Thursday, May 20, 2010

Day #2


Again, this morning I slept in. I'm still trying to catch up from our Vegas trip. I woke up at 9:15 am to a crazy,weird dream. I got up and let the dogs out, fed, and gave them water and then decided to feed myself. MMMmm, a cup of dark coffee with a hint of whipped cream on top sounded delicious! Oh wait....no caffeine, no sugar, and no dairy! There goes that idea :o) Caffeine doesn't only mean coffee...I can't have green tea, dark chocolate, or coffee-flavored foods either. This could get challenging!

For now, I'll focus on why I should't take in caffeine. If you are addicted to caffeine, within one day of not having it withdrawal symptoms can set in: irritability, drowsiness, fatigue, headache, and anxiety but it should only last for 2-9 days for most and doesn't take place at all for some. How does caffeine wreak such havoc on our bodies? Caffeine is a central-nervous-system stimulant that affects our perception, our mood, and our behavior. It raises the levels of the nerurotransmitter dopamine in the brain, which temporarily increases feelings of pleasure. However, like any other stimulant, a dependency can build up quickly and it can take more and more ceffeine to get these same feelings. In addition to increasing dopamine, your central nervous system mistakes caffeine for adenosine, a naturally occuring chemical in your body that's linked to calming and sleep. Caffeine binds itself to adenosine receptors in the brain, blocking their effects. This leads to a short-term feeling of alertness and levels of anxiety and restlessness can  also increase but the need for sleep or rest still remains. Caffeine further exhausts the body by stimulating our adrenal glands to produce adrenaline (remember the "fight-or-flight response?"). During this response, your body also produces higher levels of the stress homone, cortisol. In normal levels, cortisol helps with glucose metablism, regulating blood pressure, lowering inflammation, and raising immunity. However, caffeine can keep cortisol levels artifically high and can lead to lowered thyroid function, cognitive problems, decreased bone density (mine is slightly low) and muscle tissue, higher blood pressure, lowered immunity, and an overall inflammatory reaction in the body. Sounds good enough reason to me. For now I'll stick to herbal teas and decaf if I'm feeling a coffee craving coming on. I LOVE the taste and smell of coffee more than it's effects anyways :o)

BREAKFAST: 9:45 am
  • 1/2 c. old fasioned oats + 1 c. H2O ~150 cal
  • 1/2 banana ~50 cal
  • 3 strawberries ~
  • Cinnamon
  • 12 oz of decaf white raspberry tea
EXERCISE: 11:45 --> 5.25 mile bike ride with Lola which 4.5 miles into it she decided to speed up and then stop right in the middle of the trail and take a poo.....why?!?!? We walk around a park area half way through and she sniffs, pees, sniffs, pees, and sniffs some more but has to wait to poo until she's running full speed down a paved trail!!



LUNCH: 1:10 PM
  • 1/4 c Quinoa simmered in 1/2 c H2O (~180 cal)
  • 1 tsp Earth Balance vegan butter (~25 cal)
  • 2 stalks of asparagus, sliced
  • 1/4 yellow pepper, chopped
  • 1/5 large red onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 1/2 portabello mushroom, chopped (marinated in fresh garlic and balsamic vinegar overnight)
  • 1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) (~40 cal)
SNACK: 2:00
  • Small Pink Lady apple
SNACK: 3:00
  • 1 c watermelon cubes
4:00 - Sitting down to figure out a few menu ideas for the next few days and having a cup (12 oz) of decaf white tea.

I'm going to make a batch of Breakfast cookies to alternate with smoothies and oats for breakfast.  For dinners I'm thinking homemade  blackbean veggie burgers and sweet potato fries, Edamame soba salad with miso vinaigrette and stir-fry veggies (Dane chicken stir fry with spring rolls), and Basmati and black-eyed pea pilaf with herb roasted veggies (throw steak and potatoes on grill for Daner). Getting some hummus, gluten free crackers, and nuts for snacks to go with my usual fruit/veggie snacks :o)

Just went and bought $150 worth of wholesome goodness!! Now going to have a snack.

SNACK-6:45
  • 16 Almond Nut Thin nut & rice crackers (~130 cal)
  • 2 T dairy free cheese dip (tastes like yummy nacho cheese made locally from oats :) SO good and only ~50 cal/2 T)
DINNER-7:30 - 1 c. of Sweet & Tart Wild Rice Salad
  • Wild rice
  • Roasted yam, cubed
  • Red onion, minced
  • Apple, chopped
  • Dried cranberries
  • Tossed with EVOO, apple cider vinegar, and Agave nectar 
EXERCISE: 9-9:30 --> 30 minute jog with Bea Dog
32 oz H2O

1 (gluten free fruit juice sweetened) Raspberry Fig bar
12 oz Rainforest Red Tea (Acai & tropical fruit )decaf tea

To bed: ~12:30

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