I traded coffee for celery juice and I've never felt better...

I never thought I'd say this, but I've been off coffee now for almost three weeks. I love coffee...I mean, I really, really love the smell of it, the ritual of it, the routine of it, etc., etc. Coffee is part of life. I think about all the people that start their day with the ritual of brewing a pot of coffee or a heating up the keurig or getting their french press ready...or, heading to the starbucks drive through or local Dunkin on their way to work. It's just part of life. And, it has been a huge part of mine for many years. 

I fell in love with coffee even more after a trip four years ago to Italy. Getting my daily double espresso on the streets of Verona, Florence or Rome just seemed like the thing to do. It was like I was going back to my roots and living with my ancestors. I came home and quickly invested in a nespresso machine and had my daily double shot waiting for me. 

Covid hit and my travels stopped for a while - I'd park myself down in our basement, which became my stay at home office as the kids and Michelle worked up stairs on school work (or at least tried to - but that's another story for another day : ) My nespresso machine was like a long-lost brother to me. I'd race over in between virtual calls and fire up another cup. I think I was probably drinking 4-5 cups a day. That was the norm. The habit. 

Fast forward to present day. I did a cleanse three weeks ago - it was part of a Tony Robbins Life Mastery training. One of the guest speakers was a guy named Anthony William who wrote the book "Cleanse to Heal". I had tinkered with his stuff a couple years back but didn't take it seriously. I decided to give this a try and stuck to the cleanse schedule pretty religiously. I quit coffee and replaced it with water with lemon to start my day, then 30 minutes later, it was on to celery juice. CELERY JUICE!! I mean, how gross is celery juice! I only ate celery in the past with a bunch of peanut butter layered on top. But, by itself? And drinking it?? 

I gave it a try and found it pretty good and refreshing. Then, I followed that with a healthy fruit and spinach smoothie. Three days later, after following this protocol, I noticed a pretty big change for me. 

I felt calmer. The consistent, persistent tug on the left side of my chest and stomach seemed to go away. You see, I got used to that feeling. It was like a part of me - an anxiety-filled aching that I just lived with. After many years of this, it felt pretty normal. 

I'd be able to help that anxiousness by a good sleep or good workout or even numbing it with a few bourbons or glasses of wine. But, other than that, it was there. A part of me. And, I'd lean on coffee to pull me up from the low energy times throughout my day, only to crash and feel even worse as the day wore on. 

There were days I couldn't think straight by the end of the day. I'd chalk it up to too many calls or a stressful call with a client or colleague. 

So...fast forward three weeks to today - no coffee - just a couple green teas at certain moments - and a heavy dose of lemon water and celery juice, along with eating a lot cleaner (primarily gluten free) - and, after these three weeks I can honestly say I feel like a different person in a lot of ways. It's like my nervous system has been allowed to rest. My energy levels are more consistent through the day and I'm finding that my emotions are more in balance. 

I write this to you because I've shared a lot about my struggles with anxiety and, at times, depression in the past. I've always heard that what we eat, and drink can really influence our mood and how we feel (thanks to Michelle, who constantly has told me this : ) But, the truth is, I heard this but never really took consistent action. I just chalked it up to that's how my body was made, and this anxiety is just some sort of scar tissue from my past. I learned to live with it. 

My encouragement is that if you're struggling with any type of anxiety or low energy challenges, maybe you check out Anthony's book, "Cleanse to Heal", and maybe you give celery juice and lemon water a try. 

I know, I know - coffee is a beautiful thing and you might not want to kick that to the curb. And maybe you won't have to. But give celery juice at least a try. I highly recommend you start your day with at least 20 ounces of water with a freshly squeezed lemon (or half lemon) in it. 

You just may find that this helps you - it definitely has for me. I can't commit to never drinking coffee again - I hope to enjoy a cup or two at some point but I feel very different (by the way, one of my best friends and former guest on the With Intention podcast, Dominic Caruso, runs an awesome coffee company up in Cleveland after all - so, no disrespect to him or the coffee industry!). I'm just finding that this new ritual is working for me and maybe it could work for you. 

Here are a couple resources if you'd like to give it a try:

- "Cleanse to Heal" book - click here

- Article about the benefits of celery juice - click here

- Article about how to make celery juice - click here

I currently make mine with a Vitamix blender but it's kind of a pain due to having to cut the celery, blend it and then strain it through a nutmilk bag, so I just invested in a juicer. I haven't tried it yet but definitely will here soon. 

I hope you give it a try. Definitely let me know if you do.

Have a great week!