Dear Coffee,
I love you, but you’re killing me.
We’ve had an awesome run. And I will miss you dearly. But I’ve
gotta take a break right now.
Very truly yours,
Maggie
Per my resolutions, which I mentioned here, I’ve decided to dramatically
decrease my coffee intake and switch to tea in the coming year. It’s been a
long time coming; in fact, I gave up coffee for Lent last year as a trial run,
but fell off the wagon after Easter. Coffee, I couldn’t quit you.
You see, I really love coffee. I loooove, loooove, looove
coffee. It’s a warm, inviting friend that greets me each morning. It’s the
perfect accompaniment to a sweet dessert. It is pure loveliness.
But I’m getting old. And in the past couple of years I’ve
sensed an annoying correlation with coffee consumption and reflux. My body isn’t
quite what it used to be and I suppose at age 37 that’s to be expected. I
thought maybe this issue would work itself out and, sadly, it has not.
According to this article (this topic has been written about extensively), there's a whole host of things that affect reflux and I'm guilty of consuming nearly all of them. However, coffee is a trigger I'm dealing with on a regular basis. Less so chocolate and carbonated beverages.
According to this article (this topic has been written about extensively), there's a whole host of things that affect reflux and I'm guilty of consuming nearly all of them. However, coffee is a trigger I'm dealing with on a regular basis. Less so chocolate and carbonated beverages.
Now I can’t quit 100% and I’m not sure I have to in order to
resolve my issue. Coffee could be a mostly weekend thing. Tea could be a week day gig.
I don’t have the love for tea that I do for coffee. It is a
completely lesser substitute, but I recently stumbled across a tea that I drank
while I studied abroad in Ireland a million years ago and bought a box. It was really nice. In
fact, Barry’s Tea has already become a regular morning drink for me as I slowly work
myself into this new way of life (so dramatic, I know).
So it’s out with the old:
And in with the new:
Got any advice for me? I'm all ears...
4 comments:
I've got no advice for you, but I had to comment in a show of support. I've given up all caffeinated beverages a number of times, and in fact it's been about two months now since I had any caffeinated beverages. Coffee is the hardest to live without. Coffee is the thing that always makes me go back to drinking caffeinated beverages again. Decaffeinated coffee is an abomination. I'd rather drink hot lemon water than decaffeinated coffee (and I have). Tea, even decaf. is okay, but it's not coffee, not even close. best of luck, and keep us updated.
I drink tea pretty religiously. I actually love it, the way you do coffee. I'm a fan of black teas. Trader Joe's makes some good ones. Right now I'm loving the Cinnamon Tempest tea, but it may be gone now that Christmas is gone. I think their Black Mango is always in stock though. And there are lots of other seasonal teas there that I love. Depending on the tea, I often add a bit of sugar and a bit of milk (or a little thing of half-n-half from the coffee staion at work). Some teas are great without it, most are better with it though. There are lots of other teas I love, but TJ's seems most accessible and a good place for you to start.
I'm actually starting a High Tea club in 2014. Seriously.
What a great commitment to make! I gave up coffee for a couple of years while trying for a baby, and here are some tips I found helpful:
1) remember: why you're giving up coffee. find a way to have that reminder closeby for times of craving
2) replace: just like using tea. or a walk. or for me - it was sometimes with a nap! after all, I usually really wanted coffee when I was tired.
3) remove: this is harder at home, but if you can't have coffee out of the house, keep it out of sight. much easier to manage that way. and when friends come over, offer them a tea or a cool drink instead of immediately offering a coffee.
4) reduce: I started with Caffeine Free Mondays. Then I added Tea on Tuesdays, and so on. Starting the week with a 'win' was great
Good luck!
Wow...I never knew coffee was your kryptonite! I guess I made the switch to Barry's and never really came back. I drink coffee on the weekends (or whenever the mood strikes really) and especially when out. Tea at restaurants always disappoints. So hope your switcheroo isn't too painful, and I second Kate on the nap thing. If you can, that's an awesome caffeine alternative!
Post a Comment