So Sleepy

I am exhausted. Another night of broken sleep habits has left me chugging coffee like its water. My wife and I have a 4 week old preemie at home that is doing what babies do. Her and I take turns getting up with him but even that doesn't allow us to get a solid 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. He is totally worth the tiredness but I still wonder what effect this sleep deprivation will have on my weight loss and fitness goals.  As of late, my motivation and willingness to go to the gym as waned. I still get my workouts in but I feel like I am not giving 100% like I should be.

Sleep Loss Appears to Do Two Things:

1. Makes you feel hungry even if you are full. Sleep loss has been shown to affect the secretion of cortisol, a hormone that regulates appetite. As a result, individuals who lose sleep may continue to feel hungry despite adequate food intake.


2. Increases fat storage. Sleep loss may interfere with the body's ability to metabolize carbohydrates, which leads to high levels of blood sugar. Excess blood sugar promotes the overproduction of insulin, which can lead to the storage of body fat and insulin resistance, a critical step into the development of diabetes. Borrowed from medicinenet.com Read More

This isn't new to me and I have heard it all before. One of the Primal rules is to make sure you get adequate sleep.  Ok. I understand that. But what do others do when that is not a possibility?  I cannot be the first person to want to tone up during a time when good sleep comes at a price. Do bodybuilders take off a couple of months when their wives give birth?  Has anyone reading this actually lost weight while not getting adequate sleep?

What Do I Do?

Here is the question of the day. Do I take a break from working out until my sleep patterns get back to normal or do I push myself harder and hope that the extra effort will counteract any negative effects the lack of sleep will provide?  I could see pulling a muscle from poor form brought on by being tired but I don't want to quit working out because of a "maybe".

It's just a matter of time before his sleepless nights will pass and I wouldn't trade this time for anything. Just curious what I should do in the mean time. Take a break or push through.

Thoughts?

Failing

Some of you may have noticed that I did not do a post yesterday. The reason it didn't happen was because our son finally came home from the hospital after being there for 2 1/2 weeks. After we got settled in, I was just too exhausted to try to get a post up. The good news is that he continues to do very well and is adapting very well to the new environment.

So why did I call this post "Failing"?  I don't often get on this blog and post all the times I have failed in my diet and exercise programs. I guess it's because I want everyone to think I am perfect in everything I do. I don't ever want to admit failure and therefore, I never post any of it. The truth is though, I do fail at times. As much as a hate to admit it, I am human. The last few weeks have been a mix of emotions for me and my diet and fitness have felt the consequences of that. I have gone from worry for my wife and son to excitement to have them home. The mix of emotions have caused me to deviate big time from my usual diet and workout routines.

I have shoveled food down my throat that I haven't eaten in well over a year. I downed soda's one after the other for the caffeine and sugar rush as I desperately tried to stay awake and alert to what was happening around me.  I have spent probably a total of 15 minutes in the gym during the last 3 weeks and none of the workouts were anything to applaud.

The time has now come to put all of that behind me. My son has come home and he is very healthy and doing great. My wife is doing awesome and we are very excited to start this new chapter in our lives.  My diet and workouts may fluctuate a bit as I learn to juggle a newborn and the sleepless nights but I am not going to let it get to me. I am going to learn to adapt and good things will come of it. Failing will happen at times but I am ok with that.

Tomorrow starts a new day and renewed energy. I have a new diet plan that I am going to unveil soon so come to make sure you keep an eye out for that.

It's a Baby!

Sorry about my lack of posting lately. My wife went into labor last week Monday (5 1/2 weeks early) and we have been spending all of our free time at the hospital with our new son.  Even though he is currently in the NICU he is doing good and we expect him to come home with us soon! While you wait for my next wonderful post, please feel free to surf through some of my most epic topics.  Take care.