Sunday, December 2, 2012

Another Go at Kicking Caffeine

Caffeine is the devil’s drug, THE DEVIL’S Drug!  I’m on day #2 of my ban on caffeine, and if this day doesn’t hurry up and get over with, I may die. 

Whenever my life settles down, I feel the need to get a handle on the things that have been allowed to get a little bit out of control in the day to day chaos.  In this case, my caffeine intake.  Back in May of this year, I buckled down and substantially reduced my caffeine.  Up until about August, I did well.  When the new school year started, I kept it together until things got crazy.  I found myself stopping at Starbucks in the middle of the day just to make it through the rest of the day.  More recently, after starting the day with something caffeinated to make the pain of early mornings go away I didn’t stop.  In doing so, water was being replaced with coffee or soda.  I’d return home at the end of the day and realize I hadn’t had any water since I had left the house 12  hours earlier. 

With a fairly low key week coming up, I decided (again) to pull it together and stop this madness.  I’ve had so much water this weekend, I’m floating.  My head feels like it’s going to explode, and I’m a little bit cranky.  I’m hoping day 3 will be less difficult.  Tomorrow there will be kids, so it had better be less difficult or there will be trouble.

10 comments:

  1. 72-100 hours. That should see you over the very worst of it. But oh boyo did I hug myself in sympathy with you. Still you do need to do it. I think we need to halt all coffee about one month in six, but that's probably expecting a bit much. But that utter physical agony displays just how much it's doing generally.
    With me I think it reverses its diuretic efforts after a certain number. It is supposed to prevent you holding water in the body tissue, mostly about the gut. But also on the rearend and thighs. Pretty much anyplace that retains fat. The thing is, I don't know if we are slightly poisoning ourselves. What I do know is since I stopped drinking shite coffee and went for 100% expressed Arabica I'm at drinking far less and feeling far better.
    You need to find your bean and roast and stick with it. Think of it a bit like camping. When you were 15 you were happy enough to sleep on the ground. You might grouse about it, but a swat delivered by your dad would quench that and you might be a bit crampy in the morning but you'd be grand. That changed about 27. Now, it's well sprung hotel beds. It's the bounce back factor, and not from the bed, you.
    Anyhoo's, hugs, a quick one. I rather expect you are like a cranky female spider where any male giving sympathy hugs would need to be nimble.
    Oh after a while you'll notice you energy levels will rise as you begin reabsorbing B vitamins again.

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    1. Thanks Vince. Yes those first few days are just awful. No headache so far this morning though, so hopefully things are starting to settle and already I have more energy than I did during the whole of yesterday. It is a good thing to cleanse the body of it, I just wish it weren't so difficult...but all the more reason to do it I guess.
      I've not spent too much time looking at my coffee quality. My machine uses those little pods so the quality is already decided for me. It may be worth it to look into it further but that would require me to know how to make a real pot of coffee which has escaped me thus far. But maybe the pods are made with varying qualities. I'll have to check that out.

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    2. I've heard about the pods but I've never seen them while shopping. Are they those things you put on top of the cup and it drains down.
      As to making a real coffee, there is a lot of nonsense talked about that. I find I make coffee 50% better than anything I buy in a coffee shop with a machine you'd get for $100. Even when you cock up the brew it's still better.
      But I'm glad you're better.

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    3. Better, yes, but today was ROUGH. I thought about caffeine at least 100 times today. :)
      Yah, you're right on the pods. I use these http://www.dolcegustostore.com/s.nl/sc.8/.f
      I just looked and they say 100% Arabica?!?!
      I purchased the dolce gusto machine because I've never been able to make a pot of coffee that tasted right. It always tasted like coffee water. This way I put the water in the back and it takes what it needs and leaves the rest. I never used to drink coffee at home beacuse I didn't like it. Now I do...double edged sword I guess.

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    4. I've seen the machines but never used them.

      They look a bit like the fellow that did the Mac had a hand in the design.

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    5. Ha ha, yah it's a bit odd. Mine's red so it looks cute on the kitchen counter. :)

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  2. I too was a coffee addict for a while, I switched to herbal tea when I needed a hit. It sort of mimics the ritual of coffee. I am glad to say I only have one cup in the am and I don't drink sodas. I even drink decaffinated ice tea.

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    1. I've tried the herbal teas but they just don't do it for me. I like black tea but it doesn't have the kick that coffee or soda give,for me at least. I'd like to find a happy medium where I can have it but not go nuts on it.

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  3. Fortunately for me I have never liked coffee...I did drink Coke until my daughter was dx and I spent a month in the children's hospital and had no soda...or anything with taste for that matter...when she was released any soda except for diet tasted way too sweet...so I started drinking diet Coke...and found it was addicting. So I stopped drinking soda and now get my caffeine fix from chocolate.

    Perhaps you need soem chocoate to go with all that water.
    Good luck!

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    1. Chocolate doesn't do it for me either. I'd much prefer the coffee or the soda. Although, I must admit I thought a little bit about it today too. :)

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