I really hate that I have vices in this life. Drives me nuts. Sometimes it drives me to the point of changing something… other times I just live with it. And while they seems small, insignificant and fit into my budget- I still don’t like the fact that if I was stranded on a island somewhere… I might just not make it. Yellow bananas are one of them. This my friends is numero dos.
I’m addicted. Really I am. Ever since Mrs. Lennander used to come pick me up before school 12 years ago and take me through Gregories drive through… I’ve been hooked. I didn’t like it at first. I had to start with the mochas. Then eventually came to grasp the beauty of turtle lattes (chocolate and carmel) and now usually just settle for a carmel something. It is something I treat myself to a few times a month (usually all my personal spending money each month goes towards expensive coffee- something else that drives me nuts!)
Since journeying through this new “lifestyle” of watching what I eat/drink I started measuring out two TBS of coffee creamer each day in my coffee instead of just pouring until it turned light brown. 🙂 And since I put a good 1/3-1/2 C of milk in my coffee as well, I kept telling myself that I wasn’t drinking much. One cup in the morning and one in the afternoon. Try as I might, I have not broken the habit. Sure my calories are down, but you know what is the kicker? Caffeine! I’ve met ppl who say they drink 5-10 cups a day and could stop at a moment’s notice. Not me. I skip one cup (remember 1/3 of that cup is milk and creamer!) and I get a headache like none other. However, I’v decided that I really want to stop drinking coffee in the afternoon. I have been reading in several weight loss magazines that have said that green tea is great for your body and it specifically targets belly fat- woot! When my in-laws were here a few weeks ago they brought me all their coupons (yes!) and there were two in there specifically for $1 off green tea. Add to that I was talking to my sister E late last week and she said something about drinking green tea with sun crystals in it. Well, that did it. I decided to give it a whirl. My (around ) $3 investment at Walmart looked like this:
I tried it for the first time on Tuesday and put an entire packet of Sun Crystals (combination of Stevia and dehydrated cane juice AND only 5 calories!) and it was WAY too sweet. Plus, I had a stressful afternoon with the kids and my head was pounding so I caved and split a cup (1/3 C milk remember??? can you tell this is how I justify my habit? 🙂 of coffee with Jason after dinner and felt better. Yesterday and today I still had my coffee first thing in the morning, but so far the tea has held out in the afternoon (yes, the tea has caffeine in it as well…. I will work on that next :). I’m adding a half a packet of Sun Crystals and it tastes better. My head is still throbbing some this afternoon- but thankfully I keep an ample supply of Tylenol on hand.
I do not intend to “give up coffee” – I would just prefer not to be dependent on it anymore… we will see. I haven’t had a drop of Pepsi in 6 months! (if you know me well, this is a big deal!) so I know it can be done. Plus, I just dropped 9.5 lbs in 6 weeks… I feel like anything is possible. And no, I have no intention of doing anything about the yellow bananas at this point. If I get stranded on an island… I’m hoping it is tropical and I can just pick a fresh one each day. 🙂
7 comments
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March 11, 2010 at 8:23 pm
Wendy B.
I would suggest trying decaf eventually. Personally I can’t taste a difference and it has a fraction of the caffeine. I was only doing reg coffee on the weekends, but that did not make for good Mondays. Then I would only have a tiny cup occasionally when I went inside Hills Bank as a treat, but I still got headaches. So I have decided that I never want to experience detox again. Also, I don’t even notice a difference on my energy level overall now that I am off of most caffeine. If I do need a boost, decaf actually does it since I don’t have it on a consistent basis, or cocoa/chocolate, or tea are other options. However, I am leaving myself with the option of going back once I have a newborn if needed. 🙂
March 11, 2010 at 8:34 pm
Tash
I recommend Honey in your green tea….if you are going to go “natural” then you might as well go all the way….. I don’t know what “Stevia” is….but if it is artificial, i would stay away from it.
I love my one cup of “International Foods French Vanilla Coffee” in the afternoon. I only do one a day…..and only if I can get it in before 4pm….if it’s after 4, i can’t do it. Once in awhile if i don’t sleep well i need a 1/2 in the morning too. It may be a vice, a guilty pleasure of sorts….but i think that God has provided us those things (like Chocolate, coffee, ice cream, etc) because he knows how rough it is to exist in this world and he is trying to give us a taste of heaven. That’s my story and I am sticking to it! 🙂
March 11, 2010 at 8:48 pm
Sarah
When I was preggo with Mabes I gave up caffeine. Which was a huge shock for my body since I drank it straight black every day. I did do the decaf thing, and it helped give me a little kick without being overwhelming. As for now? I fully embrace my addition. At all times of the day. 😉 Thankfully, I don’t seem to have too much of a detox. I’m a little slower (and maybe cranky if you ask Jon) but for the most part I can go without it. But I choose not to. Because really, I just love coffee. The taste, the smell, everything.
Tash – Stevia is derived from an all natural herb, so it’s a pretty great healthy alternative to sugar.
March 11, 2010 at 8:50 pm
amommaonamission
my goal is to get to the point of “choosing to drink or not to drink” and not having it rock my world 🙂
March 11, 2010 at 11:08 pm
kjacobs729
I’m like you Leah–if I have caffeine two days in a row, I’m addicted. I’m trying to stick to tea since the caffeine content is so much lower than coffe, but I can still definitely tell the difference between days have a cup of tea and days I don’t! It’s also hard to drink tea sometimes, because I have such a convenient source of coffee.
March 12, 2010 at 1:58 pm
Wendy R
I like Wendy B’s comment. However, when “I” was a baby his stomach was so sensitive that I had to go off caffeine to keep him from being gassy. Now that I’ve made the switch to decaf, I’ve decided not to go back to regular. Sometimes I worry in a coffee shop that they’re gonna get it wrong. I also drink caffeine free pop. (Well, if I’m not drinking caffeine, sometimes I feel like a need a sugar kick in the afternoon.) Maybe that’ll be next to go…but I really love my Dr. Pepper.
April 20, 2010 at 6:59 pm
Half Caf is my friend. « A Momma on a Mission
[…] 20, 2010 in Uncategorized A while back I wrote about not liking my addiction to coffee. I really wanted to give up my afternoon cup of coffee. And while I have done that and survived […]