So here it is. Yes I drink coffee. I sometimes have more than one per day, and I truly have been trying to give it up for the past few years.
Why?
Because it’s not good for me. Because I feel the need to put sugar and cream in it, which makes it even worse. Because I am a health coach for pete’s sake!
Well, here’s the thing I’ve come to realize. What if I decide, in my search for balance, I decide to go with the flow and enjoy life? What does that mean. Well to me, it means eating healthy, taking care of myself with exercise, energy work and meditation. What I must do, I’ve decided is find balance. Enjoy my ONE coffee in the morning and the rest of the day drink water or loose leaf tea and chaga. If you don’t know, chaga is a mushroom that is harvested for it’s health benefits.
It’s hard to admit this, because I am a health coach after all. Well, I am also human. I also struggle to live my life in the healthiest way possible. I am always learning, growing, changing and adapting. My struggles with coffee are not struggles at all, rather it is my need to learn, tap into my body and intuition and acknowledge and accept something and when ready, change it. That is the key; when I’m ready!
So, now I must acknowledge to myself that I have not been ready to change or willing for that matter.
Now, let me make another confession. I once smoked cigarettes. Quite heavily in fact.
I would light a cigarette before I even got out of bed in the morning. Gross I know! And when I think about it, I still can’t believe I actually did that. It’s now been 22 years since I quit, but it took some time. I had been smoking since I was 15 or 16 and I admit that I loved it. Not sure why, but I did. When I met my husband and we got married, he hated that I smoked at home. He would have a cigarette when we went out to the bar or to friends parties sometimes, but he didn’t smoke the way I did – which fascinated me. It was a bitter fight between us at times. He wanted me to quit. I tried many times, and then I would start again. I would hide them in my car for a while until he found out I was smoking again, and it was a cycle that we would go through. After we had been married a few years we decided to go on vacation, to Jamaica with another couple. Don’t ask me why, because I still don’t know, but I decided I wasn’t going to bring any cigarettes with me. I think Paul rolled his eyes at me when I said that. After all we were going to be around other smokers, so I’m sure he was more than a little doubtful. But I did it! I quit smoking, I don’t want to say just like that, because truthfully it took years of quitting and starting and quitting again. But, this time it held. I’ve not picked up a cigarette in 22 years.
So, why? Why was I able to quit like that? I believe it had to do with the change of scenery for a time, with the fact that I was away from my routine and in a ‘good’ place. I was busy having fun and enjoying myself, that I didn’t feel the need to pick up that bad habit, even though I was around other smokers. I’m very proud of myself for that, for giving it up and staying off of it.
It has also taught me something important. I will quit anything I want to, when I’m ready.
So, I’m not completely ready to give up my coffee. I think I have it in my head that the world believes I need to quit completely and I must be perfect, and so I beat myself up for drinking one or two coffees a day and keep saying; ‘I know I must quit.’
Today I will enjoy my coffee, but I will also enjoy my many glasses of cold water, my greens, my complete proteins, my oatmeal every morning. I love avocado and eggs and fresh veggies….oh, those fresh veggies are soooo good. I also love and enjoy meditation, reiki and energy work, playing with my puppy and helping others find their power and learn to listen to their intuition, and so that is what I will focus on, and when the day comes that I am ready to quit drinking coffee completely, then I will. For now I will enjoy my morning routine. ❤
Update!
It has been a just over a month since I wrote the above post and I have quit drinking coffee. I had started a cleanse a few weeks ago, and so coffee was on my list of things to stay away from for 5 days. I don’t do well with long cleanses. Even short ones I need to be careful, as we all do. I ate very well, and did stay off coffee for the entire time. I will say, that in the beginning I felt like absolute hell. I started to have panic attacks again. I had trouble sleeping, unbearable fatigue and generally felt very unwell. I know I was detoxing, but what I hadn’t given thought to when I planned this detox, was that I was starting this around the same time of my menstrual cycle. Ugh! Those two did not go well together at all. However, I made it through. I felt much better as the days went on and I continued to stay off the coffee as well as incorporate juices and smoothies into my daily routine. I haven’t lost any weight, but that wasn’t the point for me. I wanted to cleanse my body of the build up of toxins that had accumulated, and to see how my body responds to different foods. I now approach my health and wellness as a proactive experiment.
It has been just over a month and I continue to drink warm water with apple cider vinegar and honey in the morning as well as juices and smoothies during the day, along with a pretty (although not always) healthy diet. I do allow myself to be bad sometimes. I enjoy a cup of coffee on the weekend with Paul, I’m sticking with decaf these days, and a glass of wine sometimes in the evenings as I sit in my porch swing in the early evening. I enjoy some cake on birthdays and burgers at my dad’s summer barbecues.
During this whole process, my whole life really, I am learning to understand my body and my mind a little better. I believe that my hormones are changing and I want to do what I can to work with my body and not against it. I don’t like the anxiety, panic and lethargy that I have felt off and on for the past few years, and so I must do what I can to change it. I have noticed that I have a layer of fat around my midsection that doesn’t want to go away regardless of my diet, exercise and stress level. I sometimes have a very difficult time waking up in the morning, and I do believe that this all has to do with my changing hormone levels, low iron and stress. So, what can I do about this? I can rest. I can go with the flow. I can take my multi vitamins and supplements and do my exercise. I can meditate and lean on friends when I need support and encouragement. I can do energy work also, which I believe has helped me to heal in so many ways, body, mind and soul.
My healing is completely in my hands. The change that I seek starts with me and when I am ready to make the changes necessary I will. And so will you! Every situation we find ourselves in carries a lesson. One that is essential to our journey and fulfilling our purpose. I believe that part of my purpose is sharing my journey honestly with others, so that you will know you’re not alone. I believed for most of my life that I was supposed to stay silent. That sharing my pain and challenges was something that was frowned on because it’s a ‘private’ matter. How many times have you heard or thought that? Certainly, there are things I don’t care to share with the world, but there are other things that I think are important to share. Let me know your thoughts? Do you share yourself with others or do you prefer to stay silent? If so why?
If you would like help changing your diet, exercise routine or mindset by all means message me and we’ll work together to help you find your balance and the lessons in your journey.
Much Love,
Jennifer
Embrace Change Health Coaching 