As I write this it is Wednesday morning, and I’ve just pressed “post” on the Cravings article. This is an addendum to it.

I’m finding that I’m useless in the evening after 7pm. By this time, I’ve usually done a full day’s work, some language homework and walked the dogs twice. I can watch the television, read a book that not too involved or mindlessly scroll on my phone. The last one is not good. But what to do? If I go to sleep at 9pm, I’ll wake at 3am.

Last night I went to sleep around 10:45pm. I woke feeling refreshed at 4:30am. It was tempting to get up. In some sense I wish I had… because I went back to sleep, dreamt and woke up on the alarm at 7am. I usually wake up before the alarm. I couldn’t get up, probably because I was in the middle of a sleep cycle. The dream means I’m getting much needed R.E.M. sleep.

I don’t use sleep trackers anymore. They tell me I don’t sleep well, which I know already. Also, wristwatches get incredibly smelly if you wear them over night. But one thing I learnt from using one is that I don’t get enough R.E.M. sleep. And as a result, I struggle a bit with my Russian and French lessons, because I can’t remember the words… R.E.M. sleep is when your mind reorganises your short-term memory into long-term memory. It’s incredibly important. Alcohol is a killer of R.E.M. sleep, so given I haven’t had a drink for a week it’s no surprise the dreams are back.

Now back to getting up. Once I’m up, I’m up. And the brain goes into overdrive. I get a bunch of things in my head that I must do. And I feel the urge to do them all in parallel… Provided the focus is there I have a lot of intellectual energy in the morning. It’s the right time to make a list and figure out what is the most important thing to do first.

I’ve lost 800g since yesterday. That is quite an amount to lose in one day. For dinner last night I had a rack of pork ribs, lamb chops, cabbage and broccoli. I took the dogs for a walk, then decided I hadn’t eaten enough so had some cheese (within the eating window).

So, we are definitely in the swing of losing weight. Just that I’m feeling a bit useless in the evenings. I guess I just need to watch some mindless television. Also did this article seem a little multidirectional and ramble on? Yes probably, but my mind is in 6th gear going at 150mph. If I can use this properly, it’s a definite advantage!