Day 36 & 37 – 100-mile Diet : Darkness, Time changes and no coffee or tea

It is now late fall and Quebec is being tucked under a blanket of darkness. The sunrise this morning will be 7 h12 am and the sun set will be at 5 h 47 pm. Only a little over 10 hours of light and the days will keep getting shorter until winter.

I’ve never been truly affected by the seasonal time changes and darker days. I used to think myself a superwoman being able to truck along with a happy smile, thinking of the beautiful white snow to come. But now I know: It was the coffee!

I get up at 5 h 45 am, 2 and a half hours before the sun rises now, and the truth of it is that I’ve become sluggish. It takes me 30 minutes just to get functional anymore, which means hectic last minutes of prepping before my mother (who is my carpool buddy) comes and picks me up. Even now as I’m writing this, I’m contemplating the possibility of stopping writing and getting up and on the move, but my body is slumped at my computer desk and nothing is happening.

What to do?

I’ve been reading a bit about natural, non-sugar or caffeinated stimulants, but without success. Most of what I’ve been reading in not local (ginseng) or is not possible - brisk walks in the sunlight in the morning are hard when the sun comes up after I’m in at work – and I’ve been left thinking I just may have to tough it out.

Then I remembered : We bought bee pollen.

Be pollen is renowned for its amazing properties of long lasting energy. In addition to its high protein content, bee pollen contains over a dozen vitamins, 28 minerals, 11 enzymes and co-enzymes, and 14 fatty acids. We got the little pouch of pollen nuggets from a local bee keeping farm called Miellerie Prince-Leclerc (sorry, they have no website) and were instructed to mix the pellets in yogurt or cereal in the morning. Hmmm… what to do when you have none?

Eat it as a whole I thought. It can’t be bad. It will probably taste like powdered honey a bit… And it did! Now I’m not saying it gives you that jolt of adrenaline that caffeinated drinks give you, but I’m hoping to feel a little more refreshed here in a few.

I’ll be sure to keep you posted. In the mean time, I will peel myself off my chair and get moving.