The Wellness Challenge: 1/3 of the way there

This habit change project is cumulative – every month I add a new habit and keep going with the ones I’ve already developed. So far, I’ve resolved to sleep more, eat a real dinner each night, decrease my stress, and walk every day. I thought that since we’re one third of the way there (!), I’d post an update on how it’s going.

Sleep: I have such a hard time making myself go to bed at a reasonable hour every night. It’s not that I’m not tired. Believe me when I say that I am. But there’s so much to read for school, so many things around the house that need cleaning. Then there’s squeezing in a daily workout, spending time with my husband and the pup, work, all of the things I waste time on (electronics are the devil’s work. I lose so much time to Pinterest and reading all of the awesome blogs out there…YoungHouseLove is my current favorite). Long story short: I’m still not getting enough sleep. I also sleep in too late on the weekends, because I’m tired from the week. It’s a vicious cycle, but one that I intend to continue working on.

Dinners: I still go out to eat, but not as often as I had. I think that I am eating more real meals at home, about five nights a week on average (we grab dinner once a week with friends, and I think I lose another night on average for all of the takeout pizza/date nights/parties at friends houses and other sporadic non-minified dinners). I’ve learned some things along the way:

1. packaged vegetable stock is easier and faster than making my own, and sometimes worth it
2. a rice cooker with a steamer basket on top is a lifesaver. Quinoa and broccoli, rice and mixed vegetables…top ’em with a little soy sauce and you’ve got a super quick homemade meal.
3. frozen veggies are quick and easy and just as nutritious as fresh, and they keep longer, so in the winter when fresh veggies aren’t as abundant at the farmer’s market…I dig ’em.
4. I’m no purist – I’m perfecting the art of the “mostly minified meal.” Sauteed veggies and some rice (all homemade) with packaged, storebought naan? S’okay with me.

Stress: This semester is off the charts. So much reading, and all of it totally worthwhile, but there just isn’t enough time. It’s a scramble. But I had an epiphany about getting everything done: communication is the key. I asked my husband to take over dealing with the car we share (registrations, oil changes, inspections) and he has – he’s done a fantastic job. I asked my adviser to identify some priorities on the grant I work on, because I was struggling to balance everything, and he did – the clarification helped! There’s also an element of making tough choices to decreasing stress. I’ve turned down fun social stuff, and great volunteer opportunities, because I’m not going to be any fun or very much help if I stretch myself too thin. And I’ve been trying to be more balanced in how I spend my time (making time to bake and make crafts and hang out with friends) rather than devoting all of my time to school and work…because no matter how hard I try, I’m never going to be the perfect student. I’m just going to do the best that I can, and call it good enough.

Walking: Every single day, without fail. Rain. Shine. Spectacular cold. No kidding. I’ve even been running a little bit. This is because I’m so much more devoted to the dog than I am to my own health. Maybe my priorities are in the wrong places, but then again, maybe it’s human nature to love the ones around us (including our pups) enough that we’re capable of being better. He’s been the best motivation for habit change…and he’s pretty darn cute, too!

our "mixed use recreational area" - AKA the abandoned tennis court - is the only place near home where he can play off leash. He likes to gather all of the balls on the court in one place and then sit on them like a broody hen.

Anyone else making any habit changes? How’s it going?

As for the months to come, I’ve been ruminating on my whole sleep problem. I think maybe just adding new good habits is contributing to it – maybe it’s time that I gave something up, or started really limiting the time I devote to the things that aren’t so important (like Pinterest, for example). Anyone got good ideas for how to manage time so that you stress less and get more sleep (and have more time to make real meals, and take long walks…)? Share ’em in the comments!

Minified Meals: The Beginning

Dinner Day 1:

Roast portabella and zucchini pasta

Chop a large portabella mushroom and a zucchini squash into bite size pieces. Toss them in a baking dish with a teaspoon or so of olive oil  and some black pepper. Roast at 400 Fahrenheit for 20 minutes or until tasty. Meanwhile, cook some whole wheat fettucine on the stovetop and drain. Combine it all while still hot, add a tablespoon or so of parmesan and a teaspoon of butter (or don’t, as it would probably be healthier without the butter – but that is in fact how I fixed it tonight. Maybe next time I’ll try it with just the olive oil).

Prep time: 10 minutes.

Cook time: 20 minutes for the veggies.

I thought it was easy and tasty, but I love butter, cheese, and mushrooms, so this was sort of my perfect meal (Although I do hate pasta. That was a concession to my spouse, who does not appear to consider roast vegetables a stand alone meal). It met our basic dinner requirements of simple vegetarian food in a hurry, with real vegetables and minimal processed ingredients (the pasta. I don’t make it myself. I get it at Whole Foods). My husband says “I think I made too many noodles. I would have liked a sauce.” To which I said “no!” and he laughed. Only one of us is a fan of tomato based sauce, if you can’t tell.

So we ate a real dinner,the first night of the challenge – success! And since the habit changes are cumulative, I’m also continuing with October’s habit change: getting enough sleep. I was terrible during the last week of October about staying up way too late, partly for school and partly for fun. Why is it so hard to form  good habit but so easy to fall back into an old, bad one?

I think maybe the secret to habit change is blogging about it, so that everyone in my life knows that I’m doing this and gives me grief if I send an e-mail after midnight or insist on grabbing pizza for dinner. I’m back to getting enough sleep, at least! Anybody else trying to change a habit during the month of November?

A month’s worth of habit change

After 30 days of getting more sleep, I can say that I’m definitely better rested. I’ve been going to bed earlier, even on the weekends, and trying to get a consistent 7.5 to 9 hours a night (neither more nor less, because everything I’ve read says that consistency is the key). Here’s the update:

One thing I’ve learned is that all of the tricks I’ve heard over the years about getting better sleep (limiting exposure to light late in the evening, for example, or avoiding exercise within a few hours of bedtime) pale in comparision to just sticking to a sleep schedule. The schedule is the key. Everything else (except for maybe avoiding stimulants like caffeine within a few hours of bedtime) should be tried along with a sleep schedule instead of in lieu of one.

This month I’ve found the following:

• I do fall asleep more easily most nights, and sleep through the night.
• I do feel about a billion times better – less exhausted and much healthier. I think this has led to better habits all around. I’ve found myself making better choices with meals and beverages (less Diet Coke, which will no doubt make my mom happy. Diet Coke is my guilty pleasure, but that really needs to stop).
• I have noticed that I get more done during the day, instead of less (I was afraid that sleeping more would mean getting less done at school, or some other sacrifice. It hasn’t).
• I have not noticed any change in my mood. In spite of all the promises the sleep websites make, I think I’m probably about as grumpy as I usually am, except for maybe early in the morning – I wake up more cheerful, but then I’m even more grumpy if I’m up past bedtime. So no real changes there.

On interesting aspect of trying to get more sleep was three nights at a conference in Park City, Utah, where I stayed in a (really wonderful) hotel with several (even more wonderful) ladies. Between the time difference, having roommates, and being in an unfamiliar place, I didn’t get much sleep. But it was so much fun, and so worth it. I think of times like that as special occasions, just like when I was little and my parents would let me stay up late on holidays and birthdays. Routines exist to help us live healthfully most of the time, not to strip the joy out of the special occasions. I stayed up way too late in Park City, and I had way too much fun, and I look forward to doing it all again next year.

I’ll leave you with some photos from the trip to Utah. It really was gorgeous!