pose. Nothing I'm able to do about that short term, but gives me more motivation to lose weight.

[Sloth the Enduring]

You got off the CPAP machine? That's huge, great job. I wish Mrs. sloth would get one - her snoring is terrible and the apnea is scary.

[The Most Loathed]

Same as Sloth said, dropping CPAP is a huge step.

[Emma]

Yay! No more CPAP!

Yay for veggies at work and getting your workout in!

[Bearlee]

You got off the CPAP machine? That's huge, great job. I wish Mrs. sloth would get one - her snoring is terrible and the apnea is scary.

Same as Sloth said, dropping CPAP is a huge step.

Yay! No more CPAP!

Yay for veggies at work and getting your workout in!

Thank you for the vote of confidence. I keep forgetting the victories I've already won. I've been so concerned about my recent weight gain I forget how far I've come. When I first did my sleep test I was at 388 lbs and the doctor said that I probably wouldn't need the machine any more once I got down to 320 lbs and he was right. I do have to be careful though, the first place I seem to gain weight is in my face/neck area which causes my apnea. Which is why I started snoring again for that little while I gained weight and got close to that 320 lbs. The good news is that it seems that's the first place I lose weight also.

Saturday was a total write off. Only got 2,000 steps in and did nothing else for the rest of the day.

Sunday was better than I hoped it would be. I didn't do anything physically but I did get in my 5 miles of walking thanks to mowing the lawn, shopping, and talking to my sister on the phone while walking.

Monday, I've gotten in 4,000 steps so far. I've also done my kettle bell routine which consisted of warm up, 100 swings, TGU practice, and two sets of lunges. I'm really starting to see improvements in my TGUs. I'm able to get up on either side without any assistance. I also doubled up my practice from one per side to two. Trying to decide when to start adding weight, but will wait until I can do 5 practice TGUs with little to no trouble.

I'm concerned about the amount of sleep I'll get today. I have another dentist appointment right in the middle of my sleep time. I'm expecting 3-4 hours of sleep broken up over two sessions plus whatever I can get for a nap before I go to work which lately is about an hour. The nice thing is that this should be the last interruption I have in my schedule for the foreseeable future.

On a side note, I asked my sister about the insurance for her husband. She said that it got distributed to his brother and sister and she hasn't heard anything from them. It takes away a little of my faith in humanity that things like this happen. Then again if $67,500 dropped in my lap what would I do?

[The Most Loathed]

have you ever thought about deliberately pursuing biphasic sleeping. I'm not sure if your schedule would work better with two short session consistently or if it's the consistency more than the duration that you find a challenge.

 

Good to hear about the improvements on swings and TGUs. For me stringing together multiple TGUs on the same side is far, far more challenging than alternating and doing more reps. I'm not sure why nor do I know if that is true for others.

[Emma]

I deliberately do biphasic sleeping most days. I get to bed late, wake early, then a nap after lunch. If I remember correctly, Bearlee did this too on his old schedule?

Insurance: That amount of money there are definitely legal and tax issues involved that make it very difficult to just give away but they could at least talk to her about it. Yeeesh. 

[Sloth the Enduring]

When my insomnia was bad I'd sleep for two or three hours, get out of bed for a couple, and sleep for another couple.  It's pretty nice once you get into the swing of it.

[Shello]

Congrats for ditching the CPAP.  That is very liberating.  Good to see you are keeping up with the resistance bands and progressing on TGUs.  

[Bearlee]

Monday I got very little sleep. 3 hours before the dentist appointment and maybe 30 minutes after. Then got another hour when I put the kid to sleep. I was very tired and was thinking of slacking off on my walking and workout for Tuesday, but everyone has been killing it lately so I sucked it up and got my walking and resistance band routine in. Need to remember that exercise energizes a person.

One thing I did badly was that I stopped at Jack in the Box and got a burger, fries, sweet tea, shake, and two tacos. Had the shake first before it would melt. Then had the burger along with about a third of the sweet tea. After eating that I was feeling guilty and threw the rest away. So even though I made a bad choice I did finally wise up a bit and stopped. Tiredness makes me make bad choices. Fortunately I should be on my normal schedule for the foreseeable future.

Tuesday I got on my new regular routine and got about 6 hours of sleep plus hour nap before work. Tuesday morning I got my walk in and did my kettle bell workout in. By the time I get home I should have 6,000 steps and ten flights of stairs in, a good set up for the day.

[Shello]

Congrats on turning around on that fast food decision.  I've been there before.  It seems more difficult to change your mind once you've already got the goodies in front of you.  For those times that fast food is really the only option, you could order two burgers and then throw away one of the buns and make it a giant meat burger.

 

yay for 6 hours of sleep!

[Sloth the Enduring]

For those times that fast food is really the only option, you could order two burgers and then throw away one of the buns and make it a giant meat burger.

 

yay for 6 hours of sleep!

I agree, yay for getting some sleep.  May the new routine offer you ample, or at least, barely adequate, sleeping opportunities.

 

Sometimes I'll do the giant meat burger, side salad, and plain iced tea as an okay fast food option.

[Bearlee]

I've been on my new schedule now for a week straight now and I've adapeted to it quickly. Six hours of sleep after work and taking the kid to school, then an hour nap before work when I put the kid to sleep. Then on Friday and Saturday nights try to get 8 to 10 hours of sleep to make up for any lack of sleep I get thoughout the week.

My eating has been rock solid since my slip up on the day I got very little sleep. Lots of protein, fruits, nuts, and vegetables all around. Monday night was the first night I had something bad (very large piece of cake), but if I keep those incidents to a minimum I should be good. I also made it to the grocery store today to stock up the work fridge for healthy eating for the week. Makes it so much easier when you know you have good food waiting for you.

Friday last week I had a head ache so didn't do much of anything, no walking and no workout. Was disappointed by that but figure if I get at least 4 workouts per week in I'm still good. Monday morning I got my kettle bell routine in and I'm pleased with the progress I'm making with the TGUs. I'm getting much better at getting my hip up and holding that position while I sweep my leg underneath. Raising from the lunge position is also getting better. Perhaps in a few weeks I will be ready to add a little weight (meaning like 2-5 pounds).

Tuesday morning I've completed my resistance band workout. I've even added a band to increase the resistance. So now I'm using the green and yellow bands together. Chest press and standing rows are still fairly easy, but was not able to complete my third set of 15 reps on either of my tricep extensions and bicep curls.

Saturday I was going to take the kid to Omaha to go to the children's museum and the zoo. Right after we got out of the city he was complaining about a head ache so we turned around and went home. Turned out he wasn't sick like I feared only had a little motion sickness (he had been coughing and sniffeling so thought it might have been something more serious). Sunday my wife had off from work so I was going to take her and the kid to a cave near Springfield MO about 3 hours away. On the day she didn't want to go and thinking the kid still might come down with something I did complain too much. However I'm starting to feel very frustrated. If I can't complete little day trips how will I ever get to complete larger trips or dreams? It reminds me of when I was trying to get my scuba ceritifcation and missed the last day of class due to illness but never went back to make it up because I knew I would ever be able to do the open water dive because I would have to travel and the wife would never take a weekend off to watch the kid. Just so frustrated.

[The Most Loathed]

I hear you on the trips.It sounds like you have a neat goal there but maybe this is a thing you dabble in doing yourself. My wife and I do EVERYTHING together but there are some things I want to do that she doesn't. It's taken years but slowly I've started to do some things on my own. It feels weird, even a bit like cheating at first but over time I've done a little more and gone a little longer. In some cases Laura has decided to start joining me, in some cases we've gotten used to me dong things on my own and in some the discomfort of separation is greater than the joy of the activity so I stop. It's a good learning and growing experience for us both.

[Emma]

I totally understand the frustration. My husband didn't travel well and after a few years I just gave up on it. My ultimate solution was divorce. Might be a bit extreme for you.

[Sloth the Enduring]

Gotta agree with the above.  If this is important to you, but she doesn't support, you'll have to figure out a way to make it happen on your own.  Day trips with BearCub sounds like a great place to start.

 

Nice job getting the rest of the things together.

[Bearlee]

Currently in Omaha enjoying the weekend. Went to children's museum and air & space museum. Also finally made it to the German restaurant I've been trying to get to for years only for it to be their Octoberfest and couldn't get the food I wanted due to serving only 4 main entrées, so still consider it that I haven't been there.

Tonight some swimming in the pool. Tomorrow the zoo. Then home to get some sleep before work.

I didn't bring the IPad so is making it difficult to post. Will post more when I get near a computer or IPad.

[The Most Loathed]

Sounds like a great road trip. I'm glad that you were able to go.

[Sloth the Enduring]

German food is awesome. Sounds like you're having a good time.

I've been meaning to tell you, now that you're doing all the things, you should join the Rangers. I think there'll be a few of us sledgehammering during the next challenge.