Whole 30 - Day 25

I dragged myself out of bed at 5:25 yesterday morning. My alarm had gone off at 5:15, but I guess I snoozed it twice before my brain really kicked on. I had the same thing happen today, but it took me 20 minutes to finally wake up from the alarms. I hate that groggy feeling in the morning. I really need to start going to bed earlier. I've been pretty forthcoming with my friends and family that I have a 9 p.m. "Go to Bed" alarm, but lately I seem to be ignoring it. Part of the problem stems from the fact that I'm not getting home until 8 p.m. and it's really difficult to shower/get ready for bed, cook, and eat, and then rush to sleep. I'm really not a fan of eating immediately before bed. It kind of seems like a waste. You're fueling your body to sleep? Seems strange to me. Plus, after eating your body will send blood to your digestive system instead of throughout your extremities, and sleep is the perfect time for your body to focus on itself and repairing any damage done to it throughout the day, such as a really tough workout.

Sleep helps to:

1. Improve memory

2. Increase metabolism and weight loss

3. Improve your mood

4. Improve your cardiovascular health

5. Fight illness (everyone knows when you're run down, you're more likely to catch a cold)

6. Improve alertness

Harvard Health Publications: Importance of Sleep : Six Reasons Not to Scrimp on Sleep, Jan 2006. http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/importance_of_sleep_and_health

And though this isn't evidence from any particular study, one of my co-workers told me that while he was being very dedicated about tracking his calories, he always seemed to gain weight during the week when he was averaging 4 hours of sleep per night. However, he consistently lost weight over the weekend when he was sleeping 7 hours per night. So at least extra sleep works for one person's weight loss.

If you're snacking right before bed, it's probably not as healthy as if you were preparing and consuming a healthy balanced meal, so it's possible that you're consuming a lot of calories. Late-night eating can also cause trouble falling or staying asleep, though if you haven't eaten all day, some food (again, a few hours before bed) may help you sleep better so you don't lay in bed thinking about how hungry you are.

From what I've read, you should eat at least two hours before bedtime. In other words, I should be finishing up my dinner in the middle of my Krav Maga classes or my evening rowing practice. Somehow, I don't think that pulling out my steak knife to dive into a juicy sirloin is really going to work so well during Krav or while rowing. Though I guess we could use the knife for practicing blocks in Krav. It would make Krav a lot more intense and if you mess up once, you won't be messing up again, though you may also be out for the rest of class due to profuse bleeding... just maybe.

Baked Chicken and Veggies

2 lb grass-few chicken breast tenders

1/2 bag frozen Brussels sprouts

1/2 bag frozen artichokes

3 stalks carrots, roughly chopped

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp fresh ground pepper

1 tsp parsley

1/2 tsp oregano

1 pinch cayenne pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

2. Microwave the Brussels sprouts and artichokes to thaw them (30 sec - 1 min). Pat dry with paper towel to remove excess water.

3. Toss everything into an oven safe baking dish, stir, and cover with a lid.

4. Put into hot oven for 35 - 40 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked, but not dry.