Getting Reacquainted and a Week Without Dairy

Oh, hey… I know you, don’t I?  I mean… you look preeeettty familiar.  

Oh, that’s right! I used to write here, and you would sometimes read and comment on something insightful or awkward I said surrounding fitness. And then… I just stopped.  No need for apologies, though, right? Everyone loses touch every now and then.  The summer apparently got all kinds of busy for me, and honestly, after picking up about eight new classes to teach, barring work, I just couldn’t talk about health and fitness any more than I already did.  But, really, I love what I do, and I can’t complain, and now I’m ready to rekindle this Internet relationship we had.  I’ve really missed you terribly.

So now that we’ve exchanged our pleasantries, I want to get down to business.  I’m starting a new challenge for myself and anyone who wants to join.  Remember wayyyyyy back when, when I was doing the ‘Week Without’ series? Like this one, and this one, and THIS ONE (thought I was going to die, and despite knowing exactly what ‘literally’ means, I’m still using it for this case).  Well, I’m trying a new one: dairy.  Now, before anyone gets up in arms about this, please realize that I don’t think dairy is the devil.  I looooove me some dairy, especially Greek yogurt and half & half in my coffee, and I think it’s a great source of protein, fat, and calcium.  However, a few months ago, I was following an eating plan that was a little bit stricter than my usual, and I actually felt great.  Among many other things, the menu didn’t include dairy.  Now that I’ve relaxed my eating a little, I’ve added Greek yogurt and a little milk back into my life.  I still feel good, but I really can’t help but wonder if I wouldn’t feel just a little bit better if I tried to cut it back out for a bit.

So as an experiment of sorts, starting today, I’m not consuming dairy for seven days.  The exception will be my protein shake or Shakeology, since they both have whey protein (dairy-derived) in them, because sometimes I’m crazy busy, and this is super easy to pack.  And I don’t do soy protein because of the phytoestrogens or rice/hemp protein because it makes me gag, so no, there’s not a substitute.  Either way, that means no Greek yogurt (goodbye, Fage 2%!), no milk in the coffee, and no cottage cheese.  I don’t anticipate this being tremendously difficult, but I am curious about the effects it will have on my energy levels and how my body feels.  If you want to join in, let me know, and I’ll report my results back next week!

Have you ever cut dairy? Did you notice any changes — positive or negative? Are you a non-dairy person to begin with? Spill!