Wednesday, April 09, 2014

Energy...and a few more resources

Energy...it's a beautiful thing! Now granted I'm on spring break this week so I've afforded myself quite a bit more downtime than usual.  I am aware that the way I feel this week may not paint the whole picture of my working-life reality.  Still though...for a very long time now, I have been able to almost guarantee a 2:00 p.m. energy crash to swoop in and put a big damper on my day. 

Not only have I been without coffee since Monday, but I actually have more energy than I've had in a while. This week, when I could have taken naps if I felt the need, 2:00 p.m. has come and gone with very little notice on my part. I didn't think that much of it until today. I got a little sleepy at around 4:30 and was surprised to see that it was already 4:30. And "a little sleepy" is a very different feeling from my afore mentioned 2:00 p.m. energy crashes. The jury is still out for me as to whether this is related to juicing or not, but I think this change is very notable and very important. Also, back to the coffee for a minute, I have also still NOT experienced a caffeine craving headache, which I would have fully expected by now. I have had some small amounts of caffeine here and there, a cup of tea last night and the little bit in the chocolate I ate after lunch yesterday, but considering what I would've had by this time last week, I would have thought my body would be in full withdrawal mode by now. 

I was also pleasantly surprised this morning when I discovered I've lost 4 pounds. I didn't even have a perfect day yesterday with food choices (think chocolate) so I wouldn't have expected such a dramatic loss but I guess a 100% increase in vegetable intake and water will do that for you.  I'm still not ready to make the switch to drinking only juice for ANY number of days, but I have been successful with drinking only juice for breakfast and eating less along with some juice for lunch and dinner. For now that will be my plan and I will reevaluate at the end of this week. My main goals with this plan are sustainability and better health. Sub-goals include weight loss, better energy, and skin improvement. 

To that end, I have found a couple useful apps that I want to share: 

1. My Fitness Pal - calorie counter, food diary, etc. it's great! 

2. Juicing - it's free and offers recipes by category, as well as an option to sign up fro recipes & tips via email

3. My Diet Coach - Also free and looks cute, although I did just download it today. 

4. Day 1 - An app for private journaling on your phone. Helps me keep track of the juices I've tried and feelings about them. 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

WTG on the weight loss, Mel. Some time back, I also gave up caffeine (no coffee, tea or diet cola)and had no problem with headaches/withdrawal. I've since added 1 cup of coffee in the morning and an occasional cup of tea in the afternoon. I'm still off of the diet colas and find that I no longer have achy hands (arthritis) which I previously had problems with. I'm convinced it was the diet Dr. Pepper causing my hands to ache! I look forward to following your journey...who knows...I may even find some inspiration! :)