I recently fell off the fitness wagon – hard. I honestly couldn’t tell you what the catalyst was for my downfall from fairly healthy human into full-blown sloth, but I just couldn’t talk myself into working out or caring much about what went into my body anymore. Instead of taking cycling classes several mornings a week and enjoying the occasional dance class, I started thinking of the walk between the fridge and my couch as an acceptable form of cardio and let buckets of coffee replace exercise as my morning jolt.
Sure, this behavior was a blast for a week or two, but before I knew it I was six weeks deep into the sedentary blob lifestyle and feeling . . . not great. It was time to face the facts: I was in a rut. Also, my pants didn’t fit.
Inspired by my coworkers’ seriously impressive wellness experiments, I decided that undertaking one (small) healthy experiment of my own probably wouldn’t kill me, and it might even be the nudge I needed to get my general health game back on track. So in the name of zipping up my jeans and giving my couch a night off sometime in the near future, I volunteered myself for a low-key wellness project that seemed like it could get me into a healthier frame of mind again: quitting caffeine cold turkey for a week.
I should probably apologize now to anyone who interacted with me during those first two dark, caffeine-free days (withdrawal headaches are not a joke, people), but by day three, I started to notice some differences in my mindset and body that made it worthwhile. So will I be cutting out caffeine forever? Absolutely not. Did I have a small cup of coffee this morning to celebrate finishing this little project? You bet. But moving forward, I’ll think of caffeine as a treat instead of a necessary component for survival in my food pyramid. And I’ll keep in mind that sometimes all you need to snap out of a rut is a tiny reminder that you’re capable of getting yourself back on the fitness wagon every time you fall off.
Below, I’ve spelled out four benefits I noticed from my caffeine-free week, from a change in my diet to a shift in my mental state. Dare you to try it next!
1. Breakfast Made a Comeback
I always thought of myself as someone who ate breakfast religiously. That’s because prior to my workout…
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