Why I Quit Drinking Coffee and Started Again
Ah, coffee! Most people need at least a cup before they can be productive. Others, use it to get through college and pull all-nighters. Wherever you go, there’s a big chance there’s a Starbucks near by. Basically, it’s everywhere and a big vice for some.
I drank it frequently in school and when I started my job in the construction industry, it became second hand to have some form of caffeine every morning. I stay away from sugary drinks and really just have my coffee black. Sometime last fall, I began to wean myself off coffee.
My reasoning for doing so was two fold. One, we were beginning the process of trying to conceive a child (still trying, fingers crossed!) and two, I began to realize that coffee wasn’t really doing much for me. During a work trip, I was reading The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy and he mentioned how he really takes a survey of his daily habits every once in a while. This inspired me to do so as well.
First off, why do I drink coffee? I thought I did so to keep myself awake but honestly, why didn’t I just go to bed sooner? I had no excuse for staying up all night and trying to replace sleep with an ungodly amount of coffee wasn’t good for my health. Then I realized that part of the problem was that I’m a HUGE person of routine. Having a warm drink in the morning was just my thing. I began substituting green tea and then later peppermint tea that didn’t contain any caffeine.
Now, I know that drinking coffee isn’t the worst habit to have but this little experiment really made me take a look at why I do certain things. Every evening after dinner, I would “save room” for dessert which I would eat while sitting on the couch watching TV. Eating mindlessly is a HUGE problem of mine so I began to switch out the cookies and desserts in front of the TV with some tea. It satisfied my sweetness and didn’t make me feel bloated before bed. I still have desserts but I make sure I’m eating them at the kitchen table while fully aware of what I’m doing!
I tried coffee kombucha for the first time this week and it’s awesome!
Currently, I’m back on team coffee! However, I only have a cup every once in a while and I think of it as a treat! I ask myself why I want this particular cup of coffee. Lately, I’ve been enjoying different blends of coffee whenever I visit new restaurants. It’s fair to say that my little experiment has helped me identify a few bad habits. It has also helped me gather a bit of perspective!
What’s one thing you do or enjoy without really thinking about it?
