The Leptin Reset: Week 4 Results, or Can Insomnia Make You Fat?

My big ass breakfast was about 10 ounces of grilled salmon, and I wasn’t the least big hungry until around 3:30.  Meal #2 of the day, late in the afternoon and shown here was 2 5-ounce organic beef patties, grilled, with sautéed veggies–sweet onions and mushrooms with herbs.  This big ass supper comprised the rest of my 1000-1200 calorie day.  No, I’m not counting calories except to see how much I’m consuming.  The calorie count is just part of my data gathering and extensive spreadsheets as I put together the heretofore unpublished manual to my body and what make it run at its best.

So Week #4 was up several days ago, and this is where something I can’t quite put into words kicked in.  Something really odd happened in the fourth week.   But I’ll describe the lessons before the results.

1. I continued to struggle with my work schedule and found that I really couldn’t manage only 2 big ass meals with all the meetings I’m in.  As my Colonel said last week, “I have a new job–to go to meetings!”  So much of the Leptin Reset (http://jackkruse.com/my-leptin-prescription/) is about timing your daily cycles with the daylight and night, and I do now have more compassion for people who work nights and can’t match up to the reset prescription. It’s the end of the fiscal year and not going to get any better until October, so I have to find a way to adjust my schedule.  For now, that means 3 meals (1 big protein-driven breakfast and 2 lighter protein-driven meals with veggies and nuts.)  For the most part, eating lunch throws me off a bit and I’m hungry at my normal supper time AND I eat a light lunch.  Still making adjustments.  I’m really, REALLY loving my job right now and don’t want to trade that for an unfulfilling job I can force fit into my meal plan.  Yep, I want it all.
2. I continue to not experience ANY cravings during the day, but just before bedtime, start to crave a little.  Not carbs, but nuts.  That’s odd.
3. I’m not as tired now.  My energy level stays fairly high and even throughout the day.  BP is still a little higher than usual (120/65 vs 105/65) but I’m also in go-go-go mode.
4. On 2 nights of the fourth week, I couldn’t sleep.  I’ve been sleeping really well on the Leptin Reset.  Normally, I can’t explain the insomnia as anything but hormonal.  I can usually meditate to quiet my mind and fall asleep but wake during the night.  On these 2 nights, I just could NOT quiet my mind.  I had exciting things going on at the office, and at 2 AM, I was still rehearsing how to handle a particular meeting in my head and coming up with non-stop ideas.  Ugh.  My body wanted to sleep, but I was too revved up on creativity.   Over those 2 nights, I got maybe 9 hours sleep altogether, so by the 3rd night, I was so tired, I thought I’d fall asleep driving home.  I got home at 7:30 the third night, sat down on the sofa, and woke up 12 hours later…feeling somewhat refreshed.
5. After the second night of insomnia, I jumped on the scales and was up THREE POUNDS over night.  After I got some restorative sleep, I dropped the pounds, but I used to make do on 4-5 hours of sleep a night every single night, so I’m very pleased with how deeply I’m sleeping on Leptin Reset.  (Yes, I keep a spreadsheet of how long, quality of sleep, etc).   My spreadsheet-loving guy has turned me into a data whore.
6.   My cycle is somewhat off.  Not really a problem, just a surprise.
7. I continue to walk and work outside but no heavy-duty workouts, like my former P90X’ing or APY60 yoga.  I’m definitely not as “tight” as I was 2 months ago when I was walking the Camino de Santiago, but other than looking forward to starting High Intensity Interval Training again (it wasn’t very successful in any weight loss or hormone balancing last time), I’m okay with it and just biding my time until August when the reset has, um, firmed up.  It doesn’t take long for me to get “tight” with a little strength training.
8. My skin is so dry that I’m peeling.  Not sure if that’s related.  Could be the new cleanser I’m using (though no chemicals) or maybe the weather.  My skin is looking rough right now, but I’ll wait it out.
9. The week ended with my weight being the same as when I started, but feeling oddly skinnier.

Those are the lessons this week.   The odd results?  I FEEL different.  On the outside.  My body feels more like it did in my 20’s, proportionately at least.  The changes are very subtle but I can tell a difference in how certain clothes fit.  Even without any inches lost in the usual places a woman measures.  Things, they are a-shifting.  My knee caps feel skinnier.  And my shoulders.   My shorts are baggie in strange places and I’ll have to toss out at least 2 of my usual tight-fitting gym shorts as too baggy to hold up.  I’m the same size now that I was 20 years ago, even though I weigh more now (I must turn to gold as I age or something….).

Pressing forward into Week #5, and really quite happy that I’m not “starving” all the time and, in spite of what you may believe by my food-related posts, not really thinking about food during most of the day.  My blood sugar isn’t wonky right now, and no one in these lonnnnnngggggg meetings has to worry that I’ll turn cannibal if we go right through lunch.