Several days ago I somewhat decided to kick my caffeine habit. It wasn't a decision I really meant to make, but one I walked backwards into. I didn't have any caffeine in the house, and I am so low on money that I didn't feel like going to the store to get some. Amazingly that day passed without any kind of negative reaction from my body. When the next day dawned, I felt confident in going forward with the break. Unfortunately, that day the first caffeine headache set in. It wasn't too bad, and I fought it off with a couple doses of ibuprofen. By day's end I felt pretty good, and that night passed without the headache returning. The next day I pronounced myself to be past the headache and into the 'fuzziness.' (The last time I gave up caffeine, early 2002, it took about two weeks before my head cleared up. I was in a constant fog.) Well, the headache returned later that day with a vengeance and also came around the following day. Today, however, I was headache free the entire day. Oh boy is the fuzziness with me though. The last two or three days I have been in bed about 12 hours of the day... maybe more! I'm not sure. I've tended to go to bed earlier than normal— 11 PM one night— and then sleep in. Most mornings I've been up for an hour or so in the early morning, checking email, etc., but then I fall asleep again for a few hours. I'm hoping that if I allow myself to get all the sleep I seem to need right now, the fuzziness will pass faster. It can't pass fast enough for my money. I was on the phone tonight with a friend, and I found myself forgetting simple words. And then running into that forgotten word block would almost derail me from the conversation. It must have been annoying to be on the other end of the conversation.
The last time I gave up caffeine it lasted about two months, maybe three. Once my ship passed the shoals of fuzziness, it was clear sailing, and I felt good. It is hard, however, to live without caffeine since it is in so many of my favorite drinks. In particular, I love iced tea. Iced tea is my substitute of choice when I don't feel like having a Diet Coke. When you eat out, those tend to be the only sugar free choices you can get, besides water. Despite what you may think given how big I am, I am not a fan of sugared drinks. Seeing as how I can't afford to eat out, it may be easier to steer clear of caffeine this time around.
What brought me back into the arms of caffeine last time was the very successful diet I went on, beginning about March of 2002. I lost about 70 pounds by sticking very strictly to a low-carb diet. I didn't have to do anything else— the pounds just melted off. But, I somehow made myself stick to it very strictly— so strictly in fact that Lisa's Mom scolded me for not eating much more than ham and salad that year when they invited me over for Easter. Anyway, about a week or two into the diet I was in misery. I ended up making a pact with myself, allowing caffeinated beverages back into my life, but only those with no carbs. I've heard that caffeine is a no-no on a low-carb diet, but the formula worked OK for me.
Well, I fell hard this week. I've been putting it off for years, but I finally started watching Lost this week. All of my regular shows are off for the Summer and Craig Ferguson was in re-runs so I decided to take the plunge. ABC.com has all the episodes available online in HD, which is a nice plus. So far I'm enjoying it but I'm not compelled by it yet. I have heard too many things over the years from friends. I know what happens in a lot of the early plotlines. There have been a few surprises though. For example, I always got the impression that Locke was an asshole. So far he's been pretty likable, like he's the island's shaman. I also thought the flashback sequences would be a little more cryptic. However, they have dovetailed nicely in each episode with some dilemma that character is facing in the episode. Honestly, it seems more like the island is trying to be Sam Beckett from Quantum Leap and fix these people week after week. I assume things will get more involved as I get further into the series.
Hmmm... I had more things in my head to talk about, but they seem to have drifted off. I think it's time for sleep.
"I believe that every human has a finite number of heartbeats. I don't intend to waste any of mine running around doing exercises."— Buzz Aldrin
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