{"id":4036,"date":"2010-05-18T07:25:11","date_gmt":"2010-05-18T12:25:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/danigirl.ca\/blog\/?p=4036"},"modified":"2010-05-18T07:26:08","modified_gmt":"2010-05-18T12:26:08","slug":"coffee-overload","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/danigirl.ca\/blog\/2010\/05\/18\/coffee-overload\/","title":{"rendered":"Coffee overload?"},"content":{"rendered":"

T<\/span>he people I work with like to tease me about the amount of coffee I drink, I think because finding a way to adapt my at-work coffee habit was one of my first priorities when I got here. “Yes, thanks for the desk and computer, nice to meet you all, but where is the nearest Tim Hortons please?” <\/p>\n

And, in the manner of so many addicts the world over, I am a little defensive about my drug of choice. I find myself bracing for people’s reaction when the topic of how much coffee I consume comes up, and ready with a quick justification. “Well, it’s better than heroin, right?”<\/p>\n

So by now you’re wondering, how much coffee does she drink anyway? *twists toe in the carpet* Um, not much. Really, just two a day. Two, um, extra-larges<\/em> each day. It doesn’t seem like a lot to me, but at 500 ml each, when you do the math that’s a litre of coffee a day. And a couple of days a week, I’ll find room for another large cup in the afternoon, or a big mug of green tea, which has less but still a significant amount of caffeine. If I’m at home, I brew a pot in the morning and have two mugs worth, and then likely have another cup, maybe two, somewhere later in the day.<\/p>\n

The thing is, I know I’m addicted to it. Physically, mentally, psychologically addicted. If I happen to be feeling sick, even if I can’t stand the taste of the coffee I have to choke down a cup in the morning or I’ll feel really wretched. And if I’m off my routine, it’s important that I find a way to accommodate those precious cups of morning coffee, at least the bare minimum of one extra-large worth.<\/p>\n

But really? I’m okay with that. Mostly. Like I said, it’s not heroin. It’s not crack. It’s not porn. There are worse things to be addicted to than coffee. It’s socially acceptable, easily accessible, there are health benefits in moderation, and the amount I drink is not doing a horrendous amount of damage to me physiologically. I think.<\/p>\n

Health Canada recommends <\/a>a maximum caffeine intake of 400 mg daily, which is about three 8 oz\/250 ml cups of coffee. I figure my daily intake is around 500 – 600 mg, so there is some room there for improvement. I’m trying so hard to treat my body with respect, to be the healthiest me I can be. So on one hand, the coffee-lover in me says, “If you are living a life of moderation, this one isn’t going to break the bank.” On the other hand, I am intellectually concerned about any addiction. <\/p>\n

I’m not sure I’m in a place right now where I am willing, let alone able, to give up coffee or caffeine entirely. Tiredness is my Achilles heel — I can deal with a lot of crap, but if I’m tired or hungry, I am irrational and incompetent. I know this about myself. Coffee is like a balm on my soul, a respite and a comfort, and I truly enjoy the experience of consuming it. But I don’t like being beholden to it. I spend a lot of time lately noticing how much coffee I’m drinking, and thinking. Just, you know, thinking.<\/p>\n

So tell me, how much coffee do you drink? Are you a java junkie too? Or do you have another benign addiction that haunts you in guilty moments?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The people I work with like to tease me about the amount of coffee I drink, I think because finding a way to adapt my at-work coffee habit was one of my first priorities when I got here. “Yes, thanks for the desk and computer, nice to meet you all, but where is the nearest … Continue reading “Coffee overload?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-it-is-all-about-me"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/danigirl.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/danigirl.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/danigirl.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/danigirl.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/danigirl.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4036"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/danigirl.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4038,"href":"http:\/\/danigirl.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4036\/revisions\/4038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/danigirl.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/danigirl.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/danigirl.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}