Have I told you how much I love you lately? I go to bed thinking about how your tantalizing aroma alone, will be enough to get me out of my bed. Even the mere smell of your deliciousness decreases my stress in an instant. You make that first conversation of the day bearable, my 40 minute drive to work enjoyable, and provide that pep in my step as I walk into the Group Exercise Studio to teach my first fitness class of the day. You're the reason class participants think I'm insane, why I am able to take on 20 tasks at one time and not flip out when the person on the treadmill next to me thinks it's okay to go to the gym without showering when they already smelled terrible the moment they walked in.
Besides providing me with a jolt of energy, increasing my mood, and tasting unbelievably delicious, you have zero calories when served up black and increase my body's fat burning ability before a tough workout. I can have up to 4 cups a day of you without negative side effects and I don't have to feel guilty about my addiction to you. Other than drinking you too late in the day, or adding unnecessary amounts of fat, sugar and calories to you in the form of syrups and creamer, you have absolutely no bad side effects for healthy individuals.
You have the power to warm my soul on cold mornings and never fail to provide a refreshing sense of coolness when poured over ice on a sunny afternoon. You are my favorite indulgence. Blending you up with ice, almond milk and some chocolate or vanilla protein gives this fittie a little taste of heaven in a shaker cup. I want to thank you for all the nights you got me through midterms and finals, two-a-day practices, boring staff meetings and days after little to no sleep.
But mostly, dear coffee, just know that I couldn't get through my day without you! Never leave me.
I will always love you,
Rachael
Benefits of Coffee
On a more serious note, the research has been a constant back and forth, back and forth on whether coffee is healthy or not. Well I've got great news my fellow java lovin' friends! Coffee is awesome, and HEALTHY! Although we have to be careful about add-ins such as sugar, syrups and creamer, coffee itself is safe to consume up to 4 cups per day.
Other Benefits
- Increases lipolysis- also known as the destruction of fat cells when consumed before a workout.
- Acts directly on chemicals in the brain, specifically dopamine, to naturally lift your mood, make you happier and has actually been shown to decrease depression and risk of suicide.
- Coffee naturally contains antioxidants which fight off bad, unhealthy cells in our body keeping us healthier and more able to combat against germs and diseases.
- Coffee has been shown to be linked to lesser chances of alzheimers, liver issues and even skin cancer in woman. So drink up!
- How to say this politely...it gets things movin'! Coffee is a natural diuretic having an effect on the body similar to fiber in the sense of speeding up digestive tract movement.
- Just smelling coffee can actually make you less stressed! Heck yeah!
And now...I introduce to you, what I think could possibly be the best product ever known to man..
Javapro- It's whey protein mix that has several different cafe type flavors such as mocha, french vanilla and latte and contains 20g of protein, 2g carbs (1g sugar) and 80mg of caffeine! Adding any amount of caffeine to my morning shake sounds like a great plan to me. At just 110 calories, this fits right in with my normal scoop of protein in the morning and post workout. Whats more, if I can just do a shake and skip my iced coffee run, in the end, this would ultimately save me some money too! My only concern is the taste, so I will try out a couple flavors over the next few months and keep you guys posted on my thoughts!
Has anyone tried this? Please, share your thoughts!
Your love of coffee is inherited from your father. It may be the one "healthy" eating habit he role modeled. Or would that be drinking habit? (But if you add a side of candied orange slices it is not very healthy).
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