I wish the headline were code for something really cool, but it’s not. I’m suffering from a variety of insomnia that lets me go to sleep easily, but not stay asleep all night. Don’t ask. The problem with this is sadly, NOT that I don’t sleep all night long, but that when I get up I munch on dry cereal in the middle of the night. Every morning we “crunch” on the trail of cereal from the kitchen counter to my bed. It’s a mess, literally and figuratively.
In one of my WW meetings someone said you should only track your food on the days you want to lose weight. I agree. I’m a fan of tracking. But, I don’t know where or how to track these middle of the night excursions! If it weren’t for the trail, I might not remember doing it! Maybe the question isn’t how to track it … it’s just that it must be tracked whether it was eaten today, tomorrow or yesterday! Maybe if I log it on any day in the week, at least it will be tracked. And, to be more precise, maybe I should measure the cup I use (it’s always the same one) so I know exactly how much I’m eating. Then, I should pre-track my midnight snack! Maybe that will break this habit. Or, at least help control it.
In the beginning, I’m going to need a Plan B. A force field that prevents me from leaving the bedroom before 6 a.m.? Can I get one at Target?
I’ve missed blogging each week and actually have 4 half-written blog post drafts saved. This issue has finally become my undoing and I decided that my return to blogging would address it straight on.
I am going to stop eating in the middle of the night.
I KNOW I’m going to wake up at least 3 times, that’s a given — and let’s not discuss why I’m not sleeping or what I should do to make it better. Whatever your suggestion, I’ve done it, tried it, am working on it or waiting for the doctor’s opinion on it. I’ve accepted that I don’t sleep through the night. I refuse to accept that I eat every time I wake up!
There. I said it. Now it will happen that way, right? Oh my gosh, I so hope that will be the case. Or that I’ll wake up and during my midnight wanderings around the house I will remember my pledge to myself and all of you cheering me on this journey to lose 150 pounds. I will not eat in the night. Perhaps I should go read my favorite book … The Little Engine That Could. That is how I feel tonight. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.
April 8, 2016 at 8:46 am
I’m so glad you’re back, Robin!
I’m fortunate in never having been a night-time eater, but I do empathise with you, for any snacking habits hold a powerful spell over us.
Maybe it’s not necessary to say a total ‘no’ to cereal at night (although that would obviously be the best, it’s not always the easiest path). Why not give yourself permission for a *little* night-time snack – maybe use a very small bowl, make it a very controlled thing; then put it beside your bed, so you’re not tempted to add to it. Then you can enjoy it as part of your ‘allowable’ food for the day. If you sleep through, or don’t feel tempted, you have the satisfaction of seeing that untouched bowl in the morning – a celebration of self-control.
I think the key to things like this can lie in reducing and reducing and reducing the portion size, until it’s so small that it’s not much of a hit on your weight-loss efforts. With cereal, that would undoubtedly involve weighing your portion, then cutting it back, perhaps by 5g or 10g a time. I have to do this with cheese especially. And you reminded me today, that my regular portion of cheese at breakfast has crept upward lately. Thanks for the ‘finger waggle’ your post has given me!
April 10, 2016 at 7:16 pm
Julie, I actually have switched off cereal … in an effort to not make the children mad at me! But also, if i go after my WW 2 pt. snack bars it’s actually trackable. I wonder if putting them on my nightstand would make a difference and help me not get out of bed! I just might give that a try! I hope you’re doing well.