Coffee & Tea Challenge

I'm giving up coffee and tea.  I usually give up drinking coffee once a year or so and it's time.  I have two reasons this time.

The first reason is that coffee isn't really good for you. I know, I've heard about the antioxidants and medicinal values of tea, but honestly, I feel I have a pretty healthy diet and that should take care of things.  I drink coffee and tea for the caffeine.  The normal day is about four mugs of coffee and then at supper I have two cups of tea.  I believe it can't be good for me.

You may say: "Steve, cut down.  Just have one or two cups a day."

That doesn't work for me.  Normally, I'll cut down for about two or three days and then bango, I'm back up to four cups and there's no turning back.  It's pretty much all or nothing for me.

The second reason I'm quitting is the staining of my teeth.  I just went to the dentist about a week ago and and the dental hygienist said something to the effect: "Man, you've got to quit the coffee.  These stains are horrible."  To be honest, she was more diplomatic about it, but the meaning of her words rang clear.

About three or four years ago I hit some ice while biking to work and went face down on the road.  I lost about a tooth and a half and gave myself my fifth concussion.  Since then, I got teeth replace, a root canal, braces to straighten my smile and then jaw surgery to re-align my teeth. The smile is important to me.  That being said I still bike in the winter, but am fairly careful about the conditions I ride in.

It's been a week  now and I think I'm over the misery hump.

• Day one - Started ok, but then the headache kicked in an the morning and I was extremely tired.  Almost fell asleep at the supper table.
• Day two - Woke up with a headache and it got worse as the day went on.
• Day three - Up at 5am for swim practice. Headache didn't start until around noon.
• Day four - It was the weekend and there wasn't much of a headache.  I did have a thirty minute nap in the afternoon though.
• Day five - We had a breakfast of bagels and eggs.  Coffee would have been perfect with this meal.
• Day six - Up at 5am for swim practice. Not much of a headache but almost fell asleep at the office at 3pm.
• Day seven - Today is day seven and I'm coping pretty well.  A 3pm snack got me over the hump and my headache is kind of a numb feeling rather than a headache. I'm also drinking a lot more water which is helping.

Friends and family have been making fun of me and my attempts to quit.  I don't mind and their teasing is strengthening my resolve.

Over the last couple of days, I have become aware of the sheer number of coffee advertisements and people walking along the street drinking coffee. I'm not going to preach the evils of coffee.  I'm not going to be "that guy". It just isn't right for me. That being said, I caught myself referring to someone drinking coffee as a caffeine sucker.....I'll have to stay conscious of my attitude

I'll keep updating this blog with my progress.  Hopefully it will continue for a while.