10 day challenge | Lemon Water
Finally doing the things I’ve always wanted to try (part 1).
LEMON WATER IN THE MORNING
A little fact about me, I love coffee first thing in the morning as much as I love anything. It’s the coziest you’ll get once you’re out of bed. I love watching the milk swirl in the dark liquid, like a cloud lightening the color. The smell, the taste, my amazing mug collection, all of it. But, I’m turning 35 soon. My brain and my heart don’t realize this, but my body sure does. Being in the yoga world, you learn to notice the subtle signs your body is telling you. As yummy and wonderful as the coffee is in the mornings, it’s been contributing to some added anxiety, tummy stress and slow metabolism. Turns out, the acid in coffee isn’t the best thing on an empty stomach. So I decided to do change things up a bit. This wasn't to detox or lose weight or anything, just to tame the side effects caffeine has put me for the last (however many) years.
June 6th, 2018. I had just come back to the US from France. Land of dairy, booze, gluten and espressos at 11pm. (I can shoot one of those after dinner and be passed out 30 minutes later). This is as good a time as any to start a new morning ritual, so I went ahead and bought a bag of fancy organic lemons at my beloved grocery store, Wegmens. It was $6 and a part of me was tempted to just drop it and buy a pint of ice-cream for less! But the rational side of me won. And I went home with 8 perfectly plump, yellow lemons.
Is it as simple as cutting a lemon and squeezing it into hot water? You’d think that when I googled “how to make lemon water” the internet would laugh at me. Instead, I found tons of articles on the subject. Turns out, you can leave lemons in the fridge and they don’t lose their nutrients. Solves the plethora of lemons dilemma. Also turns out that ½ lemon in an 8 - 10 oz mug of warm water (not too hot, not too cold) is the perfect equation for someone with my body type for optimal benefits for my new morning routine.
Some quick perks of lemon water in the am:
Aids in digestion
Helps speed up metabolism
Gives you a vitamin C boost
More hydration in the morning
Fights inflammation
Reduces bloating
Good source of pottassium
DAY 1) Nice flavor. No big deal. Warm water is comforting. Try to squeeze the lemon for as much juice as possible, hitting myself for not bringing my amazing “fruit juice extractor” gadget I bought in Paris last year. Wait 60 minutes to make coffee and eat cereal. Read my 47 millionth article about lemon water, apparently a full lemon is better, so I’ll do that tomorrow.
Feel like I deserve a metal.
DAY 2) Saturday morning. Realize coffee in bed is basically my favorite thing in the world. A little disheartened that that ain’t happening today. Also, the headache comes on real quick. Not alcohol induced, this is lack of caffeine. Remind myself why I’m doing this, and it’s only day 2! Suck it up. Cut up lemon, boil water and let sit til it's at room temp. Squeeze both halves of lemon into water, get back into bed. Pretend its coffee and sip enjoyably with pup and B.
A wave of inspiration from sticking to something and starting the day healthily comes over me, so I decide to go to a yoga class before I have to teach.
DAY 3) Sunday morning. Just as frustrating as yesterday. Get back into bed with a lukewarm cup of diluted lemon juice. “This is good for me. I’m choosing to do this. Stop complaining” I remind my hungover self. I down it quickly because I can’t eat or drink for 30 minutes after my last sip and I haaaave to eat before I leave. I put coffee in to – go mug and enjoy as much of it as possible before I head out to teach another early Sunday morning yoga class.
DAY 4) Am I starting to notice things or is it in my head? Band practice yesterday was amazing, and I sang some pretty intense 90s songs for almost 6 hours. Axel Rose’s “Sweet Child of Mine”, Alainis’s “You Oughta Know” and Four Non Blondes “What Up” are no easy feat. But I did it and it sounded awesome. I’ll attribute my expansive and badass Gwen Stefani sounding voice to this lemon water thing.
DAY 5) Tuesday morning. It's raining outside. Threats of flooding resulted in my driving B to work (ruining my whole morning routine) so I whipped up my lemon water for the car ride. An intense headache overcame me. Read another article saying ½ a lemon is just as good, so I go back to that. Thank goodness. The full lemon was intense AF.
DAY 6) I teach yoga at 6am on Wednesdays, so needless to say, that was fun. No coffee until after the class made for a very challenging hour, but it worked. The students had no idea I was practically sleepwalking, one student even calling the class “delicious”. Honored and amused, I rushed the hell home to make my coffee.
DAY 7) Drank the tart water on my drive to the sweet little town of Phoenixville and stopped off at my favorite coffee shop where I immediately order a dark roast café au lait. Forgot I had to wait the 30 minutes one must in order to maximize the benefits. But I don't give myself too hard a time about it. Start to feel really comfortable in my body, unsure of why. I'm not at any sort of weight that would warrant this type of confidence, but I feel good and i love it!
DAY 8) Friday morning. I’ve made it a whole week! I’m starting to notice a little more energy, more patience and really beginning to enjoy the flavor. I don't have anywhere to be super early today which takes the pressure off of being somewhere public pre-caffeine. I sit with the pup watching the sky turn from dark purple to turquoise.
DAY 9) Another Saturday morning. This one isn't so bad. B & I wake up to watch France in the World Cup at 6am and I enjoy my new morning ritual. I have ample time for coffee and breakfast before teaching two classes back to back.
DAY 10) Sunday morning and I don't give it a second thought. It's delicious and comforting. I like how I feel after my lemon water in the mornings. I notice the soothing difference between the citrus of my new go - to drink and the acidity of my once beloved cup of coffee. I do, however, make sure to fill the thermos with my americano for my drive to yoga.
There you have it. 10 days in a nut shell. If you got this far, thank you for reading.
I mainly wrote about it because it was the only way I would hold myself accountable. Interestingly enough, around day 7 I started feeling really good in my body. I have this skirt i put on to gauge my weight. If its at the hips, I'm good. If its snug, i need to drop a pound or two. But I feel as good as ever, and I attribute that to this new little routine. I feel healthy and strong and really comfortable in my body. Confused, I asked a friend about this and she summed it up perfectly. “Healthy gut, happy mind”. Makes sense!
My gut feels healthy. I have less bloating and I feel more energized. I still love my coffee, but I’ve gotten so used to the lemony goodness first thing, that I’m still doing it! I won't bore you with days 11-14.
Bottom line is that starting the day off doing something healthy for myself spilled into the rest of the day. I work out a little more, eat a little healthier and even though i'm not at my ideal summer weight, I feel confident in a bikini. I'm a little more aware about whats going in my stomach and feel like a superhero for having accomplished something 10 days in a row.
That's all for now :)
Xx, Liz
