3 things I discovered giving up coffee for 30 days...

I love the taste of coffee. It’s not the caffeine that I desire; it’s the taste of a cup of coffee made well. My preference? At home I use Kimera Koffee and if out and about, it’s Starbucks. You can keep your frothy latte and mocha this and that. I’ll have dark roast, thank you very much. Oh, and hold the cream and sugar - a great cup of coffee doesn’t need it. My challenge? For the month of January I did not drink coffee. 3 reasons I didn’t drink coffee. #1. Mindset - To live mindfully and consciously. It’s always good to re-examine things in your life; routines, rituals, nutrition, exercise, and media consumption (may be important now more than ever). You have to know what you are trying to do today and every day. Otherwise you are just reacting and you will never end up where you want to be. Setting challenges reminds me of the GreenNote Fitness (GNF) newsletter, “If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you…”, “...Once you make a decision and commit to it, you will find yourself on a whole new journey. There is more to life than you are living right now. You are capable of much, much more. What decisions do you need to make right now? Commit and move forward. You don’t have to do it alone. There are plenty of like-minded souls yearning to do more, to become more. Seek them out. You will be so glad you did."

What I discovered: Once you begin doing challenges of any sort, it’s much easier to do another and another. For this reason I set up small challenges to do throughout the year. You can take a month at a time or if that seems like too much, do a week at a time. You will discover, “…you are capable of much, much more.” #2. Loose weight - After traveling for a little bit over the holidays and eating and drinking more than I normally do, it was time to re-examine what I was consuming. I noticed that I was drinking much coffee each day. What I discovered: By not consuming coffee I was more focused on water consumption. As we learned from the GNF newsletter, “Simple step #1 to burn fat…”, water consumption is key to burning fat. If I am drinking coffee throughout the morning, that takes away time (and capacity) to drink water for proper hydration. #3. Feel great - As I mentioned, during my travels I consumed much coffee and other foods/drinks so wasn’t feeling the greatest. I wanted to change how I felt so I could get things done and build momentum into the new year.

What I discovered: This no-coffee for a month was like hitting a reset button. I felt more energetic, didn’t experience bloating, digestion improved, and I lost weight. Nice! So it got me thinking; what is it about coffee that could potentially make you not feel at your best or keep you slightly out of balance? Enter Dr. Mark Hyman. He has written an article, “10 Reasons to Quit Your Coffee”. Here are a few key points from his article:

1. The caffeine in coffee increases catecholamines, your stress hormones. The stress response elicits cortisol and increases insulin. Insulin increases inflammation, and this makes you feel lousy.

2. Habituation to caffeine decreases insulin sensitivity, making it difficult for your cells to respond appropriately to blood sugar. High blood sugar levels lead to arterial deterioration and increased risk of mortality related to cardiovascular disease.

3. The acidity of coffee is associated with digestive discomfort, indigestion, heart burn, GERD and dysbiosis (imbalances in your gut flora).

4. Elevated urinary excretion of important minerals such as calcium, magnesium and potassium have been noted in coffee drinkers. An imbalance in your electrolyte status can lead to serious systemic complications.

No wonder I wasn’t feeling great... In summary By setting a small challenge of not consuming coffee for a month, I discovered how I felt without it. That is a key take-away from changing your consumption of food/drink; you learn what it is like without it. I felt great and had a really good outcome from it. That little experiment led me to do some research and from those learnings from both the challenge and the research has helped me to really re-think coffee consumption in general. I will continue to enjoy a great cup of coffee but it will be on occasion. On occasion? It better be a really good cup of coffee... To your journey, Lisa Schaffer GreenNote Fitness P.S. Check out my Facebook page for inspiration. P.P.S. Discover GreenNote Fitness recommendations for recovery, supplements, protein bars & powders, nutrition, equipment, books and more at the GreenNoteFitness e-Store **Do you have a friend that would benefit from this information? Please forward it to them!**