Sunday 1 June 2008

Caffeine control

One of the earliest daily disciplines that I consciously adopted was controlling my caffeine intake.

I used to suffer from hideous migraine, lasting up to 48 hours. Then I made some changes to my lifestyle and I haven’t had a migraine for over 3 years now.

Addressing my significant caffeine intake was one of the things that I changed. (By the way, I’m following the adventures of AnneDroid as she is attempting to tackle her caffeine consumption.)

Now I like coffee – my preferred way of taking caffeine – and I wasn’t really prepared to give it up completely. So my solution for too much caffeine was to drink coffee only before lunchtime (a somewhat vague measure of time), and to be quite strict about the volume. On a work day that means a cup of coffee with breakfast and some coffee (a somewhat vague measure of volume) in the middle of the morning.

I freely admit to being a coffee snob. I only drink instant coffee when held at gunpoint. So the important part of this discipline for me – is to only drink good coffee. This does mean planning ahead sometimes and taking filter coffee from home in my thermal cup, but it does mean that I haven’t resented the reduction in quantity as the habit has become firmly embedded in my daily disciplines.

5 comments:

Tess said...

I, too am a coffee snob, and pretty much try to do as you do, and keep it to pre-lunch.
I'm also a chocolate snob. I will not eat that Cadbury's crap, and find that paying more for really good chocolate means I don't eat as much.
I would never have believed a few years back that I could have just one square of good black chocolate instead of scoffing the lot, but I can.

lucy said...

i see my buddy, tess, is commenting in good form as always :-) i am reminded of probably one of the most delicious cups of coffee i have ever experienced...it was un grande cafe au lait in paris with tess...hmmmm...was it the coffee, the setting or the fellowship?

i have given up caffeine almost exclusively as it was doing odd things to my body, but i cannot give up the taste. i, too, like really good coffee, but have found that we all have our own ideas of what that looks like. i think i shall go revisit my own relationship with coffee here (the tale of the instant coffee):

http://diamondsintheskywithlucy.blogspot.com/2006/05/tale-of-instant-coffee.html

That Hideous Man said...

Coffe snobbery is much to be commended however. I've always thought of it as a mark of discernment!

I know I depend on far too much caffeine, however... . .

AnneDroid said...

How often are you held at gunpoint and made to drink instant?
Have you reported it to the police?

His Girl Friday said...

coffee snob reporting in...

working nights was tortuous (sp) and I was hooked on caffeine and sugar...Now, I'm better, well a little better. Not so much sugar, but still too much caffeine... :/ :)

the only instant coffee I have, is when the recipe calls for, it to enhance the chocolate flavour! :)