Addiction free and the living is
easy... Well okay not easy, but my energy levels have smoothed out
considerably. I'll admit that it really does feel good to be finished with this
coffee addiction. What I'm finding is that I no longer have the familiar ups
and downs as my blood caffeine levels spike and drop. Admittedly, I don't feel
quite as energetic in the morning - but I also don't feel as lethargic in the
afternoon. All in all, I think the trade-off is definitely worth it.
Surprisingly, I don't really miss it as much as I thought it would. My black
tea is serving me well, and I carry my thermos everywhere as a special security
blanket.
What's most exciting is that I'm
finally beginning to experience a little bit of the (health related) fun that
Laura is always talking about on this blog. It's nice to finally be seeing some
results in the attitude department.
And speaking of results - it's also
nice that I’ve finally reached a level of health where I can really see changes
to my health occur as I do different things (some positive and some not). Case
in point, two weeks ago the supermarket had this awesome sale on Breyers ice
cream. It was buy two get three free. I just happened to be in the ice
cream aisle, and when I saw the sale tag I thought I had gone to middle-aged
guy heaven. I couldn't believe it. Not wanting to be embarrassed by showing up
at the register with five things of ice cream if I had misunderstood the sale
tag, I went over to the customer service counter and verified that indeed what
I had just read was correct. The middle aged guy behind the counter gives me
this face-splitting grin and says, "I know, can you believe it? You better
get it quick before they change their mind." So that's exactly what I did.
Laura about flipped when I came home
with five half gallons of ice cream (at least they used to be half gallons before
they started making the packages smaller thinking that we wouldn't notice). And
boy let me tell you... we had an ice cream party. It was glorious! I had three
different flavors in four different combinations. For the first time in years I
had a hard time sleeping that evening. I woke up the next morning with a
full-on Ice Cream Hangover. I had a back ache, headache, horribly dry eyes, and
swollen hands. Then I did it all again the next day with the same results and a
case of acne as an added bonus. I guess I have finally reached a level of
health that my body really punished me for the amount of sugar and other junk I
took in.
It truly is amazing what our body will
tell us when we finally clean it out enough to be able to really listen.
I've been saying a similar thing for
years in relation to complementary or alternative therapies. I've said that
remedies such as herbs, medicinal teas, homeopathy, meditation, massage, and a
host of other therapies really can be effective; however, when we are following
the usual Standard American Diet (SAD) our bodies and minds are so polluted
that these other therapies don't have a chance to work. The Western medicine
pharmaceuticals that we are all accustomed to work because they are powerful
enough to break through all of the junk we have our systems. Unfortunately, it
brings to mind the image of a sledgehammer...when often all we need is a little
nudge one way or the other to help our body to heal itself.
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