How Coffee Helps Me Stay Energized, Motivated and Healthy
Jodi Davis
| 3 min read
What gets you going in the morning? If your answer is coffee, you’re not alone. I can’t get my first cup fast enough, especially when I can smell it brewing and know a fresh pot is waiting for me in the kitchen.
Coffee often gets a bad rap as an unhealthy vice for helping weary people wake up every morning. However, coffee is something that helps me stay energized and motivated for my daily walks, and more evidence is surfacing that shows coffee to be healthier than experts previously thought.
I love coffee! It really does involve all the five senses: it sounds, smells, looks, feels and tastes so good. Plus, I believe it really does help keep me motivated to walk during those afternoons when I start to feel a little worn out. I enjoy my coffee, there’s no doubt about it.
I’ve always taken my daily walks during the late afternoon hours, and I will admit there have been several instances when I have come close to running out of energy. This often happened when I first began my new lifestyle in 2001. I quickly realized that one afternoon cup of coffee would give me the boost of energy I needed.
At first, I felt that this wasn’t the best decision to make since I had always heard that coffee wasn’t so good for you. But, I soon learned there was another school of thought on the subject of coffee that noted several of its health benefits. Plus, coffee helped increase my afternoon energy level, allowing me to feel energized and ready for my daily 1.5 mile walk.
A growing body of research shows that coffee drinkers, compared to nondrinkers, are: less likely to have type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and have fewer cases of certain cancers, heart rhythm problems and stroke.
Some people believe the stimulant effect of coffee helps you lose weight either by boosting the metabolism or suppressing hunger. And we can’t forget that coffee has a very strong antioxidant capacity (antioxidants are nutrients that help prevent tissue damage caused by molecules called oxygen-free radicals.)
Antioxidants are also found in several varieties of tea (my second favorite pick-me-up beverage). Actually green and black teas have 10 times the amount of antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables … don’t you just love it? So there you have it! Coffee helps me stay energized in order to maintain daily, physical activity, never allowing a day to go by without it! It’s all part of a healthy lifestyle – a style of life that allows me to be all that I can be.
Hey, it’s my one and only life … I’m going to enjoy it (and my coffee too!)
Check out these blogs if you enjoyed this one:
- Can a Cup of Coffee a Day Keep Prostate Cancer Away?
Photo credit: DeaPeaJay
