Motivation Monday
Our first week of the Fitness Challenge for September is over. Beck and I are competing to see who sets the healthiest sleep habits for the month. As part of this challenge, we will be posting our stats each week to show any noticed progress during this challenge.
Our motivation for this challenge comes from studies that found sleep deprivation leads to obesity. So we are working on improving our sleep habits to live healthier lifestyles and try to lose some of this excess weight we’ve been carrying around.
Ki’s Sleep – Week 1
As much as the RoadRunner despises sleep, I have to admit that I feel much better when I get enough. No more fighting off mid-afternoon naps while I’m supposed to be productive. No more feeling too lazy to move a muscle. No more brain fog preventing me from focusing on things. I could get used to this!
So here’s how my sleep went for Week 1:
Tuesday – 9/06
After going to bed early, I slept pretty restless. Fitbit reports I was restless 22 times and woke up 3 times. I think this is pretty typical for me when trying to sleep for 9 hours straight. I was awake or restless for 41 minutes but my sleep duration was 8 hours and 42 minutes.
I didn’t really feel sleep that day, I felt pretty good. But I was yawning well into the morning like my body was stuck in sleep mode. Of course…I hadn’t had any caffeine either. I did 30 minutes of walking at lunch time and completed my Yosemite Vernal Falls 15,000 step Adventure. I walked 3,100 steps that day which was more than my daily goal.
My legs were a little shaky but other than that it seemed to go okay. I did not feel like I needed a nap that afternoon. I did feel slightly tired but nowhere near normal. I started getting sleepy around 11pm which was great because it was almost bedtime anyway.
Wednesday – 9/07
I went to bed at 11:33pm which was on target. I slept until 7:30am. I woke up once during the night and was restless 18 times which left my total sleep duration at 7 hours and 25 minutes.
I only lost 32 minutes of sleep being restless or awake which wasn’t too bad since I went to bed at a decent hour. I woke up pretty easily that morning and didn’t have much trouble with feeling sleepy throughout the day.
I did start yawning around 5pm when I got off work and my eyes were sleepy and stinging a little, but I did where my glasses all day and that may have been what bothered my eyes.
Thursday – 9/08
I went to bed at 11:20pm and slept until 7:32am. I didn’t wake up at all during the night and I was only restless 9 times for a total of 12 minutes. So my total sleep duration was exactly 8 hours.
That morning I felt super sleepy. I didn’t have trouble getting up or anything, but I was having trouble getting focused throughout the day. It felt like maybe I got too much sleep.
It was pretty hard to focus all day. It was very hard to get motivated to get anything done but I did get my 20 minute workout in despite feeling so lazy.
I decided I would try setting my alarm clock for 20 minutes earlier so I would stay closer to 7 hours of sleep instead of 8. I seem to feel my best with exactly 7 hours. We’ll see how it works out.
Friday – 9/09
I went to bed right at 11pm. Fitbit shows me in bed at 10:27pm but I know that’s wrong. I was probably just sitting so still that Fitbit thought I was in bed. That rarely happens.
I set my alarm half an hour earlier so I wouldn’t sleep a full 8 hours. I woke up at 7:03am. It took me quite awhile to fall asleep though. I woke up twice and was restless 18 times for a total of 54 minutes awake. Most of that was right when I went to bed.
Fitbit reports my sleep duration at 7 hours and 42 minutes but since I went to bed later than it says, I think it was more like 7 hours and 10 minutes.
I felt good that day. Productivity started earlier than usual and I had energy to spare. I wasn’t feeling as sore as the last few days had been either. I didn’t feel the need to nap at any point during the day and I stayed up well past my bedtime.
Hopefully, that won’t come back and bite me.
Saturday – 9/10
It’s the weekend and I get to stay up late! Bad idea.
I went to bed at 2am and fell asleep at 2:19am. I was in bed until 9:39am which is almost 8 hours.
However, I woke up once and was restless 18 times which added up to 40 minutes. So my total sleep duration only ended up being 6 hours and 42 minutes. Bad RoadRunner! I did not meet my goal.
While I didn’t hit my 7 hours, I came close enough that I felt good that day. I wasn’t super productive or anything, but hey…it’s a day off. I didn’t have to be productive. And I’m learning not to feel so guilty for that.
I totally have to learn that down time is healthy.
Sunday – 9/11
I went to bed at 1:13am. I have a bad habit of staying up later on weekends since I don’t have to get up for work. I need to start going to bed at the same time every night.
I woke up at 8:22am but I was still a little tired. I didn’t wake up during the night and I was only restless 9 times. That’s a pretty good night of sleep for me. I was only 6 minutes shy of my 7 hour sleep goal. That’s a bit frustrating but oh well.
While I felt good all day, I felt lazy at the same time. I didn’t do much of anything all day and am trying not to feel guilty about it since it was a day off. It is okay to have down time, RoadRunner. This is when we rest.
Rest and relaxation is a good habit to start, try it more often! Yeah…we’ll see. Overall, it was a good day.
Monday – 9/12
I went to bed at 11:54pm and woke up at 7:01am. I pushed the limit on bedtime because Mama Sloth was rushed to the ER right around that time and I was waiting for Sloth to let me know what was up because we knew something was wrong but we didn’t know what yet.
She called me and let me know shortly before midnight and then I went straight to bed. I asked her to keep me informed as she got answers. I was worried. She texted me at 4:30am when she had some answers and we texted back and forth for a few minutes.
But Fitbit didn’t notice I was awake because I didn’t get out of bed.
So Fitbit says I was restless 12 times for a total of 17 minutes. My total sleep duration for the night was 6 hours and 50 minutes. So I missed my goal by 10 minutes but that’s okay. I was more worried about the Sloth family.
I got plenty of sleep to feel good for work, but I did not meet my sleep goal.
Week 1 Stats
So Week 1 started off real well. Four out of seven days, I totally met my goal. The last 3 days, I didn’t. But I was so close!
This week we had a complication which impacted our sleep schedule as well as our writing schedule. Team Sloth’s top priority became taking care of Mama Sloth with a medical emergency. As a result, her Stats post didn’t get posted on Motivation Monday, but then neither did mine. We apologize for that.
Since it was due to a medical emergency at the beginning of the week, we won’t hold it against Team Sloth as long as she gets her post done sometime this week. However, now that Mama Sloth is safe at home, we need to see Team Sloth get back on track and get it done by the end of the week.
Ki’s Weight & Measurements
My Weight
I weigh 203.9 this week which is 3.9 pounds down from last week. My activity levels are still down from previous weeks since I lost the supportive boot on my leg so I don’t expect to see much progress in the area of weight, but I am still seeing progress which is very encouraging.
I need really focus on my diet right now though as I haven’t been meeting that goal and since my activity levels are not anything that I can drastically improvement right now, my diet should be a top priority right below my sleep schedule. I have to get a good balance to continue seeing progress.
My Measurements
My Week 1 measurements are as follows:
- Weight: 203.9
- Chest: 45.5″
- Waist: 44.5″
- Hips: 45″
- Wrist: 6″
- Forearm: 9.5″
- BMI: 35.7
It’ll be interesting to see if regular, healthy sleep helps to get rid of it faster.
Journal
It’s been a rough week for Team Sloth and Team RoadRunner is being supportive. Family comes first, but at the same time, we have to make ourselves our top priority so that we can be our best for our family.
I’m going to write off this week as it just started off rough for both teams. Next week Team RoadRunner plans to get back on track and be strict with her goals.
How are you doing with your goals? Are you working on your own sleep habits?
Your friendly neighborhood road runner,
~Ki