Why Was I Crying In My Sleep?

Sunday morning, my DH reported that I had been crying in my sleep Saturday night. He was afraid to wake me, in case I was dreaming about some dastardly thing I thought he had done and would then glare at him, until I was fully awake and aware of his innocence.


I can't help but wonder why I was crying. I was unaware that I had even had a dream, let alone one that would upset me to that degree.

I've heard that we work out problems through our dreams. If so, I hope a good cry while sleeping did its job. Since its something beyond my awareness, there's little I can do about it, if it didn't.

There are, however, concerns right out there in the light of day that I CAN address.

Here's one, for starters. I have been feeling myself getting lazier by the day. I have been stressing myself out about the weight I haven't lost this year and about how to pull myself together and DO something about it. The time between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day is difficult for everyone. Food and drink are EVERYWHERE. My fears about gaining more weight by the start of 2012 can be quieted immediately, by taking action.


ACTION STEP: I weighed in this morning (Monday) at 164. So, I have a starting point. i will feel energized and successful after a few days (probably four) of consistent work toward my goals. It always happens.

I'm down 74 from my highest, and I have been treading water. In January I will have been a Sparkie for 4 years. I thought I would reach my SP goal this year. As you can tell, I still have trouble coming to terms with my imperfections, even though I know life is short and being perfect is not the goal.

This year, in 338 days, I've gained 10.3 lbs (that's 0.9 lb per month).

There's a real victory hidden in that monthly average. Never in my life have I regained so little per month. What that tells me is that I am closer to my goal of having made enough changes in the way I live that I can trust myself to maintain a healthy weight. I am not there yet. The monthly average also raises a "red flag". Unless I continue working to finish the job, my weight could continue to creep upward and in 5 years, for example, become over 50 lbs. The time to act is now.

I have 26 days left in 2011 to improve my 2011 numbers.

HERE'S THE PLAN:

CALENDAR--Identify parties, family gatherings, football games on tv, and other situations that make eating healthy difficult.

PLAN for those situations---allow 300 to 600 calories extra where it makes sense. Splurge with care. Try some healthier recipes for football parties and for the parties where I am to bring a dish,

PARTIES & FAMILY GATHERINGS---Relax and FOCUS on the loved ones, not the food and drink.

DAILY MEALS & SNACKS--Plan ahead and make sure healthy choices are available.

NIGHTLY INDULGENCES--Kitchen is closed after 8:30 pm, except for hot tea or water. Read, shower, research topics of interest, or play piano---any experience that provides pleasure will suffice, instead of habitually turning to food for it.

STAY ACTIVE PHYSICALLY--Tap class on Mondays, exercise class twice weekly, walks outside.

CALORIE DEFICITS--Track calories burned (wear Bodybugg armband) and consumed, with a goal of burning more than consumed on most days.

WEIGHT CHECKS--at least once weekly and no more than once daily---make sure the weight checks remain a routine part of life, not some big "event" My Withings Scale (thanks to the linking technology provided by SparkPeople) sends my weight straight to my SparkPeople ticker electronically and instantly. I like the accountability.

STAY ACTIVE on SPARKPEOPLE--Post daily on team message boards and change Friend Feed Status. Blog where needed. If any of you have Twitter accounts, feel free to tweet me. My Twitter address is @bsue2u. I would love to follow fellow Sparkies.