Diet, Exercise and Sleep Control

So, last night a girlfriend was over.  And an incident happened that reminded me of the sleep and diet control I have over Alex now.  I don't think I've mentioned it before so figured I would now.  

Last year I made some changes to his lifestyle to help him lose weight and get more sleep.
 
Diet:  Alex had a bit of a gut on him that I'd rather he not have. And, he'd rather not have it either but (like most of us) he didn't have the willpower to do what needed to be done (diet, exercise, sleep).  So, I put him on weight-watchers -- required he plan his menu each day and give me a written report of exactly everything he'd eaten
and the point total.  He did this for 3 months and lost 25 pounds (so much easier for men...)  

Now, I no longer have him on weight-watchers, but I do watch his weight.  Each week I weigh him and if he's more
than 5 pounds above his ideal weight, the rule is he'll go back on weight-watchers.  So far, he's kept it off.

Sleep:  I also decided he needed 7.5 hours of sleep each night.  He had been really bad about staying up watching TV (sports and history channel mostly).  It was making him sleepy, irritable and I think even sick sometimes.  It may affect his performance at work.  So, I just decided to fix this issue as well while dealing with the eating and exercise issues.   Now, Alex is required to be in bed every night by 10:00.  That means he has to start getting ready for bed at around 9:45.  And, he also has to wake up right at 5:30 so that he can work out, get ready for work and bring me a cup of coffee when I wake up at 6:45.  There are exceptions to this schedule of course, but he has to let me know when the schedule needs to change.  He doesn't just go to bed late or get up late (or earlier for that matter) without me knowing about it and approving it ahead of time.
 
Exercise:  [I also put him on an exercise routine but I'll talk more about that another time since it's not relevant to what happened last night.]

OK, now all of this is so natural it runs along without either of us even noticing anymore.  Alex is in bed each night at 10:00 and that's how it is.  We'd only notice if he wasn't.But, once in a while I like (and he does too) to demonstrate my power in this area.  Just to remind him how much in control I am.  

So, for instance, if he puts too much of something on his plate, I'll make him put some of it back or whatever.  Or, if he mentions he's doing something in the evening I might remind him of his bed time. Usually, I'll do this sort of thing privately just between us.  It's a bit dangerous to flout my power in front of others as it risks humiliating my husband.  Of course, that danger also makes it sort of fun/intoxicating to both of us as well.
 
So, yesterday evening a girlfriend was visiting.  We were chatting away, drinking wine, and I suppose I got a bit tipsy.  I know I was feeling pretty good.  It was about 9:30 when I saw Alex in the kitchen getting a brownie.  He'd already had one earlier for dessert and I was feeling like sort of showing off in front of my friend.  So, I barked
rather sternly  "Alex you know you can't have that brownie."   Now, if he was really smart, he would have avoided the issue by saying he was getting it for one of the kids or making his lunch for tomorrow or 100 different things he could have come up with.  

But, he didn't.  Instead he said "why not?" So, now what was I supposed to say?  I had to remind him that he has a strict diet and that also it is nearly his bed time.  He got a bit red and sheepishly said, "well, I guess you have a point."  He then quickly put the brownie away and disappeared (presumably to go to bed).
 
My girlfriend was sort of surprised by what she'd witnessed.  I just told her that I'd put Alex on a strict diet and that's how he'd lost so much weight.  She said, "wow, I wish my hubby would do that."  Luckily she didn't inquire about the bed time thing or anything else as, given my intoxication I might have told her much, much more about
how my relationship with Alex works.  Again, for now at least, I try to keep that (mostly) between Alex and I.
 
Anyway, it was a fun little incident and reminded me that needed to blog about how I control my husband's diet, sleep and workout schedules.  Again, it's all good.  He feels better and gets a kick out my control of him.  And, it works for me too.