Dreaming of soda now that I am caffeine-free
I recently gave up caffeine. I haven’t had caffeine in about a month. I only rarely drank coffee anyway — it sometimes upset my stomach, so I usually avoided it. Instead I often drank green tea in the morning, and at some point during the day, Coca-Cola. In a typical day I would drink one or two cans of Coke, or some or all of a 20-ounce bottle.
I didn’t give up soda because of the sugar or the calories. I didn’t care about the sodium. My waistline and my blood pressure are not causes for concern. Although I didn’t give up soda to lose weight, I have probably cut out 200 or more daily calories as a result, sugar calories. Plus, I am drinking a lot of water, pretty much water with everything, which is supposed to be good for you. But whatever the overall health benefit, I simply gave up soda because I wanted to cut out the stimulant.
Like so many people, I had caffeine in my system most of my waking hours. Not as much as some people, who drink three grande espresso lattes before noon. Still, I thought maybe it wasn’t necessary to always be stimulated that way and I thought it might be causing me some anxiety and disagreeing with my stomach, so I stopped. I haven’t sworn off soda and might drink a caffeine-free soda if the mood strikes, though so far it hasn’t. I do drink apple juice sometimes in the morning, and beer and wine here and there (not usually in the morning), but mostly water.
Giving up caffeine was easy. Here’s how I did it: I decided not to drink anything that has caffeine in it. Not difficult, though I thought it would be. I really like Cola. And I’ve had lack-of-caffeine headaches before, times when I’d get to late in the day without a soda and really needed one, needed the sugar and caffeine and high-fructose corn syrup — they were my life’s engines of progress. But I have not had a single headache since I gave up caffeine a month ago. I haven’t been tired or less productive. I am just as energetic when I teach and write and coach little league. I haven’t fallen asleep behind the wheel and killed a family of five. Not even once. I feel pretty much the same as before, but maybe more relaxed without the caffeine. Probably I’m falling asleep more easily at night, which I count as a good thing.
I haven’t experienced a downside yet. So far, though, since giving up caffeine, I have had two dreams in which I drank soda. Both times I was drinking from a plastic bottle, 16 or 20 ounces, and both times I realized in the dream that I was drinking Cola even though I no longer drank Cola, and I wondered in the dream how I came to be drinking it when I no longer drank it. I felt, in the dream, a vague sense of failure. Other than that, the psychological trauma appears to be minimal.
Tweet
Print This Post
Dude it’s soda, not crystal meth. Talk to me when you are on 200mg of flecainide, and have 400mg of amioderone leaving your system…BTW, you coach little league? That league must be up in arms with you as a coach. What are you, like 10-0? If you coach little league like you play other sports, then there’s probably a closed door meeting right now to handicap your club the rest of the way.
There are some people who might have as much trouble giving up coffee as meth.
I’m assistant coach, and the kids are 6 and 7, so it’s not that competitive yet. Last weekend, I did, though, at a condolence call of all things, get into a 3-on-3 wiffleball game with stickball rules, and was making diving catches and hit like 5 homeruns while people mourned inside. Too bad they didn’t have a hoop and you weren’t there…
I mean 6 and 7 years old. That’s not the team’s record. Games haven’t started yet. If I were still drinking caffeine, maybe I would have been more clear the first time.
I gave up caffeine two months ago and the same effects are true. I’m more relaxed and balanced which depending on perspective is a good thing. I have enough energy without it. I used to have at least two venti lattes a day.
@Jared Same results maybe – but there were some serious withdrawal symptoms with coming off of 3 venti’s a day. Now I am guessing – since all caffeine has been eliminated – there is never a time when you are “crashing” – such a healthier way to live!
@Rob You needed to see the crash to believe it – there were serious withdrawals – headaches, shakes, and attitude!
“…the sugar and caffeine and high-fructose corn syrup — they were my life’s engines of progress.”
Yummy, yummy nicotine.
I’ll admit it: I am a creature of chemicals. I love them, each and every one that I injest on a routine basis.
From beer to flouride in the city water supply, God bless America’s chemical dependence. If I didn’t have ready, easy access to Advil, I don’t know what I’d do.
But I’m sure it would involve a lot of suffering…
Fellow readers, since we’re all gathered here together, celebrating quiting, allow me to demonstrate…
Be careful what water you drink. Tap water in most cities add Sodiun Flouride which poisions the system.
Congrats on kicking the habit! I’m clinging on to it myself. After quitting drinking and smoking, I feel like I need to be excessive about something, and it’s all I’ve got.