Decaffeinating

Today marks the beginning of my second week without caffeine.

I started out the month of August with a few rather stringent goals: drink nothing but water, stay away from sugar, and eat moderately. I was hoping that the combination of those goals and the running I need to do to prepare for the half marathon coming up in September would help me shed some pounds that have been stubbornly sticking around.

The nothing-but-water rule was really a push back against all of the Diet Pepsi I’d been drinking over the past couple of weeks. (All-day work meetings with food provided become avenues to just mainline the stuff.) But after a few days I decided I really needed the option to drink something other than just water, so I’m allowing myself an occasional Crystal Light or a decaf iced tea.

The no sugar thing has been a harder sell. I did really well for the first four days, but over the weekend there were a couple of desserts that were impossible to pass up. I at least tried to keep them small and made sure that they didn’t push me way over my calorie count for those days.

I haven’t stepped back on the scale this week, so I’m not sure if that first week helped me with the weight any - might take a week or two more to see that happen. But I’m interested in how my body is responding to the lack of caffeine. Or not responding, as the case may be. I had one withdrawal headache on the second day. Other than that, I’ve been feeling pretty much the same as ever. I have been finding that I need a bit more sleep, but I’m not sure if that’s due to lack of caffeine or due to the fact that I’ve been running a lot and tiring myself out that way.

So, the half marathon is 4 weeks from yesterday, so I have some more time to see how it turns out… and to get some miles in. I want to get at least a couple more 10 mile runs in before then, and need to supplement those with a lot of 5- and 6- mile runs. Good to have a goal, but it will also be good to get past it and back off to something a little more normal and sustainable come September.