Stealthstitcher and the Quest for Energy

[stealthstitcher]

"Do you think I feel good? Nobody feels good. After childhood, it's a fact of life. I feel rotten. So what? I don't let it bother me."

 

A quote from that great underrated classic, Joe vs. the Volcano. (Seriously, if you like weird movies, watch it. The luggage salesman alone is worth the whole movie.)

 

Sadly, this quote is all too true for most of the people I know. I met up with some friends over New Year's and everyone was commenting on how little energy they had, how tired they were. The general consensus was that this was only to be expected, now that we're all getting on in years. Guys, this is a group of women in their early 30s. Most of us don't even have toddlers to wear us out. Dragging yourself through each day, exhausted, is not supposed to be normal.

But it got me thinking. When was the last time I felt like I had enough energy? When was the last time I woke up in the morning without an alarm, ready to tackle my day?

 

The time: Summer, 2003

The place: Summer stock theatre, rural New York

The facts: Aside from the times we had to pull all-nighters to get the show done, I felt good that summer. Why? It couldn't have been my diet of pizza rolls and pop tarts. It probably wasn't the 14 hour work days. It may have been the fact that I was 21 and it was warm and sunny, but I have no control over that. The things that may have contributed to my high level of energy that I could make happen again:

• I walked a minimum of 6 miles a day, getting to and from the theatre. No car, not even a bike. Just a lot of walking.
• My total screen time the entire summer was about forty-five minutes. Nobody had a personal computer. There was a tv, but it got no reception. I watched part of a movie with some people once, but that was it.
• Fresh, local produce was cheap and easy to get. I ate a ton of blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries that summer. I hardly ever eat berries now because they're expensive. Maybe there's something in berries that other fruit just doesn't have?
• I had an incredibly consistent sleep schedule. Aside from all-nighters, I went to bed at midnight every single night and got up at eight every single morning, unless I just happened to wake up rested and ready to go earlier than that - which did happen sometimes.

Main Quest: To regain my lost energy. The measure of success here will be when I wake up in the morning before my alarm, feeling rested.

 

Subquest 1: Set a consistent sleep schedule. I will go to bed at 10 pm every night, Friday and Saturday included, and get up at 7 am, ditto. This gives me 9 hours of sleep time, which should be ample. The only exception allowed is if I have to attend a rehearsal or other work-related thing, the scheduling of which is beyond my control, that runs past bed time.

 

Subquest 2: Limit screen time. This one is actually going to be a big challenge. I don't know when I became that person, who turns on the tv as soon as she gets home and leaves it on all night, but I did. Tv and computer time (outside of work) will be limited to ten hours a week. I can divide these up as I please, so if I want to marathon on Saturday and watch nothing the rest of the week, I can do that.

 

Subquest 3: Whole30. This is a whopping big subquest, but I'm going to do it! Better nutrition will surely aid me in my quest for energy. And I do not want diabetes like so many of my ancestors before me, so death to the sugar dragon! I will try to include fresh berries as seems advisable, rather than the more sugary fruits such as apples.

 

Lifequest: Do things with people. I never want to do things with people. It takes a serious effort for me to drag myself out of my cave. So in the next six weeks I will do 3 things with real live people that are not work related. These do not have to be strictly social things; volunteer work or something like that is fine. It just has to involve people who are not me, not at work and not online.

 

I don't have a workout goal this time, but I plan to try to keep to my previous workout schedule. I'm just not making it my focus for this quest.

[stealthstitcher]

Got to bed 45 minutes late last night, and got up an hour late this morning ... well, I guess it will take a few days at least to change my sleep schedule, which was all over the place during the holidays. Also, woke up at 2:30 and could not get back to sleep. My brain kept wandering off on questions like, "If all the members of SG-1 were dogs, what kind of dogs would they be?" That's a great question, brain, but let's consider it in the morning.

 

Spent an hour and a half on the tv/computer.

 

Day two of Whole30 is going pretty well. No killer cravings yet ... but I feel like they're lurking, waiting to pounce at some future date.

 

As for my life quest, there is a ladies' game night at my church on Saturday ... contemplating going. I do like games (well, board games ... not so much euchre and rummy ...) and it seems like it would be a low-stress kind of social event.

[Gobnait]

http://www.livescience.com/12891-natural-sleep.html Here's an article about sleep that you might find interesting.

 

And yes to the game night.  Bring in a game if you're afraid that it's going to be cards.  Do you like dominoes or Qwirkle? 

[stealthstitcher]

Day 2

Went to bed half an hour late. I was actually in bed at 9:45 but foolishly brought a book with me to read "for just a few minutes". Have to admit, the only reason I stopped was because I ran out of book. I know myself better than that ... there is no way I'm going to be able to put down a good book that is 3/4 of the way done. Fortunately I was 3/4 of the way through Sword Art Online and not Great Expectations or something  ... Then, once again, got up an hour late due primarily to waking up halfway through the night and not being able to fall asleep again.

 

A mere half hour of screen time, for a total of two hours this week.

 

Whole30 still going pretty well. Still no major chocolate cravings; I'm a little surprised.

 

http://www.livescience.com/12891-natural-sleep.html Here's an article about sleep that you might find interesting.

 

And yes to the game night.  Bring in a game if you're afraid that it's going to be cards.  Do you like dominoes or Qwirkle? 

The article seems to have vanished.

I have actually never played Qwirkle, nor actual dominoes - though I have built many a line of dominoes standing on end to be knocked down.

[Gobnait]

Sorry!  It was there when I posted it.

 

Basically it was an article on how the natural sleep cycle before electric lighting might have included waking up for about an hour in the middle of the night.  Of course, part of that was not having anything better to do than going to bed at sundown unless you could afford lots of candles.

 

I did see something about how not worrying about waking up in the middle of the night helped with the problems associated with it.

 

I could recommend a lot of games.  Tsuro was fun enough for my Aunt to pirate it with a photocopier.  I have yet to play Qwirkle even though I scored a complete set at a thrift store, but the rules seem like Mexican Train in Dominoes, which is fun.  Apples to Apples wasn't fun with a small group, so I imagine Cards Against Humanity would be similar, and not right for a church group.

[stealthstitcher]

Yeah ... Cards Against Humanity might be a bit much to spring on them ... especially since I don't know anyone really well. On the other hand, I do always enjoy the moment when people realize I'm not "that sweet quiet girl". Not that sweet. Only quiet until I'm comfortable around you. 

I've got the basics such as Clue, Monopoly, and Life but that's about it. My favorites are the more lengthy games, like Risk. (The game of global domination!) Good luck finding anyone willing to play a whole game to the bitter end ...  

[fifthninjaturtle]

That's an awesome quest! I just turned 30 this year and I hear this kind of thing all the time - that we're getting old and that's just how it is. I admit, it can be hard not to fall into that trap. It's ridiculous, though! I'm in better shape than I was at age 20 and don't plan on declining any time soon. Keep it up!

 

The sleep thing is hard. I have minor bouts of insomnia and it's a pain. I think you're still doing yourself a favor by lying down and resting, though.

[stealthstitcher]

Day 3

Actually made it to bed by 10:15 but didn't wake up until 8:30 the next morning (Snow day at work! The best parts of working in education ... even if I did do some work at home.) Maybe I need more sleep than I think I do. But ten hours seems excessive. Or maybe I just need some catch-up sleep.

Two hours of screen time today, totaling 4 for the week. I really thought Whole30 was going to be the really difficult part of this challenge, but so far it's actually been pretty easy. Only three days in, I know, but still ... I had no idea it would be so hard to cut down on tv and computer use. Maybe I should have aimed for something a little less intense than going from an average of 6 hours a day down to 1 1/2 ... or stepped down each week ... especially in a month like January when spending time outside isn't really an option. 

Whole 30 still going fine, although I don't seem to be very hungry at all.

 

That's an awesome quest! I just turned 30 this year and I hear this kind of thing all the time - that we're getting old and that's just how it is. I admit, it can be hard not to fall into that trap. It's ridiculous, though! 

 

I know, right? When everybody is comparing their teeny-tiny wrinkles and the gray hair they found, I'm thinking, what in the world are we going to have to talk about when we're 50? Or 80? Well, maybe they'll get it out of the way now and we'll have more interesting conversations later. 

 

 

[stealthstitcher]

Day 4

Thursday was not a day of great success.

Woke up, as aforementioned, at 8:30. Ended up going to bed at 11:15 because of reasons. See below for reasons.

College was shut down because of weather. I worked on designs at home, but design work is not really my strong suit. My brain gets tired out quickly when designing, especially a musical with a billion unique characters. (Slight exaggeration - the cast is a bit smaller than a billion). Then, as evening approached, I felt blah and depressed. So I ended up spending pretty much the whole evening watching upbeat anime and kdrama while chatting online with a friend, until well past my self-imposed bedtime. I felt much cheerier (since my down mood probably had mostly to do with cold weather, brain fatigue and a touch of cabin fever/boredom) but it brought my screen time up to 9 hours for the week. 

Whole30, still oddly fine. I'm not having any of the cravings, irrational anger, weird food dreams, or any of the other things I expected. 

 

I think I need to be more focused and intentional about sleep. Particularly about getting up in the morning. I can make it to work if I oversleep, but I won't get anything done at home and will be rushed, which is something I'm trying to avoid. 

I'm also trying to decide if it would be wise to modify my screen time goal, or if I'm just wussing out. Right now, I definitely don't see myself reaching that goal. 

[stealthstitcher]

Day 5

Okay, time for a reset.

Got up at 7:50 Friday morning.

Went to bed at 11:30 Friday night. Had this conversation with myself:

 

Me: We really should go to sleep.

Self: But it's Friday night! We get to stay up later on Friday night!

Me: No, remember, one of the goals for our challenge was to go to bed at 10 every night, even on weekends.

Self: But I don't wanna! I'm not sleepy! 

Me: Weeell ...maybe another half hour.

Self: Yay! Let's watch kdrama!

Me: No, those episodes are an hour and a half long!

Self: Pleeeeeease please please please ...

Me: Oh, okay, okay, fine, I guess it is Friday night.

 

I would probably be a fun but way too lax parent ... 

 

12 hours of screentime for the week, which is two over my goal and it was only Friday. 

 

So - shake it off. Look at goals again. New plan, involving more incremental changes.

 

Week 2 (and the remainder of week 1): Get up at 7:30 every morning and go to bed by 10:45 every night.

                                                            

Week 3: Get up at 7:15 every morning and go to bed by 10:30 every night.

 

Week 4: Get up at 7:00 every morning and go to bed by 10:15 every night.

 

Week 5 and 6: Get up at 7:00 every morning and go to bed by 10:00 every night.  

+3 STA (since this will hopefully give me energy) if I meet my goals for all 5 remaining weeks. +2 for 4/5 weeks. +1 for 3/5 weeks. 

 

Screentime Quest for all remaining weeks:

No screen time on weekdays until after supper and kitchen cleanup is done, and not after 9pm.

On weekends, no screen time until scheduled chores/tasks for the day are finished, and not after 9 pm. 

Also, each hour for the weekend must be earned - one hour for each weekday that goals are met and an additional one for each day that non-quest-related exercise goals are reached.

IF I DO NOT EARN THE TIME, I TURN OFF THE DINGBLASTED TV/COMPUTER, THIS IS A REASONABLE LIMIT.

+3 WIS for the remaining 5 weeks. +2 if I meet my goals for 4 weeks. +1 for 3 weeks. 

 

Whole 30 is still going weirdly fine. Went to the grocery store Friday and had to walk through the bakery section to get to the produce section. Not a problem. Didn't even linger, looking wistfully at cakes and cookies - not due to my amazing willpower, I just didn't care that much. Seriously, it's going so well thus far it's freaking me out a little. I know I'm less than a week in, but I'm such a sugarholic I thought I'd be climbing the walls and screaming at people, not walking calmly past chocolate cakes in order to get cauliflower and chicken. What is going on?!?

Since Whole30 is pretty all-or-nothing, it's +4 CON if I make it all the way through and nothing if I don't. 

 

And finally, my Life Quest. 

Tonight is game night at church. I'm already nervous. Why? It's probably going to be half a dozen women I already know or at least have met, playing games for a couple hours, in a familiar place. And yet I woke up this morning thinking, I hope it's cancelled because of the weather ...  It's not a big raucous party, just a casual little social even where I can get to know a few people.

 

Also, (and I can't believe I said yes to this ...) a friend asked if I would object to being set up on a blind date. I've never met the guy, he's never met me, and it would be a casual double-date with this friend and her husband. I must have been in some weirdly social mood because I said, "Sure, why not, sounds fun." It's not scheduled yet but she's being intensely proactive about this so I'm pretty sure it will happen in the next week or two. That would be two entire social events in less than a month. I'm going to have to give back my Hermits United badge. 

+1 CHA for each of 3 social events accomplished in the next 5 weeks.

 

Okay, longish update but hopefully this will get me back into the right frame of mind.

[Teros]

Subquest 3: Whole30. This is a whopping big subquest, but I'm going to do it! Better nutrition will surely aid me in my quest for energy. And I do not want diabetes like so many of my ancestors before me, so death to the sugar dragon! I will try to include fresh berries as seems advisable, rather than the more sugary fruits such as apples.

As someone that has done multiple whole 30s, if you're not ready for it; you will get your ass kicked. I wish you the best of luck. If you have any questions, feel free to send me a private message or post at the Tavern. 

 

Good luck and have fun this challenge.

[stealthstitcher]

Day 6

Woke up at 8:30 but actually went to bed at 9:45 and went to sleep. 

Whole30, still fine. I swear I'm not cheating! 

Game night was rescheduled due to weather. Can't say I was sorry.

[Korranation]

Day 6

Woke up at 8:30 but actually went to bed at 9:45 and went to sleep. 

Whole30, still fine. I swear I'm not cheating! 

Game night was rescheduled due to weather. Can't say I was sorry.

 

Nothing beats a good night sleep

 

 

who said anything about cheating for the whole30?

 

 

Weather can ruin a lot of things, doesn't it?

[stealthstitcher]

Day 7 - Sunday

Got up at 7:45 and went to bed at 8:30. 8:30. I was so tired, I thought, forget all this, I'm just gonna sleep. I believe suddenly wanting a vast amount of sleep is one of the stages of Whole30, so maybe that's it.

Screen time for the week was definitely over the limit, but I'm not worrying about it because I'm resetting to my new goals today.

My appetite came back! Yay! Yay? Probably yay? Also had my first sugar cravings since starting Whole30 ... candy canes. Seriously, candy canes? Nothing against peppermint but I would have expected chocolate cravings, not this. Had peppermint tea instead - take that, leftover clearance Christmas candy!

 

Nothing beats a good night sleep

 

 

who said anything about cheating for the whole30?

 

 

Weather can ruin a lot of things, doesn't it?

DubiousChi - your gifs fill me with such joy. Maybe someday I'll be cool like you and figure out how to insert such things into posts.

[stealthstitcher]

Day 8 - Monday

All goals met! First time for this challenge, I believe.

[stealthstitcher]

Day 9 - Tuesday

Up at 7:30, in bed at 9:30. Thought I'd read for a bit but was so sleepy, I couldn't.

NO screen time. I was too tired! Opted for a hot bath and some stretches instead.

According to the Whole30 timeline, it's not unusual to have food dreams. Well, I'm having reptile dreams instead. For the past three nights I have been having dreams about lizards, turtles, and snakes. Not eating them. Just about them. For example, last night, I dreamed that a very large python was lying curled up on top of me. Rather than panic, I rolled over and pushed the python off of me, yelling, "You are too heavy, Stanley! You have to sleep at the foot of the bed!" Yup, other people dream about twinkies and cheeseburgers, and I dream about a pet python named Stanley. What would Freud say?

[stealthstitcher]

Day 10 - Wednesday

Up at 7:35, in bed at 9:45. I'm sleeping 10 hours a night. Either this is the sleepy phase of Whole30, or else (as I've always thought) I really am a bear who was turned into a human and I'm trying to hibernate. I'm feeling reasonably energetic during the day but it gets to be 9:30pm and my body says, "All done now, sleep time." 

Screentime goal met.

Whole30 still going okay. Getting pretty sick of this vegetable stew I made, though. It's so hard to make a one-person sized pot of stew, and it's not the kind that will freeze well.

[stealthstitcher]

Day 11 - Thursday

Up at 7:15, in bed at 10:30. Goal met.

Screentime goal met - though it is stupidly challenging to turn off the tv and computer at 9:00.

Whole30 goal met.

[Gobnait]

Feelin' for you about the stew.  And understanding about how frustrating it is to get the "wrong" amount of sleep.

[stealthstitcher]

Day 12 - Friday

Turned off my alarm at 7:30 - and immediately fell back asleep. Like, I remember turning off the alarm and next thing I know, it's 8:10. What ... why ... oh well.

Screentime and Whole30 goals met.This is 

Rescheduled game night tonight. Once again, I am already dreading it. It will probably be perfectly fine once I get there. It's just getting myself out of the house and then into the building with ... people ... This is the point at which I start trying to convince myself that in person social interaction is completely unnecessary. And if I don't want to do it, why should I? Who cares if I don't? And if nobody cares and I don't want to, why should I? Honestly, I still don't have a really good answer (good enough to completely convince myself) to this.  

[stealthstitcher]

Day 13 - Saturday

All main quest goals met. However, I backed out of game night and stayed home instead. Which made me feel both happy and slightly guilty ...

[stealthstitcher]

Day 14 - Sunday

Up at 7:30 ... in bed at 11. No particularly good reason. I just stayed up too late.

I did meet my screentime goal in that I didn't watch things for too many hours. However, I didn't turn off the tv until about 11, so didn't make the goal there.

Whole30 cravings have finally hit. They're not unbearable or anything. Oddly enough, I think always having been relatively broke helps. I'm pretty used to saying, "I want this thing ... but I can't have it right now."

[stealthstitcher]

Day 15 - Monday

Up at 7:15, in bed at 10:30.

I didn't go over on screen time ... but once again, I also didn't shut things down until about 5 minutes before going to bed. I really must stop doing that.

Whole30, no problems at this point.

[stealthstitcher]

Day 16 - Tuesday

Goals met! There have been tragically few days this challenge when I've met all my goals. I have concocted a plan to assist me with getting up on time. A large, large part of the problem is that when it's dark, my body says "Don't wake up, it's dark. We sleep when it's dark. Sleeeeeeep ...." I've looked at those dawn simulator lights but they're just too far out of my price range at the moment. However, I can afford a timer for my bedside lamp, so that it will turn on maybe 15 minutes before I need to get up?

Also, I have a massive challenge coming up on Friday. I will be going to a restaurant for the first time since starting Whole30. My anxiety is at its worst in restaurants, especially when the moment comes to order food. I don't know why; I've never had a bad experience ordering food. But I guess if it made sense, it wouldn't be an anxiety-inducing phobia. I've checked the menu out online and there is literally nothing on it that is Whole30 compliant. Everything contains cream sauce, cheese, pasta, or D.) all of the above. However, they do have a note - "ask about our gluten free menu". So I need to call the restaurant and find out what is on the gluten free menu - are there any options that are just meat and vegetables? Problem: making phone calls is my second most anxiety-inducing activity. So, my options:

A.) Change the restaurant. I'm not really comfortable with this, since it's a blind date and I feel like this would sound like, "Yeah, that place you picked? No good."

B.) Go off Whole30 on Day 19 and restart. Argh.

C.) I'm picking this option to start with. Since I'm already a bit stressed about doing a social thing and having to order food (possibly with modifications, which is even harder than just ordering something off the menu), I'm going to cut out one stress point and call in my com specialist - my mom, who can make any phone call any time to anyone and talk about anything. She's already offered to call the restaurant and find out anything and everything. Is it a bit lame to have your mother make a phone call for you? Yes. Am I doing it anyway? Again, yes.

 

If the restaurant responds with, "What? Leave off the cream sauce? We can't do that!" ... well, I'm not sure what I'll do.

[stealthstitcher]

Day 17 - Wednesday

Got up on time but went to bed at 11 ... around 9:30 I suddenly decided I needed to clean the house. (I mean, I did, but still ...) Yes, I stayed up too late doing housework. Why? I don't really know.

Screentime goal, however, was met. I turned off the tv and computer at 9:00, read for a bit, and then the cleaning bug bit met.

Whole30 still going well. Got an update from my communications expert, who contacted the restaurant. Their gluten free menu is mostly the same things on the regular menu but with gluten free pasta. However, they do have a salmon, spinach, and tomato dish cooked with only olive oil, salt, and pepper. Could I make it at home for way cheaper than the $17 the restaurant charges? Definitely. But it's compliant, which means I won't need to restart Whole30, so it's probably worth it. Now if I can just order it without having an anxiety attack ...