Parting ways with caffeine

Like most people, I go through phases of my life where I decide I really need and want to focus on being a healthier person. For the most part these "health kicks" usually focus upon doing things just to make my heart healthier and happier, rather than loosing weight or eating better. Although, me eating better (less fat and sodium, as that is good for the heart) and working out (to give my heart some much needed exercise) usually result in some weight loss. But that's never really my goal, more just a nice side effect.

In the last few weeks I went to the doctor twice, once for a cold and to get a referral to a cardiologist (time for my yearly-ish checkup) and the other time for an allergic reaction. Both times I went in, my blood pressure was high. Well, not exactly high by normal standards, but high for me. Higher than it has been in quite a while. Silly as it seems, I've always kind of prided myself in my good blood pressure... because despite my heart's shortcomings, I've had a strong blood pressure with good range. But to have my blood pressure taken twice in about three weeks and both times to have it on the high side and within "borderline" range of being called high blood pressure... well, I don't like it. The last thing I need is to have something like that adding to any heart troubles, especially something which is relatively easy to reduce.

After my last "high blood pressure" moment, I drove home thinking about it. Some of you may laugh at this... but I was having a pep-talk with myself saying, "Ya know what? You're 27 now... and it's really time to start taking care of yourself long term." Which, yes it's funny as most people have this kind of talk with themselves possibly later in life, or 27 sounds really young (it is). However I feel in a lot of ways I'm fighting a bit of an uphill battle, and I may as well do everything I can to make things easier for myself. That being said... I know there are things I need to do to make my heart happier and my blood pressure lower. Starting with exercise.

In my time in Germany I have gotten plenty of walking in. When the weather cooperates we have some nice walking trails around our village which are away from the road and provide a beautiful background for some solitude. I also get in plenty of walking on our vacations. And although my job is "stationary," I feel that I spend a good part of my day moving/running around at work. However, my dedication to the gym has waned to the point of being nonexistent. Part of this is pure laziness. The other part has to do with me commuting and spending a few nights a week away from home. But... that really can't be an excuse anymore. It's going to be a challenge for me to push through being tired and brush past the excuses to force myself to get outside and walk/jog/ride my bike or go to the gym at night. It is important for me to do that.

The other major change that will occur... is I've decided to once again give up caffeine. To anyone who knows me, this is shocking. I love caffeine, not just coffee, all forms of it. I love coffee, I love lattes, mochas, Coke, Diet Coke, Dr. Pepper, Mt. Dew. I don't discriminate. I like caffeine hot, I like it cold, I like it made with milk, or carbonated. It doesn't really matter. It is a true love affair. Sadly, I'm also one of those people who if I don't have coffee in the morning I'm tired, grumpy, and I get a bad headache. Coffee is a family affair. When my immediate family (mom, dad, brother, myself) are together in the morning, we can easily, EASILY go through three pots of coffee. However, there was a point in my life a few years ago where I made the decision to give up caffeine (for my heart) and I was able to do it... and stuck to it for about six months. What brought back the coffee addiction was stress, honestly. I had a lot of things going on, I wasn't sleeping well, and it was easy to slip back into the coffee drinking habit. But. I know caffeine can cause your blood pressure to spike. I also know (from experience) that it can cause me to have heart palpitations. Basically my love of caffeine really doesn't do me any good (except help me to stay awake and work on homework). It will most likely be a rough few first days. I know it will be. But I'm hoping after that I will get over the hump and it will be smooth sailing. Fingers crossed. I'm smart enough to realize I have to wait until I'm done with this last round of papers/test for my classes - which will end next week. So. I have a "quit date." I know it is coming. Coffee, at least caffeinated coffee, and I must part ways. It is a sad goodbye.