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April 14, 2014

Lightening Up

Creamer

I have been drinking coffee with creamer for decades. View my twitter stream and you’ll deduce what a big fan I have been of Coffee-Mate Peppermint Mocha Creamer. When this creamer went from “seasonal” to “year-round,” I was one happy consumer.

Things have changed in my caffeinated world, however. I have been logging my meals on LoseIt (again — it had been a while) since February 27. I began logging my meals when Coach Kristie got added by Coach Jeff as co-coach. (Jeff added Kristie because he will face certain demands on his time and energy as he receives treatment for his prostate cancer.) I had had a block against talking nutrition with Jeff, for a variety of reasons. One of those reasons had to do with his virtually crystal-clear nutrition choices (no dairy, for one thing …. I couldn’t envision life without that creamer in my coffee). I also had trouble explaining the emotional triggers behind some of my eating choices. It’s not good or bad, it’s just one of the parts of my coaching relationship with him that had not gelled. In late February, I gathered my courage and started logging honestly and sending my logs to Kristie. She wisely didn’t say “oh my God you drink milk and eat a cookie before bed every night? NO WONDER YOU HAVEN’T ACHIEVED YOUR GOALS YET!”

Instead, she gave me honest feedback (much of it dealing with what I could do better, the things I was doing well, all undergirded by the understanding that food/calories are more than food and calories (if you’ve ever crammed your face during a study session just to stay awake, you know what I mean)).

That’s a very long way of getting around to saying … I haven’t had creamer in my coffee for weeks now.

AND I HAVE SURVIVED!!

More recently, I dropped the piece of sourdough bread I was having with my lunch every day (as well as the sodium-filled frozen lunches, which have been replaced by salads).

AND I HAVE SURVIVED!!

The great thing is, this is showing up on the scale. This lifetime Weight Watchers member (not currently at goal but still a lifetime member) is remembering what it feels like to be fueling my body more efficiently. That impacts my weight as well as my energy level.

I am nine pounds lighter. Research proposes that when you lose weight, you run faster. That makes sense to me. Losing your sombrero may give you an edge too:

cropped sombrero with text

What are your thoughts on the correlation between weight loss and running speed?

Paula Kiger
Paula Kiger

Wife of one, Mom of two, Friend of many. My pronouns are she/her/hers.

Filed Under: Running Tagged With: Coach Jeff PRS Fit, Coach Kristie PRSFit, Palace Saloon 5K

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rob Biesenbach (@RobBiesenbach) says

    April 14, 2014 at 9:35 am

    Congratulations, Paula! I can take my coffee black when I’m visiting someone’s office and don’t want them to fuss, but I really, really love it with milk and sugar. In fact, I read at one point that sugar brings out coffee’s flavor better. (That was probably a study from the Sugar Industry!)

    Reply
    • Paula Kiger (Big Green Pen) says

      April 14, 2014 at 9:38 am

      Hi Rob and thanks for the comment! It’s fascinating how the topic of “coffee” brings out so many different opinions and angles!

      Reply
  2. Coach Kristie says

    April 15, 2014 at 2:54 pm

    I am so amazingly proud of you.

    Reply
    • Paula Kiger says

      April 15, 2014 at 3:03 pm

      Thank you, Coach! Meanwhile, the flavored coffee creamer industry would like to have a word with you …. 🙂

      Reply
  3. tamaralikecamera says

    April 19, 2014 at 11:51 am

    Congrats! My sister drinks black coffee now and she thought that would never happen. She was such a sugar/creamer addict always. I guess you get used to it, and my friend roasts beans for a living and he said you can really taste the quality of the coffee that way!

    Reply
    • Paula Kiger (Big Green Pen) says

      April 19, 2014 at 4:41 pm

      Thanks for visiting my blog and for the comment! I think your friend is correct!

      Reply

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