Happy Thursday. We had a wonderful dinner last night at the Uruguayan restaurant and enjoyed some amazing steaks and wonderful company.
However, our dinner reservation was at 9pm and we didn't leave the restaurant until 11:30pm, this is Very typical timing for dinner here in Spain. As much as I loved the night, I already knew it was going to negatively affect my sleep pretty severely. I actually slept all the way through the night, but the quality of sleep I got was just very poor after eating so late because my body was working hard to digest all that food while I was sleeping.
I wear the Whoop tracker and it measures the quality of my sleep. The 2 pictures below show my "stress" when I sleep. Sleep stress is measured by my heart rate, respiratory rate, and deep sleep etc.
Look as this wild comparison of what happens when I eat dinner (picture 1), vs when I don't eat dinner (picture 2). And not just from the tracker but I can definitely tell a difference in how I feel throughout the day (I am already dragging today and adding more caffeine than normal). This is how I came to realize that on a regular basis I can't be eating dinner, and I now know that any late meals will result in poor sleep and I'll pay for it the next day.
You don't need a fancy tracker to figure that out, journaling how you feel vs when you eat and what you eat can be a big eye opener for you in learning what's best routine/approach for you.
Are there anythings around meal timing and food that obviously affect how you sleep or feel?
I don't typically love cooking with cast iron, despite the excellent results they can bring. It's messy and smells up the house. Add to that, the one we have is super old and not very good. We were recently gifted a really good one from Lancaster Cast Iron so today I decided to give it a try. We have a side burner on our Weber so I could do it outside. I sous vide a steak, then seared it in tallow on the new pan. Man it was incredible. What a difference it made from our old one. Super easy clean up too. Below is the pan, of course I forgot to take a picture of the steak haha.
Do you love using cast iron? What are some favorites you make in them?
Yesterday we surprised the kids and brought home a puppy!! They have been begging for one for years and we felt like the time was right to bring one home.
Meet Angus 🐕 He's a Golden Retriever/King Charles Cavalier Spaniel mix. He's 11 weeks old and currently weighs about 8 pounds, he should be around 35 pounds fully grown. I know it will be an adjustment for a while as he gets potty trained etc but we are so excited. 😂 Wish us luck! 🤪
Cheese is good! I ate a block of chipotle oven baked cheese with lunch yesterday and it was divine. I love it, but know that it halts any progress I'm making, and will even trigger eating in excess to where I'll gain weight. It's sad but I have accepted it. If I eat it in small quantities with a meal, it's ok, but I really have to work to keep it in check.
What's your favorite cheese? How do you incorporate it? Do you see negative results when eating it?
Happy Halloween! Hope you are having some fun today. Passing out treats to anyone? The first picture is the costumes my kids have for this year. (Penelope's was just to help at Jiu-Jitsu).
Here are some my favorite costumes my kids have had over the years. Share below any costumes you have had from this year or previous years.
I’ve been ignoring this pork belly in my freezer for while. Last time I tried to make it I did NOT like it. The small pieces that were crispy were good. I did not like the bigger pieces so I’ve cut them smaller and they’re back in the air fryer…
Happy Friday!! We are supposed to have a VERY rainy weekend here in Arizona, which is very rare for us. It might even mean that trick or treating is cancelled. 🎉😂 I always trade the kids for their candy anyway so fine by me if we don't even have to go out. Plus Penelope said she's too old for trick or treating and said she'll just skip it and take the money. 🤪😂
Other than that and church we have no plans this weekend, which I am excited about after a busy week. I might go get a day pass at a new gym that has a fancy steam room/sauna and cold plunge.
What are your plans for this weekend?
