Day 120

Every day in every way, I'm getting a little better.

Yesterday my old boss commented on how well I looked. I thanked him and wondered, if there was one thing that has made this now outwardly visible difference. I can honestly say, I think it's a little bit of everything! Here is a list of the things that I'm doing:-

Singing for Snorers : Almost every day I'm working on the exercises and have notice a difference in my ability to sleep has improved significantly. I have now twice fallen asleep with out the aid of a CPAP machine in the last two weeks. I'm not aware of have ANY apnoea attacks during these naps. I do recall some slight snoring. Almost cute as opposed to highly offensive! In addition both times my partner was unaware of any snoring at all.

Keeping fit at the gym: Since Jan 8th I have lost 12lbs (5.4kgs). According to my electronic scales I have lost around 4% of my body fat. This helps me sleep better at night as I'm burning up the excess energy that I may have allowing me to improve the quality of sleep. When I was first diagnosed with sleep apnoea my resting heart rate was 85-90 bpm. This has now been reduced to 68-72bpm. Without a doubt I have extended my life by improving my health and sleeping practises.

SAD light: Whilst working at home, I found that I needed some kind of desk light. I went for the extra brightness of the SAD light so that I could give myself that natural boost rather than relying on that extra cup of coffee.

Reduce Coffee: First thing in the morning I now drink boiled water with a few drops of lemon juice. It's wonderful at rehydrating the body after it looses a lot of water during sleep. The lemon helps with the taste but also seems to reduce any mucus that may have also built up. I've not had a stuffy nose at all.

Diet: To help with the weight loss and to generally improve my eating habits, I've been following a diet called "The South Beach Diet". After doing a bit of research on the internet and checking a few forums it seemed to be the best way for me to go and most importantly doesn't force you to be hungry all the time. In fact if you get hungry you probably are eating enough! A standard day for me would be:- Breakfast, flourless/sugarless chocolate torte, a fruit juice and a protein shake, 11am snack, Clementine and a babybel light cheese, Lunch any salad, 3pm snack some mixed nuts, Dinner pretty much any meat or vegetarian based meal, replacing potatoes with either butternut squash or sweet potatoes, this is always followed later by a protein rich dessert like greek yoghurt and fruit. Since being on the diet I've not had any heart burn for which was previously so bad I was hospitalised at one point in 2005 for suspected heart attack (aged 35).

I'm sure there are lots of other little things that I'm doing that I will try to highlight in future postings. But above are a few of the main significant changes that I have put in place over the last 120 days.

Soon, very soon, I will try sleeping with out my CPAP and video myself to see how well I'm sleeping now. I have previously recorded myself so I will have something to compare. I'll let you know how I get on.

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