Hi, my name is Annie and I can’t function without coffee.
My week started out recovering from the Team Series week 1 and attempting to cut out coffee for a week. I was more sore Monday and Tuesday than I remember being in a long time. I signed up for the Team Series for fun, not wanting it to become another Open situation for me where I end up repeating workouts and putting big stress on myself and my body. And I have kept to that spirit for the most part, but maybe underestimated how much more taxing competing is on the nervous system than training.
Well, did I ever learn my lesson this week!
Sometimes you need to come back on your word. While that may seem like strange advice coming from a coach, this is a lesson I learned this week.
Goals are great. I have been setting goals for a long time and it has helped me focus on and accomplish great things in my life. But being bull headed is not a quality nor a virtue.
Taking a week off of coffee every 3 months is something my husband and I decided to do for our health. I don’t like the idea of being addicted to anything. I love my coffee, it’s right up there with peanut butter and I don’t plan on quitting coffee anytime soon, but I don’t like the idea that something has that kind of hold of me that I can’t willingly stop. Taking a reset helps me keep that addiction and dependancy under control. It improves my sleep. It also lets me get more benefits from less caffeine once the week is up. In the past a week off has been a challenge, but doable.
Until this week.
Let’s look at what I was dealing with. First off, being in the middle of Team Series. Even for fun, the volume and intensity is taxing and stressful on the body and mind. My husband was away for the week. I have a full time personal training gig and run my own nutrition company. Combined with the fact that my neck flared up by the workout Sunday, which triggered a 3 day headache (residual issue from my past concussion).
Normally I see the coffee withdrawal lift by Wednesday and I start feeling better and better. But by this Thursday I was still feeling awful and pretty much reached my breaking point. I felt terrible, and I knew I needed to review my goal and my intentions behind it. It just felt like I was being stubborn and not accomplishing anything positive.
I did it. I caved in. I went back on my word. And you know what? After I had a coffee and went to see my chiro for my neck, I can honestly say I pretty much felt like a new women!
It is weird for me since I don’t remember the last time I gave myself permission to quit, but I do realize that in this case it was the right choice. I don’t want to set a precedent for myself that quitting is okay or even an option. But digging my heels and ignoring what my body was yelling at me wasn’t much smarter either.
Obviously coffee still has a hold on me! And a week off is still needed. But this week, in this moment, this goal wasn’t adding to my life, it was taking away from it.
Something to think about.
Why do you want be a size 2, have a sub 10% body fat, read 1hr every night, cut out all sugar? Are these goals going to add to the quality of your life or take away from it?
As I sit here at the beginning of a new month, setting new goals is something that I am thinking about.
Let me know what comes up for you.
Annie 🙂