Ok… I know. They don’t really go hand in hand but I promise you, I have a point.
Among many things I have noticed about this journey, one of the most surprising is how much less coffee I’m drinking. I’m mean, I didn’t drink a TON before but I drank enough that when I got up in the morning to go to work, my GOAL was to get to the coffee. Once I could take that first sip and it hit my soul, I was zen. I was fine. I was calm. I could do my job. I could function for the day. I would usually drink 2 cups of coffee in the morning and, on rare occasions, I’d have an afternoon cup around 2:30 because I knew the 3 pm sleepy time was coming. Once I joined 13 Stripes I started using sugar-free creamer. (Side note, yes I know it’s not ACTUALLY sugar free….) I stopped using Splenda in my coffee. I tried organic. (Some of it wasn’t half bad, ya’ll.) But, I was still downing those two cups.
Story switch: This morning when I was getting ready for work I was looking at myself in the mirror. I was noticing how tan my skin was from being out in the sun (Yes, Moms. I used sunscreen but I am Jewish and we just get tan quickly. What’s a girl to do?) I also noticed how much better my face looked since I stopped using make up. I stopped to give my face a break from the harshness of what I was putting on my face. I’m getting used to the look. Besides, it cut my getting ready in the morning time by more than half! I noticed how small I looked in comparison to the body I had spent many years staring at and wishing it was smaller. I also marveled in how confident I looked. I didn’t LOOK tired. I didn’t LOOK worn out. I just looked ready to face the day. When we feel good about ourselves.. whether it’s an inside thing or an outside thing…. we just have this confidence that exudes from our pores. We don’t always notice it for ourselves because the voices in our heads that we battle on a daily basis tell us that we’re not THAT confident. There is, however, that small part inside each of us that looks in the mirror and says “I AM cute.” “I DO look good.” “I can’t believe my biceps are that big!”
Back to original story: So, as I kissed my wife goodbye I noticed how I walked… ok.. I sauntered…. to the kitchen to prep my lunch for the day. I bounced down the steps and out the door with a little flourish and walked down the driveway and across the street to my parked car. I did that with a confidence I forgot I had. I felt awake. I felt alive. I felt GOOD. As I turned my car on I realized that not once this morning did I say “If I could just get to the coffee, no one will get hurt.” Which made me think… the entire 10 minute drive to my office… but maybe there is a direct correlation between where you get endorphins from and how you feel about where you get them from.
Yeah. I just confused myself. Ok. I’ll try to explain.
Coffee makes A LOT of people happy. It’s a bajillion kajillion dollar a year business. What do you think would happen if one day EVERYONE woke up with the confidence and endorphins and whatever else good stuff goes on in the body and the amount of coffee people drank shrunk by… say.. half? What if, by some crazy miracle, someone much smarter than me and has a lot of influence on a lot of people would say “Today I did a fitness workout and I feel so fabulous I think I’ll only drink 1 cup of coffee instead of 2!”
If you’re one of those people, like I used to be, who woke up JUST to get to the coffee and function I implore to come talk to me. If working out and getting healthier can give me the same results as a cup of coffee can, I’ll take the workout. If my confidence can come from running 1000 meters in 9 minutes instead of drinking 2 cups of coffee in an hour, I’ll take it.
You should try it, too. This road to healthy is seriously covered in bumps and bruises and hard work and tears but I wouldn’t want to be on any other road. Come join me! I could always use a road trip buddy!
See you at the Box!
#fromcouchtofitness #mystandardsmyway #coffeeloversunite #confidence #youreworthit