Coffee Talk

When does one cup of coffee = three cups of coffee?

Discuss amongst ya'selves...

The answer is when it is poured by SMJ!

Lately, my "one cup of coffee" has become more and more like my "one glass of wine."  A cup of coffee is technically eight ounces, and a glass of wine is technically four.   In the morning/evening, I grab a cup/glass, and generally give myself a fairly generous pour of my beverage of choice.  I did a little test with the measuring cup on one of our recent snow days and found that my initial cup of coffee is probably more like 10 oz (love my big, pottery mug) and my wine pour is probably more like five (love my big, goblet-esque wine glass).  That's all well and good, but I then proceed to give myself a "splish more"; a warm-up of coffee, or just a little sip more of wine "to go with dinner".  In the end, by the time I've warmed up and splished over, I am actually drinking more like three cups of coffee and two glasses of wine.

I don't like to obsess over these things, and I think there's absolutely nothing wrong with a couple glasses of wine a couple nights a week; all things in moderation can be good.  However, I am starting to reassess my relationship with caffeine, and I want to be real with myself when I do it.  Just because you are using a single mug, it doesn't mean you're consuming a single cup; for way too long I've been equating one with the other! When you're out and have to purchase that second cup or glass, it is easy to walk away.  When you're home all morning, it is too easy to keep circling back to the pot.  Since I've been working from home, I've been circling back way more than is good for me and it is time for a bit of a caffeine intervention around here.

I love and adore my coffee.  Lattes make my world go 'round.  I don't want to quit cold turkey, but I definitely need to taper my caffeine intake.  When I assess my total health, the places where I struggle all seem to be caffeine-related: insomnia, anxiety, tummy troubles, occasional headaches and afternoon energy dips.  Check, check and check, all conventional wisdom links over-consumption of caffeine to these symptoms.  Everything I've read says that one cup of coffee in the morning shouldn't have a harmful effect, so it's time to face facts that while indeed that single cup of coffee is fine, my one cup is three cups and probably not the best for my bod.

Here are some ideas I'm going to employ to cut down my caffeine intake:
- dust off the French press and actually brew one single cup of coffee in the morning (I am physically incapable of brewing one cup in our large automatic coffee maker, which is really intended to brew eight to twelve cups)
- change my standard latte order from a triple back to a double and eventually down to a single (don't judge re: the triple... that's the standard latte at my local coffee shop, I just didn't say no and specifically order a double, and now I am hooked!)
- replace my coffee with green or black tea at least two mornings a week
- try having a CalNaturale Svelte for breakfast and see how the inulin does as my energy kick for the morning (one more day to enter the giveaway!!!)

Where in your eating or drinking habits do you kid yourself about your consumption?
And what do you do for your morning energy kick?