Coffee

Hello friends, sorry I had to take a mini hiatus from blogging, it’s the end of the semester, ya know.

I’ve had a few nice runs this week, nothing too major since I’ll be attacking an 11miler tomorrow. One thing that is really nice; as my mileage goes up, I’m not in the same pain I was in when I started running. I don’t have the same heavy legs, and aching joints, even though I’m going faster and running farther than before. It’s a pretty neat feeling.

It’s also pretty cool how I can manage work up the same amount of sweat (gross) going 3 miles as I can going 10. It’s all about pushing harder during the short runs and holding  back on the long ones, this is something that I’ve come no where near figuring out yet though, my dad always needs to pace me. I should probably start working on that since this is that last race he’ll run with me- I’ve already been told I’m being cut off.

Let’s talk about coffee:

I finally entered 2011 and downloaded Instagram

I love coffee- a lot. Every time someone tells me that they don’t drink coffee, or have never even tried coffee, I am floored. The idea of people living in this world and fully functioning without coffee is completely foreign to me and I don’t understand it.

I start my day with coffee, and continue to get a boost from it through out the day. Until recently I would drink coffee up until 8 at night, now I cut myself off around noon. I know that in large amounts it can be bad for you (anything can), but a cup or two a day can actually give you some health benefits and help you out if you’re trying to lose weight.

1.  It give you energy for first thing in the morning workouts! Just make sure you wait a little bit between because coffee cramps really hurt.
2. It gets the metabolism moving.
3. Because it speeds up the metabolism, you’ll actually burn calories even when resting.
4. It reduces the risk of diabetes.
5. Antioxidants!
6. Caffeine suppresses the appetite- you won’t be reaching for snacks as much.

*Sources: TLC, LifeScript.com

I drink my coffee black, but I used to drink milk and sugar with a little coffee, then I decided it was time to man up. A cup of coffee has 2 calories- that’s it! 2! Until you add the other stuff. Here’s a really awesome chart that opened my eyes up and made me take the leap to black coffee:

And I’ve put myself on a complete ban from Starbucks, yes, I know you can get plain coffee there but every time I try “Venti Caramel Frappuccino with whipped cream” comes out of my mouth. No self control.