Last week, I wrote about my caffeine withdrawal and how I was frequently taking two-hour long afternoon naps. Yeah, I was a little lucky there. I don't know what I would have done, if I was working a 9-5 job. Probably would have pulled a George Costanza with a little under-the-desk snooze. Although I never did end up with a headache, I do believe that my colleagues may have sensed the teensiest bit of irritability from me. (Sorry about that, guys.)
I subsisted on fruits, vegetables, nuts, and oils. That was it. I had a consistent low level of hunger which helped me realize that normally, I may snack when I am stressed or bored, not because I'm actually hungry. I lost four pounds in one week.
My lack of refined sugar didn't make me crazy. If I felt a sugar craving come on, I reached for fruit (fresh or dried) and that got me through. I drank a ridiculous amount of tea, in hopes of it curbing both my coffee addiction and my sweet tooth. I cannot say that this strategy really worked but I'm happy to report that I never did break down and hit the coffee shop or ingest any goodies even though my office is a non-stop pipeline of cookies, muffins, and chocolate.
Week Two: Like a kid on Christmas Eve, I turned giddy when reading the recipes for the second week. In addition to all of the fruits and vegetables, the proteins were being stepped up. Beans? Lentils? Salmon? Something other than nuts and seeds? Woot, woot! However, when I sat down to eat a bowl of lentil soup, I could barely finish it. The stomach does indeed shrink and I must admit that it has been feeling good to be so easily satiated.
I went to bars three times this week to meet up with friends and kept my promise not to drink any alcohol, no matter what delicious sounding Hot Toddy-esque item was on the menu. Amazing how much money one saves when sipping fizzy soda water all night instead.
Naps: I don't think I've taken one all week. This is not say I haven't been tired. I've just been incredibly busy. Work, class, social events, and have I mentioned the enormous amount of time I've spent reading recipes, writing grocery lists, shopping, chopping & prepping, cooking, and packing up all of my little containers for work? It's definitely been worth it but one must put aside a significant amount of time to get the job done. Luckily, I did plan for this and made the time.
Also not so fun? Making dinner plans with friends. "Well, what can you eat, Rachael?" is a phrase that has made me feel a bit like a dolt. However, I am reminded of all of my friends with serious food allergies and find myself feeling sympathetic for them all over again.
I'm a little bummed that I'm still feeling tired but this could be attributed to various things, not just the lack of coffee. I go to work early, I had a lot on my calendar this week, and I'm not really exercising. Yeah, that's another bummer. One can't really maintain a fairly strenuous exercise routine when lowering one's daily calorie intake like this. Who knew that I would miss the gym so much? But yoga is still in the picture and this girl sure does love her yoga.
So tonight will be another test. I am soon off to an event which will not only be serving delicious cocktails but is also being catered by a wonderful crew in town. Can I refrain from nibbling on delicious little hor's d'oeuvres? I will make sure to have my broiled salmon with avocado/orange salsa for dinner before I head out. Then tomorrow, I will shop and prepare for my final week.
Although I'd like to think I could stick to some form of this diet for the long-term, I've already gotten "pizza" written on my calendar for February 6th. Pizza and coffee. And perhaps some sort of chocolate cake. Eek, back to the salmon and my tea...
Here's to health! (Did you hear the clink of my mug?)
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