Update: Coffee

Here's where I am on coffee.  I've been drinking two cups a week -- Thursdays and Sundays, generally.  Zippadee doo dah!  I like it, I really do.  I look forward to those days all week. 

I'm also currently limiting carbs, which is giving me mad cravings.  I permit myself alcohol (I'm not crazy!) and if I'm on a boat or at someone's house I'll eat what's available without being fussy.  But on my own I'm avoiding sugar and bread and rice and everything that's yummy and good in this world.  So on Monday I had to pick up a couple of dozen donuts and muffins and coffee for a seminar I was helping run.  Oh, I wanted a donut so badly, and it seemed so unfair that I had to cart all of these elusive sweet pastries all around.  So I compromised and let myself have a cup of coffee on a non-coffee day instead.

This is the slippery slope.  Now I have broken my strict two-cups-a-week plan, and as I feared, I now wheedle with myself every single day.  You already broke the rule, so why not just give in, and have a cup every day?  The new rule is, a cup on Thursdays, a cup on Sundays, and a cup on national holidays.  It's like the old rule, with very rare exceptions.  That's a stupid rule.  Why are you even doing this to yourself?  Just drink coffee when you want coffee, like everyone else in the world.  No!  I want coffee all the time.  It's bad for me.  No, it isn't.  There's no evidence that it's bad for you, in moderation.  In fact, it's probably good for you.  But it makes me amped up and gives me exciting dreams.  All the more reason to drink it!  No, it can't be good.  Just drink it, just go have a cup.  You know you want it.  I'm afraid of how much I want it.  That can't be good for me.  Plus, I like being a tea-drinker.  It seems so much nobler and healthier. You're being a ridiculous control freak.  Have a cup of coffee. 

Ack.  I am about to go to a coffee shop to do some writing before meeting some friends.  Will I, or won't I? 

Comments

[B]

Tea stains your teeth. But green tea is an antioxidant so you will live forever with green teeth. Bottom line. If it feels good do it for as long as you can get away with it. Limit yourself to exersise three times a week and limit your healthy food intake and pretty soon you will crave those things too.....WE WANT WHAT WE CAN'T HAVE.

LIFE IS SHORT

[Dan]

Life is short Sherry. If coffee is the worst of what you do, then have at it... :D I used to be a caffiene fiend, with over five servings of espresso a day... Tea has a fair amount of caffiene in it, so if it is the caffiene that you're trying to avoid, it is pretty much a wash.

[PG]

Here's a new arbitrary rule for your: Wait until they replicate this study before upping your coffee intake.

[jim]

I hear what you are saying. I gave up alcohol six years ago, and all caffeine three years ago. It was harder giving up the morning buzz from coffee than it was beer.

I drink decaf green tea, and am very happy with it. One thing I noticed right away without caffeine was how well I sleep, and that my dreams were so intense - I rarely get tired. (if I do I take a quick nap).

On the other hand, life is short. I had a cinammon roll this morning. That is rare, but it was so damn good.

I go dancing a lot at the country dance places. It is pretty cool to be coordinated late in the evening. Dancing is so much more fun - concentrating on the enthusiasm and feel of my partner and the movement and music.

thanks for listening.

- Jim

[a]

B, I love your comment about moderating exercise and healthy food intake. Got a big chuckle out of me! A great plan, indeed.

[Notorious BLT]

HA!

That post reminds me of Gollum :-0

Yesssssss My Preciousssssssss

[ms]

"Mm! how sweet the coffee tastes, more delicious than a thousand kisses, mellower than muscatel wine. Coffee, coffee I must have, and if someone wishes to give me a treat, ah, then pour me out some coffee!"

A-men!

(see the whole Bach Coffee Cantata libretto at http://www.good-music-guide.com/reviews/044lyrics.htm)

[John Franklin]

OK, Sherry, here it is, the secret to a long life (I'm twice your age, and totally healthy). Forget the fad diets and the scare stories. Eat and drink a balanced variety of food and drink, in moderation. Enjoy life and ignore the food freaks. It's that simple.

[Lynn]

This is a such a great post! I have struggled mightily with the same question. Especially when I was pregnant and trying to be really virtuous. I remember the first morning of drinking coffee after going cold turkey for a week. It was like someone took their foot off the oxygen tube leading to my underwater tank. The sun was brighter, the air fresher, my interactions with people pre- 9am improved significantly and my typing skills improved as well. My theory is that if something this good is legal and not immoral, why the hell not do it? As someone else commented, life is too short not to indulge in a few (reasonably healthy) addictions.