Food and Sleep: The Days After a Night Out

Food and Sleep

Yesterday, after a trip to Golds gym during lunch  & a shower to fluff up..  I was off to the Houston House of Blues for  a show. Even with planning for the infamous traffic, we got stuck in a jam, so ended up dining at The Hobbit Cafe rather than the Cuban place planned. With home baked whole grain breads, locally grown veggies an a host of vegetarian delights, along with a tasteful collection of deluxe micro-beers beers, I felt everyone could discover a pleasurable meal that Chrisitne Lynch might even consider a reasonable occasional indulgence.

Hobbit Cafe makes it own breads and the interior smells like your grandmas kitchen on fifteen different days all combined into one short visit. I ordered a sandwich packed with veggies and a fresh fruit side. But there was also a huge platter of sprouts, veggies, salsa & guacamole & chips. I ate some, then I ate a few more. I should have put 1/2my dinner in a to-go-box.. but I had skipped my evening snack on the ride in, not wishing to eat in front of others with ought to offer them...(was This simply an excuse?) And the beer... I enjoyed a Left Hand Milk Stout!  It was the most incredible beer I've had to date.. I should have switched to only water at the show.. rather than 1 more Guinness( As I must whisper... it didn't compare being in a CAN). Really, I learned a few lessons for better utilization next time, but don't feel too badly here.


The House of Blues is situated in a nice area of downtown Houston, close the the Convention Center, with a comfortably dark cheery interior, perfectly sized for interactive, even intimate shows. A quick parking & brisk walk and I was in. I had missed the first band Architects. Frank Turner & His Band were on next. I wrangled a Guinness & enjoyed an impromptu dance with a Viking throwback, who promptly introduced me to his cohorts, including a guy with a Mohawk( I resisted the urge to ask to touch his hair!) I had buddies now, for the mosh pit! I'll definitely be adding this band to my Pandora collection and buying a cd or three. The singer had an emotional voice and incredible energy! The bass guitar was worth watching simply because he was drinking Heineken & getting knockered. I kept wondering when he was going to fall over. Ditching my jacket I headed for front & center. Celtic rock mosh isn't like metal or death metal-mosh. There's a kind of warm, fuzzy, connected feeling to all the jumping, sweat, smashing & spinning. I love it. Stage presence and energy, Flogging Molly has in excess!  They gave unstintingly to to the crowd & the energy boomeranged back to the band infinitely increased. Sadly the show had to end, if only so I can anticipate another great show in my future.

Dripping sweat off my bangs, soaked completely through, I rejoined my companions for the drive back to Aggieland. Everyone wanted snacks & water, so we pulled into a gas station. I had planned ahead... but there are probably ways I could have done better(aside from not going!) I stayed in the van & asked for a water. In my bag I had a mix veggie, mango & ginger smoothie with protein powder added, & a salmon cup. Whislt everyone else is eating Hershey's, Little Debbie's(this was even a 1-time triathlete), & ice cream sandwiches, I was sporking up my salmon. I think it was good that I planned ahead & packed healthy snacks, yet I failed with food earlier in the evening, while still at dinner.


  I couldn't sleep last night been wound up from all the fun & music. This morning I was a whimpering, sleepy, sullen, when I stumbled towards the shower. And Thursdays are 'work family' breakfasts here in IT... Breakfast offerings included an overabundance of  breakfast tacos in assorted meaty varieties, tangelos, grapes, two kinds of doughnuts & a Mardi Gras cake. The set-up for a fall is all in place and all self-created. Holding back, I selected 2 tacos, doctored them up with salsa  and added both colours of grapes to the plate, along with a stout cuppa Scottish Breakfast tea. I was holding back. I didn't get a doughnut or ... well not then anyway....

 For myself, it seems that when one is sleepy, one is hungry. Does any one else experience this phenomena? Apparently so, yet the debate rages on in circular fashion. What came first? Lack of sleep, or overeating/extra hunger sensations? Regardless of which may be contributing to the cause the treatment may be the same.... Always eat healthy well planned small meals and snacks that are within your lifestyle diet needs and consistently get a goodly amount of sleep. I hadn't realized the impact of being sleepy on the next day... I was tired, knees sore from the mosh & it was extra-cold for this part of Texas... I ended up eating another breakfast taco a few more grapes & a corner off the King Cake. Planning ahead doesn't just include packing snacks for the night of an event so avaliable food/drink alternatives exist to reduce or mitigate impact from the fun activity..it also needs to extend to the next day or 2... Being sleep deprived, sore, tired, (or even hungover) all affect energy levels for planned  exercise, and hunger levels(or at least perceived hunger). The two days after the event, portion control was difficult to maintain an awareness of. I ate too much and only realized it because I was uncomfortably full later. Sensations of fullness increased sleepiness leading to a choice for sleep rather than exercise.  These are all primitive triggers from my cave-man ancestors that I need to be aware of and possibly mostly ignore. In this modern world, I have more to fear from over-eating than I do from under-eating. My body is an incredibly efficient energy storage system that I need to convert to a wasteful energy burning model!


 I am not sure how to plan ahead to deal with the sleepy-hungries the day after an event out. Its possible that all one can do is be aware that you will be plagued by these sensations and to ignore them. Do some of you make a choice to not engage in any activities of social nature when training for an event? I am trying to approach this as a lifestyle adaptation... so my preference is for incorporating these events (how could I skip a Flogging Molly show?) into life. By incorporating social venues into the month, I remove any ideas of deprivation. I did OK picking a restaurant.. I could have made better choices within the restaurant and better choices at the show... as much as I was sweating 2 stouts wasn't even going to provide any bit of blurry. I am wondering what you do? How often?

Endless Beginning

In the year and a half since I last posted many things have changed and several more have stayed the same. While I have lost about 12 % body fat from a year ago.. I hadn’t actually lost even 1 lb! Supposedly wise folks, have stated that ‘lifestyle change last best when implemented slowly’. I have the Slow part down pat! All kidding aside I have gradually made changes in the food and exercise department. Whilst the title of my blog won’t be changing… I finally have bike commuting down and would appreciate opportunity to explore other issues. A barrier dissolved within me, as an internal experience from a recent triathlon base camp I attended. I want; no I need to employ this advantage while I am aware of it! Surely I am not alone in these experiences! I am anticipating suggestions, comments, stories, and even a few wonderful connections with amazing individuals.

As my awareness regarding ‘healthy’ foods has shifted or deepened, from once considering, Healthy Choice frozen, dinners, Campbell’s low sodium soup & low fat cheese pizza to more whole wheat, homemade alternatives, to organics, reducing, then mostly removing dairy, and most recently exposure to Paleo, Vegan and Raw via thriving athletes, I have metamorphed via osmosis into a more aware food consumer. This is an ongoing process with slips and falls off the wagon of purity. Indeed the wagon shape-shifts too. There’s so much information, much of conflicting, much of it body specific and even mental specific. How aware am I, How much fortitude do I have to withstand the siren call of an extra crunchy thin cheese & turkey pepperoni & veggie pizza, or chocolate ice-cream. Some of the struggle involves emotional eating. Other bits of the battle mean a gentle wooing of dear friends to understanding the current idea of ‘healthy foods’ and learning methods to divert politely away from a well intentioned home cooked or night out meal involving veggies drowning in butter, oodles of pasta and cheese. Still other struggles are simply the logistics. Buying, preparing and packing lunch and snacks for a full day. No matter the choice, eating ‘healthy’ is a daily challenge.

My self supported delusions aren’t just about food. I’ve been expending plenty of energy deluding myself about exercise, instead of exerting energy actually exercising! After all wasn’t I exercising more than a few girlfriends? Come on people I was riding my bike to work after all! I was walking some mornings. Heck I even began playing (and enjoying!) league volleyball. Regardless the fact remains the vivid white elephant in the room that I am fat and they aren’t. Oh sure, one can be PC and talk about being Fat & Fit, but at the end of the study, the facts still say obesity is a leading contributor to numerous health ailments. Besides that, being fat isn’t fun no matter how jolly one looks. Ask me. Achy knees, sure, slower than anyone else at the same activity, check, spending more $$ for plus-size clothes, yep, always searching for a better bra, totally. Being fat takes a lot of work.

The thing is becoming not-fat takes even more work initially. Monumental gargantuan effort is needed to get the ball rolling. Even more enormous energy is required to sustain any momentum, however small, when faced with the slightest bump in the path. I am not talking just personal physical energy, but also personal and community spiritual input. Change goes against the flow. Change is uncomfortable, even when for a good cause, can be scary. My success will be aided with sincere community support. Yet all the community effort, friendly concerned comments, or ‘diet programs’, gym plans, quick fix pills will continue to fail without spiritual awareness.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes my path is all bumps and no trail. There was a time when I was reeling, feeling very alone, and cheap food offered plentiful false comfort. My granny was murdered; I survived divorce, then the death of a dating companion, then a brush with cancer. A few other pain filled moments in life and finally a little something cracked. With no place to go but up or out… I began reaching for sunshine. Slowly a spiritual expansion sprouted.

A few books opened windows to a brighter, easier way for thinking. The first time I read” You can be Happy No Matter What”, “The Three Pillars of Zen”, “The Road Less Traveled”, I growled, I grumbled, yet a line somewhere stirred a hope within me. I reread the books. I read others. I began writing a quote of the week on my bathroom mirror. It felt odd. I felt false. Enough good feeling resulted for my persistence. Over time, I forgot to pretend, I simply was. A better spiritual emotional base lends its strength to notice other personal aspects that present opportunity for change. This happened until finally a trigger-point for action is reached.

I bought the Bianchi. I really exerted effort, yet still I was stumbling. Gaining endurance, but no speed, I was eating organics including plenty of organic pizza and chocolate ice-cream. I have wallowed in this purgatory for some time. I was trying to exercise, reading or hearing podcasts (but maybe not Really Listening…)but still not making drastic enough changes. All that changed recently. The beginning of my path towards a fitter self was shared. Wisdom these kind souls gave to me continues to illuminate the trail further ahead.

Please share the journey if you wish