If it ain't caffeinated, it ain't coffee!

"Over second and third cups flow matters of high finance, high state, common gossip and low comedy. [Coffee] is a social binder, a warmer of tongues, a soberer of minds, a stimulant of wit, a foiler of sleep if you want it so. From roadside mugs to the classic demi-tasse, it is the perfect democrat." ~ Anonymous

Coffee is the unofficial fuel for human body. My day does not start without an extra-large hot cup of coffee. Yes, that statement officially makes me an addict. So much so is my addiction that I feel lazy and tired if I don't get that first coffee cup in the morning.

According to a recent survey:

• Among coffee drinkers the average consumption in the United States is 3.1 cups of coffee per day.
• Over 50% of Americans over 18 years of age drink coffee every day. This represents over 150 million daily drinkers. 30 million American adults drink specialty coffee beverages daily; which include a mocha, latte, espresso, café mocha, cappuccino, frozen/iced coffee beverages, etc.
• Specialty coffee sales are increasing by 20% per year and account for nearly 8% of the 18 billion dollar U.S. coffee market.

When I look back, and think of the time, when my coffee used to be 'light and sweet'. As part of calories cut down, I started drinking 'less milk and less sugar' and then slowly I came down to 'dark, milk with one sugar'. The change was not just in the style of my coffee, but also in the quantity, which needless to say grew with time.

So there started a quest to see how I can progress in my daily coffee reduction:

Day 1: Realization: One day, almost by magic, I realized it was time to make this addiction, a little less addictive. Various research have proved that some heavy caffeine users grow irritable, get headaches, or feel lethargic when they can't get that one cup of coffee or other caffeinated drink. As soon as I realized my consumption of coffee, I knew something needs to be done.

Day 2: Reduction: I got only a large cup (20 oz) of coffee in the morning as opposed to a daily extra large cup (24 oz) and did not even finish it. Day 3 was going to be a hard one with no coffee at all. I was excited to see how this 'No Coffee Day' goes.
Day 3. Restriction - No Coffee Day: The plan was simple. All I needed to do was stay away from coffee. Morning was the toughest phase. Obviously, people were walking around the office with their coffee cups in hand and I had none. I was finding it very hard to resist the temptation to run down to the Dunkin Donuts next door. I went into the office kitchen to get some water. Someone had kept the fresh coffee for brewing. I thought, about 100 times to leave the idea of No Coffee Day and drink that one sip of coffee. I drank water instead. Although, I did enjoy taking a long sniff of the brewing coffee. The morning passed very lazy. I was found yawning most of the times. I started getting headaches and it was hard to concentrate on work. After a long morning, it was time for lunch. Post lunch, I got deep into work and forgot about the coffee for a while. I thought it will be a lot easier to sleep at night. Why I did not sleep well that night, is another story (thanks to the crappy apartment I was living in at the time). At the end of the day, I was proud of myself for not drinking coffee.
So the conclusion of the experiment (at least for myself) was, I can run / walk / crawl slowly if I don't fuel myself with the regular dosage of coffee. It is hard, but not impossible. Day 4 on wards, I have reduced my daily intake of coffee. It has been four days since and I do not see a problem. All it takes is a very strong determination and will power.

Cheers!