Insomnia? Plus, some healthy eating tips

I woke up at 5 am, and lay in bed for fifteen minutes before giving in and getting up. This is similar to Sunday; my body has just decided that it's time to be awake, period. Kinda cool, as this hasn't happened to me in quite some time, but kinda weird, for the same reason...and also because I don't have anything particularly exciting to do today.

I do have a freelance project, though, so I'll work on that.

But first, of course, I've been reading news and blogs. And here's something interesting. There's some place(?) called Remuda Ranch that believes that labeling foods as forbidden actually causes us to eat more of them than we would normally. I think this makes a lot of sense. We always tend to want something we can't have more than something we can have every day, don't we? And so the article lists some good guidelines for eating, which I'll reproduce here just in case.

• Balance. Most of the time you eat, do so when you're hungry. Use food as fuel for your body. Balance also means that sometimes you eat simply when the food appeals to you or when it's appropriate in a social setting. Allow yourself to eat for enjoyment. Such balance provides you with physical satisfaction and decreases the likelihood of overeating certain foods due to a feeling of deprivation or denial.
  
• Variety. Choose foods from a variety of sources. The USDA Food Guide Pyramid provides a structure for determining the number of servings from each food group that will provide the best variety. Eat different foods everyday.
  
• Moderation. Portion size is key. Most restaurants aim to please by offering great value through large portions. Just because you're given a large portion doesn't mean you have to eat it all. Take some home for later.
  
• Drink lots of water. Eight 8-ounce glasses of water is a good daily average.
  
• Aim for three meals and one to three snacks a day. The idea that snacking between meals is bad is a thing of the past. By eating every two to four hours, you prevent your body from getting overly hungry -- which could set you up to overeat later. The body uses the fuel from food very efficiently when you're eating smaller amounts more frequently throughout the day.
  
• Avoid radical and fad diets. Fad diets and yo-yo weight patterns only make your body work harder to maintain homeostasis. Weight fluctuations may increase your body's "set point" -- the weight at which your body wants to stay.

In other news, I'm glad to see that Miklos is still alive!

Now that I'm done with my Bloglines subscriptions, it's time for webcomics!