…or so they seem.
A little bit of background info may be in order for some readers. I am in the final days of a 30-Day Nutrition and Performance Challenge at my CrossFit gym.
Daily points are awarded for getting 7+ hours of sleep, tracking food consumption and caloric intake (eat more, not less), refraining from grains, sugar and alcohol. Points are given for daily WODS and for hitting within 200 calories +/- on food intake.
Generally this has gone very well, as most of these are habits that have been well ingrained into my lifestyle. I admit I wrestle with being a night owl when writing, so sleep is an area where I can falter. Challenges like this are a great opportunity to reset the behavior in a supportive and fun fashion. The support comes from the 40 or 50 people who are doing this with me. The fun comes from the opportunity to take home the $500 prize.
An excellent part of this challenge was that expectations were properly set at the beginning, that we are free to eat whatever we want. There is no guilt for having a beer or an ice cream. Just don’t make it a habit, and you just don’t get points. It’s not overly complicated. Another excellent part of this mindset is that if you have made a concerted effort to ingrain these behaviors into every day life, the wheels don’t fall off when things go beyond your control.
Last night I went to bed at 9:00, expecting to get 8 hours sleep, but my mind was spinning after five hours of weight training. It took me almost an hour to fall asleep, so now I was down to 7 hours sleep. If I get less, I lose a point. But I did fall asleep. Save!
Well, not so quick. The phone rang at midnight, the mail server crashed and I was called into work. No sleep, No Point! I ate a banana with Almond Butter and a cup of coffee on my way out the door at 12:30 for my long dark drive into no man’s land.
I had thrown a shaker bottle of SFH Recovery in my bag. I threw a pillow and a blanket and my gym bag in the truck, hoping to catch a few winks in my truck, and still make the 5:30 or 6:30 a.m. WOD. Wrong! No workout, No Point!
I got everything back on line about 6:30 and it was 8:30 before I was able to clear all my appointments for the day, set Out of Office Assistant on my e-mail, so I could go home and get to sleep.
I got home about 9:15 a.m. and I saw a Pumpkin Bread on the table that Suzanne had purchased for guests on Sunday. I refrained from having any on Sunday, but I was famished, so I cut off a huge chunk and buried it under a quarter inch of Kerry Gold butter. I savored the tasty, yet unwholesome treat, as I walked up the stairs to go to bed. Refined Carbs: No Point!
I slept until 3:00 p.m., since I awoke, all I have eaten is another banana with Almond Butter. There is no way I will come close to my daily caloric intake of 3000 calories, give or take 200. No Point.
Today may not be a stellar day for the 30-Day Challenge, but we are not always in control of our environment. We can only control how we respond. I was able to rise to the occasion, take care of what needed to be done and made adjustments to suit the circumstances. I am down a few points, but it was a good day nonetheless. Stuff Happens.
Well, it’s getting late and I have to get some sleep. Tonight I will turn the ringer off on my phone. I am gonna rest well, as I dream of ways to spend my $500.
Keep Calm, Stay Defiant, Stay Well!
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