Doing without

Without what?

A lot of things. The last two weeks have been all about extreme control and conscious restraint. Yet, I still seem to be in a good mood!

Matt has been having some stomach issues and thought it might be a good idea to try giving up alcohol and coffee for a month. Figuring that I would probably also benefit from such restraint, I decided to go along for the ride.

It’s been a little over two weeks so far and here are the results:

Alcohol: I mean yeah, I get jealous when James updates his Facebook status with what type of beer he’s relaxing with or JP mentions having noodles and beer. I passed by the Russian River Brewing Co the other day and thought “oh…that sounds GOOOOD.” But overall, I think it’s good to give the ol’ liver a break.

We went to a mixer last week for an organization called GoLocal (all about promoting the support of local business) and the theme last night was “Drink Local” – supporting local beverage makers (and while Sonoma County IS wine and beer country, they also were talking about some local tea/coffee importers, etc.).

So we go to pour ourselves a glass of water and what is sitting next to the bottles of water?

A BIG jug of Russian River’s Pliny the Elder. I let out a little whimper as I spied it. Taking a deep breath, I said confidently to Matt “I’m fine. It’s fine. Just give me the water.”

Phew.

But after that, I really WAS fine. The evening went on without another thought of the matter. Which shows me that a) I’m not that addicted to beer and wine (that’s good!) and b) It’s not as hard as I thought it would be.

Coffee, on the other hand, has been a completely different story. MY GOD am I craving my fresh French-pressed brew!! We’ve been drinking black tea in the mornings instead but it just isn’t the same. And since I’m not the one with the stomach issues, I think lasting through two weeks of experimentation has been enough for me.

In all actuality, I haven’t really completely given it up. The other morning Matt felt bad for me and made me a pot. The day before that I had a breakdown and went to Peet’s on my way to FedEx (they’re next door to each other, how convenient) and got an Americano. At the GoLocal mixer you’d better believe I was ‘sampling’ (if that’s what you could call getting a refill three times) the decaf blend.

If that’s what ‘giving up’ coffee has done to me, then I think I was better off with my one-cup-each-morning habit!

Besides restraining from coffee and alcohol, I’ve been counting calories. Fitness Journal has a really cool food diary that can either be really detailed or really simple. The detailed version is cool in that a lot of foods are already in there from other members (i.e. Clif Z-Bars). I’m not so much wanting to ‘diet’ as more wanting to understand exactly where the calories come from and what my daily percentages of carbs, fat and protein are. Further, I want to make sure I’m doing enough to get the majority of my carbs from veggies and fruits rather than starches. I’ve actually really enjoyed doing this and it’s helping me to make more conscious choices during the day, especially if I can see that I’m lacking on the protein or the carb/fat/protein ratio is a little out of balance – I can adjust meals accordingly.

Overall, training’s been good. Still not much running to speak of. Fine by me! I got in a great swim last Saturday on my own and decided that I can’t be a wimp about it anymore. If I can’t make a Tues/Thurs eve master’s workout, I just have to suck it up and go early those mornings on my own. I CAN push myself and I CAN be disciplined. I don’t necessarily enjoy it as much, but I need to do it and I’m always glad when I did.  I decided that I definitely want to get some open water swims in this summer and when Shan moves up here I want to round her and some other folks up and go BAY swimming! I haven’t swam in the Bay in quite awhile but it’s really an awesome experience (cold, but awesome).

Finally, I should announce that I have officially joined the Early Bird Women’s Racing Team and may be racing as early as April 26 at the Wente Crit Race! YEAH!