No mas

I stopped drinking coffee.  *Insert dramatic pause for shock and awe ...

Are you done? No? Ok. I'll wait.

I have been an avid coffee drinker since my second year of grad school, but for a long time I have wanted to give up drinking it. The main reason was because I hated feeling like a slave to it. I mean I could barely function before I had my morning cup of coffee. A morning cup (by cup, I mean at least 16 oz) soon turned into a late morning cup, then an afternoon cup. No mas!

I know this is hard to hear from a gold card-carrying member of he Green Cup Mafia. In fact, when I attempted to stop drinking coffee in the past, I got no support from family and friends. Everyone was like: "You?!" "You won't be able to do it." "blah blah, negative comment, blah blah blah." Let this be a lesson in "be careful who you share your dreams with." So this time around, I didn't tell anyone. I just went for it on my own. Amazing what you can do with determination and positivity.

The other reasons I stopped drinking coffee were:

• I put an inordinate amount of sugar and cream in my coffee. I was that person who had coffee with their sugar. So not drinking coffee was also a way to reduce my sugar intake.
• Green tea has antioxidants and other nutrients. Coffee does not. Coffee is not bad for you, necessarily (well, not unless you were adding the cream and sugar I was adding). See other benefits of green tea:

• Ultimately, I was consuming wayyyy too much caffeine. I think it contributed to my sleep issues. I've slept amazingly this week. Perhaps the significant reduction in caffeine contributed to that.

Now I will still retain my membership in the Green Cup Mafia, but my cup will now contain green tea. I have plenty o' mugs to choose from.

Starbucks peach green tea, unsweetened, is my new fav. I haven't had coffee in about three weeks and I don't want it anymore.

Give us free!

-Run