MSP Week 1 - "Our dependence on foriegn . . . "

Can you finish that sentence?  In this season of presidential elections, I felt that was appropriate.

I'm starting to think my regular enjoyment (it often feels like dependence) of coffee and alcohol is a crutch.  I need and want the coffee to get me going in the morning (and afternoon).  I want the wine in the evening to calm me down.  There has to be a better way!  Can you imagine waking up refreshed in the morning?  It's far from my reality right now.

Do you like that?  "MSP" stands for Mission SlimPossible.  Have I been married to the military for too long?  I think so!

Lifestyle/Diet Challenge #1: Avoid Alcohol and Caffeine (I did this as one of my first challenges a couple years ago)

This week I plan is to lay off two of my favorite vices: coffee and alcohol.  It's become way too easy to to have that 2nd (or 3rd) glass of wine at night.  The next day, I'm in a fog.  I usually reach for a couple cups of coffee throughout the day to fight my fatigue and lethargy.  Then comes 5 o’clock PM and I need (ok, I want) a glass of wine again to relax.  By the end of the cycle, I'm dehydrated, short on patience (not good with 3 little boys ages 4 and under), craving a cheese burger, and void of satisfying sleep.  Sound familiar?

Again, the goal is not to eliminate these things from my life.  What fun would that be?  I just want to cut down on the consumption . . . make it the exception not the rule.  To do that though, I feel the need to eliminate my 2 favorite beverages for the next 7 days.

My guess is that I’ll get a couple headaches (no caffeine does this), some staisfying sleep, save $$$ from the lack of liquid purchases, and, overall, I’ll just feel better.  Stay tuned!

SIDE NOTE: Of course, I'll be missing tonight's groovy group education class at the gym thanks to a lovely stomach virus that took down my oldest son, James, last night. (see photo)  With that said, I'll update this blog later with my haunting numbers.  Hahahaha.  I can't believe I'm setting myself up for this.

The program has encouraged me to start tracking my eating through an app called "My Fitness Pal."  It's amazing!  So well done.  I recommend it to anyone.  I think they have just about every food and brand in their database.  It makes the task of tracking what you put in your mouth much less intimidating (says the Weight Watchers 6+ times dropout).

I started tracking last week after 5 days, I can already see trends.  Bottom line . . . I'm an emotional eater and the weekends are a free-for-all.  Emotional eating has a lot to do with how I'm "feeling" (what's going on in my personal life) but it also reflects what I've consumed (food and drink) that day or, let's be honest, the night before (can anyone say cheers?  I love a big glass of wine).  My nutritional intake is also reflective of my quality of sleep.  Hmmmm . . . something to be more aware of.  This is all from the girl who got very little sleep last night and is craving pizza and brownies.   Yikes!