There I am in a coffee shop in Solvang, California back in 2011. Boy did I enjoy that vanilla latte that day! My coffee habit started back in high school. I would drink a hot cup of coffee first thing in the morning and then drink a cold iced coffee on the way to school. I was even known to take caffeine pills on top of that, something I am not proud of now! My poor little heart. Fast forward through the years, on my 21st birthday I didn't even drink. Instead I had a group of friends over for a card night. We stayed up late and drank coffee. My friends and I would go out to restaurants just to drink coffee.
A few years back when Cody went through basic training I decided that I wanted to cut my coffee drinking way down. I was working at IKEA where they provided their co-workers FREE coffee all day long. I would drink up to 6 cups just while at work. That's not counting the coffee I had before work. I will say, I got a lot done when I was at work jacked up on caffeine! While Cody was gone I went on this health kick. I actually got my coffee intake down to one cup in the morning and it was only half-caff.
While I was in Texas attending Cody's Graduation, I fell off the wagon. I went to Starbucks and got a vanilla latte. After that one latte, I started drinking them often again and picked up my bad habits. Back to all the free coffee at work (IKEA), back to more then one cup in the morning and goodbye half-caff! For this post I was able to pretty much click on any of my Flickr photo sets and find an image of me with a coffee cup either in my hand or next to me...
So it's only March and I'm already posting about kicking my coffee addiction. I didn't expect to start cutting back on coffee so soon in the year. At the beginning of February we fell in love with a new brand of coffee. We had been drinking the brand Millstone and some Starbucks. We tried a new coffee from a local coffee shop in town, DAZ BOG. This coffee is amazing. It's for true coffee junkies. It's so dark and strong. After drinking it everything else tastes watered down. I tried drinking some Millstone that we had left over and it tasted like water. I poured it down the drain because I hated it that much.
Well something strange happened to me after I started to drink DAZ BOG. I suddenly had a million pimples on my face. My whole chin and forehead were covered. It looked almost like a red rash on both sides of my face. At the time I was drinking on average two cups of coffee in the morning and then two cups of decaf in the afternoon. I craved it so I would just settle for decaf to satisfy my cravings during the day. I couldn't figure out what was causing the breakouts! It was driving me crazy. The light bulb went off over my head and I thought, "Maybe it's the coffee?"
I thought maybe since this coffee is stronger then other brands it was the reason I was breaking out. It's been a little over a week and I have increased my water intake and I'm down to only one cup of coffee in the morning. My skin has drastically cleared up. I would be happy with only one cup of coffee from now on. Or maybe even switch to tea with caffeine in it for some mornings. My energy level seems to have already increased and I'm not crashing as much. This isn't the first time I've gave up HUGE amounts of caffeine. When I have in the past I always find myself feeling better without it. Problem for me is coffee tastes amazing. I love it. That's why I don't plan to fully give it up. It's a treat now. I just have to have strong will power. I'm curious to see how I do when I go on vacation. Dun dun duunnnn....
Are you a coffee drinker or a coffee addict?
See my full 32 Things Before 32 List HERE.
That sounds so weird for me, I hate coffee haha. I just thinks it smells and I've never 'learned' to drink it :p Good things for me I guess... :p But well, I do enjoy my cocacola.. But only one glass a day!
ReplyDeleteI know lots of people who drink Coke instead of coffee. Both my parents actually. That is addicting as well. I used to drink Coke. When we went vegan though we gave up all that. I got a Sprite about 8 months ago and couldn't even drink half of it. I hate pop now! hahaha Anytime anyone tells me they don't like coffee I say, "Good for you." :) Meaning you aren't addicted to it. YAY!
DeleteOMG! This is going to be a hard one, I wish you all the luck in the world.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is my life. It is a big part of who I am. I can't imagine life without it. This post scares me, I hope you can do it. :)
I know! I thought of you when I typed this post. "Cazz will think I am crazy!" hahaha I just know it's what is best for me. Plus, it's rather annoying being 31 years old and covered in pimples. Really? I thought those days were over! Plus this way I can bike better and if I do decide to have a baby it won't be as hard to go cold turkey. I will still really enjoy your coffee posts. If I make it to Australia, we will get coffee together.
DeleteI love that you are doing this. I used to be a coffee drinker. My parents introduced me and, like you, I drank coffee in high school but only a cup here and there. Which, by the way, I can see why you want to quit because holy coffee batman! After I got out of the Air Force I switched to tea and about a year ago to two years ago I switched to caffeine free tea and I love it. People tell me all the time how they need caffeine but boy does my diet give me the energy I need. That was the biggest change when going vegan and especially when I went on a whole foods plant-based diet. Hello energy. So now I start my day with a cup of caffeine free tea. The thing I recently cut back is the amount of sugar I put in my tea. I used to put two tablespoons. Crazy! Now I do one teaspoon and I'm cool with that. Some teas I do no sugar.
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy that you shared with people how reducing and or eliminating coffee helped to clear up your skin. The thing for me was I would get headaches when I drank caffeine. When I drank it a lot my body got used to it but when it was sporadic I got headaches. A few weeks back I was at Barnes & Noble and said, ah I'll try an iced coffee today. It had been years. I tried it, came home and said, "so that's why I quit coffee." I didn't like how it messed with my body. It felt invasive and unnatural the energy it gave me, along with a headache. Great post Jessie and congrats on cutting down the coffee!
Have you tried Bengal Spice tea? I love it because it is sweet on its own. I am not huge on super sweet teas, so this one is a perfect balance. I think I will giveaway a box of it on my blog someday in the future. Coffee does do crazy things to you. I feel way better without huge amounts of it. It's honestly fighting the cravings for me.
DeleteWhen we first switched to the plant based diet I couldn't believe all the energy I had. The problem with caffeine is the "crashing" that comes with it. All my tea is decaf except for one box that I just bought. Tea is amazing. :)
Oh yes! We chatted a bit on your blog about that company and I believe Bengal Spice is one you mentioned. I thought it was in a picture you posted. Actually it's one I'm drinking today. :) Oh yes, I forgot about the crashing that comes with it, which comes quicker than I expect. Tea really is amazing! I'm really excited for you for dialing down your coffee intake.
DeleteI do remember that!!! All the teas are really good. There are more for me to pick from out here since we are close to their plant in Denver. :)
DeleteComing from the Pacific NW, where there's a coffee kiosk on every corner, I am a big coffee fan. But I do have to moderate how much I drink because it will make me a little hyper if I have too much. I love a nice dark roast, I buy my beans in bulk at WinCo and grind them myself at home. HEAVEN! So the stuff I get at work (Maxwell House, pre-measured) tastes like swill, especially after the pot sits on a burner for a while. Anyway, there is something very satisfying about having a warm cup of something nearby to "nurse" on, whether it's coffee, tea, herbal tea, hot chocolate, apple cider or ???? I bet if you starting drinking one of those other warm drinks, besides coffee, you will be able to cut back on coffee rather easily.
ReplyDeleteI think you are totally right Suzanne. I also really love tea. :) Using whole bean coffee is the best way I think! It is like having a little cup of heaven. Thanks for your comment.
DeleteHa ha! You read my mind. The second I saw your title I thought, "Why????!!" But you are so right. I have noticed (after looking at what I've been spending my money on each month) that I am a Starbucks junky. I am embarrassed by how much money I waste there. I think I will join your crusade to cut coffee. I don't want to cut it completely out of my life but I think one cup a day should suffice. I've made the goal that I will allow myself one mug as I get ready in the morning. However, I'll forgoe the morning mug and drink orange juice instead if I plan to get an iced coffee later in the day. Not sure how this plan will work for me because I seriously love coffee- but I'm going to try!
ReplyDeleteIt is hard! ;) I have a good friend who goes to Starbucks every day, sometimes more then once. I teased him about the amount of money he must be spending. I think he joked that it couldn't be that much,...totally in denial. I think coffee is fine when it's in moderation, but it seems all coffee drinkers/lovers want A LOT of it everyday. I think we are all in the same boat!!!
DeleteI have a little, teensy bit of trouble considering giving up my coffee. But I generally try to stick to one cup a day. Maybe in Japan I'll cut down, I don;t think they have amazing coffee over there! I love all of your pictures with coffee in them... I feel like they could use a big red rubber stamp "GUILTY" over them! hahaaa
ReplyDeletexo
Guilty,..I like that. I was totally busted in every photo. This was only 4 pictures! HA! I am down to one cup currently and hope to float around that. I will probably have more while on our vacation, but I will probably not drink the DAZ BOG since it's so strong. Gosh it's so good. I may give some away on my blog to all my coffee addict friends. ;)
DeleteWell done on giving it up! I can't stand coffee but I've been known to drink insane amounts of tea
ReplyDeleteTea is yummy as well. I go through a lot of it, but it's decaff most of the time. :)
DeleteOh wow yea...coffee, love it so much too :/ But I understand what mean... drinking too much of it is bad.
ReplyDeleteYOu know what though, I'm *the* biggest coffee lover hehe... and have recently started drinking more green tea. It really is starting to feel good. I am now craving the green tea. Especially when I'm hungry but it's not meal time yet, I sip on green tea and it keeps me from munching on all kinds of stuff.
I need to try green tea. I haven't had it in a very long time. I have started drinking a lot more decaf teas. I love coffee as well, but I need to see if it's the reason why I am breaking out with pimples. Maybe if it's not the reason I can keep being a junkie. hahaha
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