A glance through my past posts labeled "coffee" will show my love/hate relationship with the stuff. I love coffee and hate that I occasionally have to give it up.
Alas, a recent visit with my doctor revealed that my blood pressure has crept up a bit over the past year. It's not really into the hypertension range so much as flirting with it in the pre-hypertension zone. Although I was disappointed, I wasn't terribly surprised. After all, I used the last year of stress as a license to eat all the unhealthy foods I'd eliminated from my eating in the past.
Want fried zucchini appetizers? Go for it. You've had a rough week dealing with the zoning inspector.
Want to make another batch of homemade soy ice cream ... this time with more chocolate chips? Why not? You just sledge-hammered 39 porch supports out of the ground today.
Want to order pizza for dinner? Sounds reasonable after watching your shed get hauled away today, sold to someone else for two-thirds of what you paid for it just a couple of months ago.
Want to bake chocolate chunk cookies? Might as well. You can always share them (a few) with friends even though they rarely have the time to come visit. Or maybe they've just been avoiding you because you've been so damn negative.
Shall I stop to get a white mocha frappucino today? You must or the baristas will think you don't like them anymore. Besides, since your friends don't want to hear about all your stress, they are the only ones who will listen to you whine anymore. And if you're getting the frappucino, you might as well have the whip cream on top, too. You deserve it, you know!
Yep, that's the kind of thinking that put on quite a few pounds last year, and raised my blood pressure and my cholesterol. The doctor has threatened me with medication if I don't get the blood pressure and cholesterol under control. I don't do medication for symptoms I can treat with diet and lifestyle....which means I am having to change my diet and lifestyle.
I've been trying to wean myself off the caffeine for quite a while. When I switched to making half-caff at home, I mysteriously felt the urge to resume my frappucino habit. It took me a while to figure out that I was craving the caffeine as much as the fat and sugar. (And I'm currently reading a really interesting book about how fat and sugar really bang the dopamine receptors in the brain, making it very addictive.) I started making extra coffee at home so that I could have a cup in the afternoon to help me get over the frap cravings.
I'd gotten down to less than a quarter caffeinated coffee per cup when I got the lab results about my cholesterol. Coffee can raise cholesterol as well as blood pressure. It was time to give it up. My last cup of coffee was Tuesday, May 10. On Wednesday, I tried one of the coffee substitutes I'd reviewed a while back. Ick, didn't like it at all. On Thursday, I tried a different one that was better. Today, I had nothing as I had to get out of the house early.
Was quitting easy? Yes and no. It was not as hard as in the past. I had no headaches or physical withdrawals, probably because I'd been cutting back on the caffeine already. However, sometimes my mind acts like a two year old and wants what it wants. I had to talk myself out of stopping for a frappucino yesterday afternoon after going to the gym. (Yes, I joined a gym. Gotta deal with the weight, too!) It was hot, I was tired, and boy did I feel like I deserved a treat. I managed to keep the car from turning into the parking lot, however, and feel better for having done that.
Am I ready to get rid of my last remaining French Press? Oh, okay, I'll admit I have two left: a four cup press and a single cup one. No, I'm not ready to give these away. Knowing my past history with quitting coffee and then taking it up again, they're best packed away in a dark closet until after I've conquered the cholesterol and blood pressure issues. At that point, I suspect I'll start drinking coffee again and seeing what I can get away with before it affects my vital numbers.
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8 comments:
Yes, keep the presses! A French press can also be used for brewing tea. I stopped drinking coffee early last year, but I still use my press for steeping ginger tea, which I use for migraine attacks.
Actually, on a hunch, I just googled ginger tea blood pressure and saw some results that could be interesting to you. I am not a doctor though.
I'm on again, off again with coffee, too. If I have to much I act totally crazed and more neurotic than usual.
During the week we drink 1-2 cups of black tea and 1 cup/day of coffee on weekends. We've also gone completely without caffeine, but find the black tea is a nice boost in the morning without being overly stimulating.
Root Simple had a post a short time ago about coffee substitutes, it might be worth a look.
Congrats on not swinging into frappucinoland--definitely not an easy decision on a hot day.
Thankfully caffeine calms me, I'm ADD. Of course that means if I'm tired I have nothing to turn to lol.
I need caffeine for the cluster headaches I get, it's much safer and better than the meds my doctor gave me that also have caffeine.
Anyway, I had high blood pressure for awhile but went to almost a totally organic diet (still eat junk food I just have to make it myself) and started being more active. I have lost over 30 lbs and my bp and insulin are back to normal (well my doctor says my bp is great! yay!!) and my Fibromyalgia is under control.
All of this changes if I go off the diet very long. So hopefully your diet changes will help you a lot. Some coffee is very good for you, it has been showed to reduce your risk of diabetes and several other health issues. So I say keep the presses! And I have two as well! hehe
Ah, coffee. It's an habituation for me. A cup of joe, straight up, black, no sweetener, no milk nor milk proxy, no frap. I did not realize how "habituated" I had become until visiting an Oklahoma friend whose young family did not indulge. Fortunately, the soccer field concession stand served up surprisingly stout java, making me a happy fan of the 8-year-old's soccer match. Starbucks black, though is made to be mixed rather than drunk straight, not good: go for the Americano instead.
I have one strong cup..black...every morning and that is it...same as I have one Scotch and water every night...I enjoy them and just not ready to give them up...could be worse is what I figure...lol...
Jo - good point. Maybe I need to eat more sushi; I love the pickled ginger (gari) that goes with it!
Desert Lean-to - I'm really enjoying the coffee sub I have right now. I think it's "Inka." (Too tired to go look - lots of exercise today.) I need to get out my smoothie book for hot weather homemade options. There was one that we really liked ... I'll have to look to find it, but I think it featured cantaloupe.
Lisa - caffeine affects me much differently than you! I'm glad to hear you have found relief from some of your symptoms with organic food. I assume this means your coffee's organic, too.
I'm not entirely ruling out coffee in my life at a future date. First, though, I think I really need to get my numbers (and weight) under control.
Waitress from Mensa - ugh. I could never drink coffee black. It's really just a carrier for the sugar and creamy goodness. Or, in the case of fancy drinks, flavor as well. I'm cutting out a whole lot of calories by eliminating coffee!
ain't for city gals - yep, it could be worse. But, I look for ways that it could be better, too. :)
Please post the cantaloupe smoothie recipe when you find it. It sounds absolutely dreamy. I'm always looking for summertime drinks to beat the intense desert heats There's only so much iced mint tea a girl can drink in one day!
Sorry, I can't post it due to copyright issues. However, if you email me, I'll send it to you. You can find my email addy by looking on the main blog page....gotta look as I've got it so the spambots can't pick it up. :)
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