Grounded Fitness

August 20th, 2008

Day Four: The Light is Pouring In

Day Four: Here Comes the Sun, for real

Well, I wasn’t sure it would ever happen, but I think today was my day.  My caffeine-free experiment seems to be a success!  This morning’s meditation was clearer and more relaxed than I can ever remember.

I was focused, no jangled nerves, no interrupted thoughts.  This morning I felt like I was really bringing my poses from a true place of stillness.  It was sublime.

I have to be honest, I didn’t think I could get here. It hasn’t been the standard 10 days or so that conventional wisdom says it takes for caffeine and sugar to leave your body.  But now I feel I’ve made it past the toughest part of the process.  And I can see the changes already taking root.

So tomorrow, it’s back to the real business of this blog, yoga, and pilates, too.  I’ll keep adding updates as I move past Day 10, just in case. But for now, lets leave it on a positive note.

Truly, Peace.

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By Susan Watiker -- 0 comments

August 19th, 2008

Laziness is the Mother of Invention

More like her unemployed brother in law that sleeps on her couch, but you get the idea.

Summer is here unless you live with me in Seattle, which means its getting hotter out, and now more than ever its important to stay hydrated, especially when exercising.  Water flushes out toxins from the body, which you produce by burning calories.  Also, if you do not have enough water in your system, your blood volume decreases which cuts bloof flow from your exercising muscles causeing you to fatigue faster.

 If you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated. To avoid this, you should sip as often as possible.

The people at www.athletesoasis.com have come up with a way to get your strength training  and your H20 in all at once.

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By Kelly Turner -- 0 comments

August 19th, 2008

Just For Chuckles

more cat pictures

Angelique from Breaking the Mirror sent me this.  Awww- Kittyface.

Grounded Fitness, fitness, health, yoga, pilates, strength training, personal trainer, cardiovascular, cardio, exercise, wellness, weight loss, blog, blogging, fitness blog, weightloss blog, Every Gym’s Nightmare,

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By Kelly Turner -- 2 comments

August 19th, 2008

What Olympians Really Eat

I found this interesting article about what Olympians eat to compete.

I heard that Micheal Phelps ate a lot, and was kind of shocked at the fat and cholesterol content.  I watched a spotlight segment suring the Olympics about his favorite places to eat, like a Chinese restaurant down the street form him apartment, that knows his favorite meal by heart.  All the food was fatty and high in cholesterol, but I guess with the amount if cardio he does day in and day out, even that bad in the food gets burned right up.

I wish I could be an Olympic swimmer. Just so I can eat whatever I want. And if I were Michael Phelps I would just stare at myself in the mirror all day. 

yoga, pilates, fitness, grounded fitness, health, Olympics, Micheal Phelps, food, calories, fat, swimming, China, Chinese, weight loss, blog, health blog

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By Kelly Turner -- 6 comments

August 19th, 2008

Day Three: Holding on Tight

Day Three: The Beginning of the End (I hope so)

In case you are wondering, there are several symptoms of caffeine withdrawal.  And they are all too real.  I thought some of this stuff was made up,  exaggerated.  I am here to report, sadly, not.

Here are the typical symptoms you can expect:

-Headaches, the most common symptom, which affects at least of 50 percent of people in caffeine withdrawal

-Fatigue and drowsiness

-”Unhappy” mood, depression, or irritability (bingo!)

-Difficulty concentrating (what’s that?)

-Flu-like symptoms including nausea, vomiting, muscle pain, and stiffness

Every single one of the above hit me today. Every bloody one.  I woke up with a headache, lasted all morning. Just woke up from my second unexpected nap (good thing I wasn’t driving).  So I better not sit still for long if I expect to get anything done.  Unhappy mood–well, just ask my friends, two of them are not returning my calls for a week.  Definitely irritable :-)

Difficulty concentrating–and this is why I am giving the stuff up!  And the muscle pain, yikes.  My legs and arms are so stiff I cannot express how uncomfortable I am.  Although, this last one might be caused by me clenching the arm rests on my office chair, not to mention screwing by backside firmly into the seat of it to prevent myself from running to Starbucks.  Could be.

Ok, so this experiment has its challenges.  On the plus side, I was excruciatingly focused during my morning practice and meditation.  So, once the residue is finally gone, I expect great things to come my way.  Now if only I can find an intern who doesn’t read my blog and know about my decaffeination.  Maybe I could just have one little taste. 

Like the headline says, holding on tight. 

Tomorrow is another day.

Um, Peace? 

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By Susan Watiker -- 2 comments

August 17th, 2008

Day Two: Decaffeinated and a little less bouyant

Day Two: When Does the Fun Begin?

Ok, here’s the truth: not loving the caffeine-free experience so far.  First of all, every Sunday morning for YEARS, I have gotten up, made coffee and read through two to three newspapers.

This morning, I began with my meditation time.  I have to say, until this really fun phase of caffeine withdrawal passes, it may be even more difficult to concentrate on my meditation. Today it seems as though it is more challenging.  But in the long run I am sure it will pay off.     

I could barely get through my Sunday morning reading, however.  Didn’t help that in the lovely and fleeting warmth of the summer months I could smell my neighbor’s coffee brewing.  Heavenly aroma, yet forbidden.  I stayed away from my local ‘Bucks this morning, just didn’t know if I could resist the temptation.  

Skipped the herbal tea, no decaf (sorry, just can’t make myself do it). I decided to take a healthier route and squeezed some fresh orange juice.  Yummy, and also a nice change.  Gave me a little energy boost, actually.

Now, since I am going through all of this to improve my yoga practice, I thought I would ground myself a little, and focus on my breathing this morning.  At least this way, I thought I might be able to relax my jangled nerves.

I began by centering my breathing on my belly.  Breathing in and out slowly, I used my abdominal muscles as much as possible to “push” my breathing.

I also did my very best–which is hard when you are a little stressed–to keep my upper body calm. I consciously relaxed my jaw, neck and shoulders as I breathed in and out slowly.  This seemed to help a lot. It felt really good anyway.

I also took a little longer to exhale–which I always find really does soothe me, new caffeine-free lifestyle notwithstanding.  I took my time, and paused a bit after each exhale before beginning again.

So, Day Two is almost over. I locked my coffee brewer away in storage, and got rid of what was left of my sugar supply.  Went to the grocery, picked up some fresh fruit to help with the cravings.  So far, so good, I guess.

Tomorrow it is back to work, where I will face the toughest test of all. No morning coffee with my colleagues.  I’m hoping I won’t experience the headaches I’ve heard about from others who have tried to quit caffeine.   

Talk about having a “Monday.”  I’ll just have to rely on my morning prayers and practice to get me through. 

Now this is what I call spiritual multi-tasking.

Day Three, here I come.  Oh boy.

Until next time, tip a cup of java for me tomorrow, will you? 

Peace.

No headaches to speak of this morning, but they are coming on now that it is late in the day here in the eastern United States.   

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By Susan Watiker -- 2 comments

August 17th, 2008

There’s Always More to Learn

Well, based on our past conversation, and watching this feat of amazingness last night, I’ve decided to give running another shot.

I decided that since I know for a fact now that it’s a mental block that keeps me from running, I can’t use it as an excuse anymore. So, since this is summer in Seattle, which means it was raining, I popped in Accepted, one of the most underrated and hilarious movies ever, cranked up the volume and hopped on the treadmill.

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By Kelly Turner -- 6 comments

August 16th, 2008

Yoga: Decaffeinated and Sugar-free

Well, technically yoga is caffeine- and sugar-free.  However, I am not :-). I have modified my diet considerably to fit my lifestyle and enhance my practice.  The two items–and they are biggies–that I have managed to put off eliminating with much self-talk that I can quit, when the time is right (yeah, uh-huh) are sugar and caffeine. 

Why do I need to drop these from my diet? Well, to tell the truth, the caffeine does interfere with meditation, for me anyway.  The best I have been able to do is get up in the morning, practice, meditate, THEN and only THEN am I allowed to speed off to Starbucks for a venti coffee, which I would then, of course, load with sugar and half-and half until it’s just that perfect golden color.  Lately, though, with my heavy workload overriding almost every aspect of my daily life, I find my meditation has been, um, interrupted, intercepted and bombarded by an intense longing for my morning java. NOW.

So I am quitting the stuff cold turkey.  Today is my first day.  I know it is going to be fine (faint smile), I’ll survive the piercing headaches.  They’ll end, eventually (right?).  The payoff will be a more focused mind, improved meditation and a healthier body, minus all that caffeine and sugar.  I’m sure my herbal tea will easily supplant my beloved beans and sugar cane. 

I’ve been doing a lot of reading on the topic, and the dependencies are primarily psychological.  So, stepping up my practice, and keying in on improving my mind-body connection should provide me with a spiritual resource for kicking both.

I am looking forward to cleansing my body and ridding myself of these delicious (and today, I’d have to say evil) substances.  It is supposed to take about 10 days to make the change.   

I am going to keep a journal here of what the experience is like. 

Today’s entry: I put on my sunglasses, hat and hovered in the background of my local Starbucks drinking in the aroma of all that coffee and proudly did not order a drop.  Although I did get some interesting looks.  I ordered an herbal tea instead, hoping they’d get my order wrong.  I told my barista buddies not to serve me any longer–coffee, that is. I’ve outed myself to them, now they are my support system. I may have to tip them big to get them to hand over the goods.  Day one, morning is over. One day at a time. Is it Day two yet?

Peace.       

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By Susan Watiker -- 5 comments

August 16th, 2008

Honored

MizFit at MizFitonline interviewed me on her site as commenter of the month. Head over there and check it out. Then get off the computer and do something active. (That was more for me than it was for you guys.)

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By Kelly Turner -- 2 comments

August 15th, 2008

Q and A: Motivation Revisted

Rachel asked another question:

I did gymnastics, cheerleading, track (hurdles) and a little soccer throughout the years. I am so used to coaches giving me orders and telling me how to work out I feel so lost when I have to do it myself. I thought about getting a personal trainer to teach me how to train myself but well, I’m poor. Can you give me some advice on how you get your clients motivated after you get done with them?

I wrote a bit about motivating others here, and on Every Gym’s Nightmare as well, but I found this article that I think might help you.

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By Kelly Turner -- 1 comment