A group of overweight hedgehogs are to be given a helping hand in losing their winter weight thanks to a special ‘fat club’.

The Scottish SPCA has put 10 hedgehogs in its care on strict calorie-controlled diets to help them shed fat they put on during the recent cold snap.

The hedgehogs started piling on the pounds because they spent longer than usual in the care of the Wildlife Rescue Centre in Fife.

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The fellow who fitted me with my CPAP machine was himself a sleep apnea sufferer. He said once he had started treating his sleep apnea, he only needed five hours sleep a night.

Last night I didn’t get to bed until midnight and yet this morning I woke up at 5:30 am; I was fully awake and very clear-headed. I thought about getting up but decided it was too early and went back to bed with the goal of sleeping until 7 am as planned.

Instead, I ended up hitting snooze a lot and not getting up until after 9 am. I was groggy and late for work.

There is a consistent stream of articles in mainstream media about the need for sleep and how many hours minimum the average person needs. Before I began treating my apnea, I did nothing but sleep without getting actual rest. Lately I’ve tried to consistently aim for 7-8 hours sleep a night but perhaps I am one of those people who doesn’t need that much. Maybe I need less than six hours a night.

I’m going to try it again tonight; it might help me get my gym schedule back to mornings, something I haven’t done so far this year – I’ve been going after work and fighting the crowds.

Monday morning is my weekly weigh-in; I try to stick to the same time every week on an empty stomach. The verdict: I’ve lost 4lbs in the month of January.

Just over a week ago, I was feeling rather frustrated, in particular because I felt tired and run down and my weight wasn’t dropping. However, things feel as though they are looking up.

I’m still looking for a good SAD lamp solution and price, but in the meantime, I’m taking more vitamin D. I hit my gym targets last week and this month I hope to expand my sessions from a half-hour to an hour.

This is what else I’ve been doing:

1. Getting enough protein. I only just discovered I wasn’t getting enough protein even if I sat on my butt all week, let alone working out four-five days a week.  Here’s a great protein calculator.

2. Getting enough protein after my workout so my muscles can rebuild. Again, I thought I was doing enough, but I wasn’t. I started taking Proteins+.

3. Taking fish oils with every meal. I alternate between salmon oil and Omega 3-6-9 to my body doesn’t develop a tolerance. This something my trainer recommended. I take six total a day.

4. Tracking my food intake and planning my week of meals. I started tracking my protein just this past week as well as calories.

5. Getting enough sleep.

6. Watching the sodium intake. I gained 5lbs over night after eating the Tim Hortons chili for lunch one day! Talk about water retention.

7. I weigh myself same time every week.

8. Stopped eating after 8 pm and very little carbs at dinner / evening.

I’m at the point where all of this is close to becoming habit. I think hitting three-week mark really helped. I still have one cheat day a week but for the most part I am following the above without feeling deprived.