A Starting Note..

Happy Tuesday =P

I’ve been doing some of these experiments for a couple of weeks now, and as I progress into a new week I am starting to feel the benefits and some temporary downsides to one or more of my projects (might be the combination).

Today I thought that I would make a short introduction of what I’ve been doing so far.

Vegetarianism

I’m well on my way into week 2, and I’m not having any particular problems with excluding meat from my diet. I should mention that I have chosen to go on a Lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet…so I am still drinking milk and eating eggs.

I would have thought that I’d have some stronger cravings for meat-products, but as of yet I simply haven’t…it might be because I’m not focusing on the fact of what I can’t eat, but rather on what I can eat .

I’ve been trying out different kinds of dishes, most of them just off the top of my head. This has resulted in several interesting misshaps, which seemed like good ideas at the time (I have a tendency to add WAY too much garlic whenever I improvise!), but resulted in people avoiding sitting next to me the following day.

There are still many different things I want to try eating (like tofu, different kinds of soups, some new ideas for salads and maybe even a tasty stew), and as I continue exploring new dishes and snacks I’ll make sure to upload some photos (if they turn out looking appetizing that is….).

(By the way, I’d appreciate any tips on different kinds of recipes! I’d be fun trying other people’s favourite recipes.)

Caffeine addiction

For over a year now I’ve been on a “5-10 cups a day” coffee-spree. I started my mass consumption out of boredom, and as a result I’ve been relying on coffee to keep me on a day-long high, starting with a cup or two at breakfast. Not only has it been affecting my nerves and emotions, but another unfortunate consequence is discoloured teeth….and no one wants that! (Apparently it makes your breath stink as well)

Now that I’ve stopped drinking coffee I find that I’m able to “lower my shoulders”, actually being able to relax without a cup in my hand, and take a little more notice of the things that are going on inside my mind and body.

My attempt at becoming a early riser

I started this Monday (yesterday), so I suppose that would make today day 2. This morning I got up at 5.00 am , and got the opportunity to see the sunrise for the first time in many years, I had been thinking about doing something similar to this for a while, not wanting to go to an extreme I was thinking about consequently starting my day at 8.00 am. However, last weekend I spent a lot time reading many of the posts over at Steve Palvina’s Self Development Site, and one of them was about waking up early.

It turned out that this was just the push I needed to undertake another project, this one actually making me aware of the path I had started on…it made me conscious to the fact that I actually can make an effort to change my habits for the better, in turn making me a better person (took a deep plunge into virtue ethics as I formulated that sentence, which really wasn’t something I was intending to do ;D).

Back to the point, I’ve enjoyed the extra productive hours I get in the morning, and the fact that I’m actually really tired when nighttime comes around. I wouldn’t mind making this a permanent change, because in many ways it feels as if I’m getting a head-start before everyone else.

The amusing conclusion

Overall I’ve been feeling a lot more stable (emotionally and energy-wise), and there are certainly some positive experiences that I’ve been having the last couple of days, many of which I think are directly linked to my “projects”. Unfortunately I can’t tell if it’s the Vegetarian diet or me coming off of my caffeine addiction that are causing it. Whatever it is, I’m sticking to it.

Go figure, the week after I drop caffeine I decide to start getting up at 5.00 in the morning! Now that’s ironic, wouldn’t you say, Alanis?