Weight Loss and Sleep

You know how everyone tells you a good night's sleep is key to helping with weight loss?

Believe them. It's true.

I've been a cranky pig all week because I haven't slept well since last Wednesday.

Background: Brent snores. A lot. It's due to stress, not sleep apnea, weight gain, smoking, etc. It's simply stress. I usually sleep in the spare bed because if I sleep in our bed, he wakes me up at least 5-6 times per night, and I, in turn, wake him up to get him to roll over and breathe normally. Rinse. Repeat. Since neither of us get any rest when we sleep together, I just sleep in the spare bed.

As you can imagine, neither of us particularly like this solution because we miss sleeping next to each other (and we just bought a nice king-size bed last summer, so it's a waste of nearly $1000). So, every so often, I climb into bed with him and prepare for a night of no sleep.

I slept in the bed last Wednesday and Thursday night, and then we went to my parents' on Friday. I woke up early on Saturday for the Easter Egg Hunt with my nieces, and then I got up early to go to church with my dad on Easter Sunday. We came home, and I slept in our bed again Monday night and Tuesday night.

Miiiistake.

I was at my wit's end all day Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I snapped at co-workers and friends. I was impatient with customers. I ate WAY too much junk food. I even drank some regular soda, which I can't stand now that I've switched to Crystal Light and the occasional diet soda. I'm bloated, as a result, and I'm sure I've gained a couple of pounds. I don't even want to get on the scale. I also haven't exercised, and to top it all off, I got into a fight with Brent last night.

Oy.

So, last night, in the interest of saving my relationship and not losing my job (or friends), I slept in the spare bed. I didn't fully catch up on sleep, but I can already feel a HUGE difference today. I ate a good breakfast, I've been pleasant, my head is clear, and I apologized to Brent and gave him a calm, English version of my current issues instead of the psycho-screamy-meme version.

I don't know how new parents live without sleep. :-P This is reason #127 we don't want kids. We'd be divorced in no time due to my mood swings when I'm sleep-deprived.

Anyway, it's time to admit I simply cannot sleep with him during the week. Weekends will be our compromise, since it doesn't matter if I don't get much sleep (and he isn't stressed as much on weekends, so the snoring is at a minimum).

I can't wait to move into the new place (11 weeks!). Right now, the spare bed is in our living room and looks super ghetto. The new place has two bedrooms, so the spare bed will have a home.

On a slightly-related note, my waist is smaller, but the fat seems to have moved to my chin/neck. GAH!!! I hope it's just bloating from the crappy diet I've had this week and not actual weight gain in my chin. I didn't notice it before this morning, so please please please let it be sodium.