I wrote recently about my skirmish with the dreaded Belly Roll. It occurred to me last weekend, as I was engaged in a leisurely yoga session following my first good night's sleep in a few weeks, that part of my problem is not junk food: it's insomnia.
I go through these phases, which are generally attributable to amorphous stress and hormonal imbalances, in which it becomes difficult to get to sleep. My ever-revving monkey brain kicks into high gear. If I happen to watch TV before bed, or to be reading something particularly engrossing, or to have not gotten a sufficient amount of exercise, or to have had a cup of coffee later than 2 p.m. - any one of a dozen causes may apply, or a combination thereof; the result is, I can't get to sleep.
And of course, sleep deprivation is one of the most common factors associated with weight gain, difficulty losing weight, and in particular, Belly Roll.
Since I have identified most of the triggers for my insomnia, you would think that I could easily nip these phases short. However, when you are involved in something is not necessarily the best time to analyze it.
I am going to use this little moment of clarity to reinforce some of the good habits I'm trying to form, and bolster my resistance to the bad habits I'm trying to kick. I may not be a full-time fitness professional yet, but I do owe it to my clients to be in the best shape possible. I'm not a big fan of "do as I say, not as I do;" I don't want to be a model of bad habits while I'm trying to encourage good ones in others.
Will it work? I'll keep you posted.
Updated March 12, 2010: It's been almost seven months, and due to my new job and the new schedule attendant upon it, I have not had a serious bout of insomnia since this writing. And the Belly Roll has diminished. So, y'all? Get some sleep!
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