Weigh In Day & No Sleep

Current Weight: 148.9
Last Week: 151.9
Goal: 138

Well, I lost 3 pounds this week! That's right....below 150. LOVE! IT!

I worked really hard this week, both with my nutrition (doing Atkins) and my exercise. I ran 4 times this week, each time I went for 3-3.5 miles, running anywhere from 1 mile to 2 miles during that time. 

Atkins is going really well. I haven't really had any horrible cravings with it, except for the beer. And maybe tortilla chips. But I've pretty much kept on track the whole time.  I'm 11 days into the diet, so I technically have 3 days left. But I've decided to extend it till this upcoming Thursday.  It just feels weird to stop on a Tuesday.  Plus next Friday I'm heading to the lovely Green Valley, AZ (near Tucson) to visit family and I know I'll probably not eat the best while I'm there. So an extra few days of eating low-carb will probably help.

Here's a rundown on what I typically eat every day, in case you were wondering:
Breakfast: 2-3 Eggs, 2 Slices of bacon
Lunch: 4-6 oz of Chicken, 3 cups of Salad with Ranch dressing (salad has everything in it, included cucs, bacon bits, hard boiled egg, cheese, etc.)
Afternoon Snack: Babybel Cheese, 2 oz sliced turkey, raw veggies with Ranch, Atkins Chocolate Shake, and/or Atkins Chocolate Brownie Crunch Bar
Dinner: Pretty much same as Lunch, but varied. Like Chicken in Marinara, or a Caesar salad, etc.

Can I just say that I have a sweet obsession with the Atkins bars. I got a variety pack at Sam's Club and they are delicious!  The shakes are phenomenal too. I'm pretty sure I'll be keeping those around the house for awhile.  It gives me my chocolate fix, which in turn keeps me from going looney tunes without chocolate.

All in all, I'm eating really healthy. And that's made me feel really healthy. I blogged about this yesterday; how great I've been feeling lately.

The only issue I've been having is my damn brain won't shut the F*** down at night! I haven't gotten a good nights rest since last Sat.  This is nothing new to my life; my sleep patterns have always been ridiculously complicated.  But you would think with running my ass off and no sugar or crap food, I'd sleep better. But NOOOOO. Stupid thoughts are keeping me awake. Damn you Stupid Thoughts!

For instance, you know what I was thinking about last night while trying to fall into a blissful slumber??? Freaking paint swatches.  For my best friend's rental property they are rehabing right now.  Really Brain? I'm not even thinking of the crazy drama in MY own life, but simple color themes in OTHER peoples lives.  Jesus, Mary, and freaking Joseph.

Normally when my brain decides to have a mind of it's own (haha, get it?), I use simple techniques that I learned in college, to try and relax and 'wind down'.  It's called Biofeedback. I don't know if any of you have heard of it, but it's A.M.A.Z.I.N.G! Basically helped me actually get through college.  You use your thoughts to control physical activities in your body, i.e. sweat, temp, muscle tension, and pulse. I know, sounds a little coo-coo. But it's not.

Starting off, I would go to the counseling services on campus, and a very wonderful dude (and I say dude because he was a total hippie, complete with 2 foot long pony tail and I'm pretty sure went out back at lunch to smoke a doobie) hooked me up to a computer by placing a temperature gauges on my index fingers. That gauge transmitted my 'readings' or temperature, sweat, and heartbeat back to the computer so both he and I could see them.  Then he shut off the lights (did I mention I sat in the badass leather recliner while doing this?), and I concentrated on 'warming' up my hands.  I coordinated my breaths with 'pushing' heat to my fingers on every exhale.  And then the gauges would read what the temp was, and I would have to push harder to get the temps higher or within a certain range. Or I would push to regulate my heartbeat (same process as hand 'warming').

I did this every week for two years. It took lots and lots of practice, but eventually my anger issues, anxiety issues, and depression started to get better.  I was also sleeping better and in a better mood, overall.  It was awesome, to say the least.

In high school and college, I was a person that had a small anger management problem, coupled with anxiety over my self-worth, school, and finances, and to top it off majorly depressed. After working with the Biofeedback dude, I did a complete 180. I wasn't angry, I graduated school, and was managing my depression farely well with meds and counseling.  It really changed my life.

Still to this day I 'practice' Biofeedback all the time. During the day, at work, at home, and if I'm having trouble sleeping at night.  Which brings me back to my sleep-deprived state of mind.  I need to get back into Biofeedback and I should start to get some much deserved shut eye.

Wow, I read back though all that mumbo-jumbo, and just want to apologize for the information overload.  See this is what happens when I'm tired. I write endlessly about whatever craziness is going through my head.

Back to the point.

I'm going to get more sleep, continue with Atkins, run my bubble butt off, go to my Mom's to hunt Gobblers with my hubby, then go to Arizona next week.

I'll just let you all know right now: Starting this weekend, my life is officially batshit crazy (got that one from Draz.)  I will only be home ONE weekend from now till the middle of June.

Shoot me know.