Kicking the Cup
About one week ago, my brother-in-law Mark and I entered into a bet: he would quit Diet Coke (and other soda containing caffeine) and I would quit drinking coffee. Let’s back up a bit…
I have been a self-avowed coffee lover for many, many, years… going all the way back to when I started in the IT industry (circa 1994). It’s not just something I drank – it was something I savored and immensely enjoyed. So just saying “I quit coffee” wasn’t something to be taken lightly.
But I decided to do it. We packed up my coffee makers (2 drip Mr. Coffee’s and a cappucinno maker), my carafe and dumped what Folgers I had left into the trash can. With all my paraphenalia splayed out on the counter there, I started to feel like a junkie after an intervention. What was I doing?
My new friends became Advil, water, and Mark’s old buddy Diet Coke. I had headaches for the first three days, my appetite increased remarkably (the first two days I devoured my lunch before 11 a.m.), and I found myself driving from work down to the local gas station for a 44 oz. infusion of carbonated sugar-free cold caffeine.
Mark, on the other hand, was lowered to the much-maligned caffeine-free Diet Coke, and the occasional Fresca. While I was still allowed to sip on the “cold” stuff, poor Mark had to go cold turkey.
But a week later, and I’m happy to say that I, while not being completely free of caffeine, have not had a single sip of coffee or tea, and I’m weaning myself off the Diet Coke (slowly). Mark is now my new hero, and I’m hoping within a couple of weeks to be completely free of the stuff.
People at work have noticed, and have commented that I look “healthier”. Instead of the Starbuck’s mug, the first thing I reach for every morning is a big glass of water. And that jolt of energy my body has been looking for during the past week has been replaced with a natural surge. And I find myself more calm and easy-going in the afternoon and evenings.
In the last few years, I have given up a lot of things, and removed many sources of addiction out of my life. Coffee was the last thing I had, and I held onto it with all my strength. But, now that it’s not around anymore, I find that I don’t miss it that much.
It has been replaced with something much more fulfilling.
You’re doing great . . . an real inspiration.