Fun Fact: I am part Swedish. My Swedish ancestry may also be because I am so Irish, that I register as an Irish Viking. I should change my Instagram handle! But that’s not the fun fact. The fun fact is that my Swedish kin have the largest caffeine consumption in the world.

It was actually a running joke when I didn’t give up coffee when I was pregnant (except unwillingly during my six-week stint in the hospital) because, since it was my fetus, it could inherently handle its caffeine better than the average fetus. Caffeine consumption is in our genes! Another running joke is that my blood type is Green Mountain Breakfast Blend 100% Arabica bean coffee.

That said, two different doctors were strongly suggesting that I give up caffeine. Caffeine can agitate estrogen receptors (or something like that, I am probably not using the right terminology) and worsen some of my postpartum issues and I am recovering from severe anxiety issues and anxiety and caffeine go together like toothpaste and orange juice.

Another running joke: before this little experiment, I did give up caffeine using the step-down method. It lasted about 3 or 4 days. Yep. I did. And honestly, I felt fine and needed a baseline/control for my little experiment. Still, the ADHD in me needs stimulation and I don’t want to go the Adderall route. My therapist recommended I keep a diary of my caffeine consumption, mood, and physical symptoms to determine the benefit.

Here goes that particular train wreck:

Tuesday: 2 cups of ½ caff @ 6-7am, latte @ 10:45am
Wednesday: 2 cups of ½ caff between 7 and 8am, 1 cup brewed coffee @ 12:45pm, a little bit of a headache around 1:30-3pm.
Thursday: 2 cups of regular @ 6-7am
Friday: consumption? Some breast tenderness
Saturday: I had a pretty good caffeine buzz going all day and had one of my best days in a while. Low anxiety, low to no headache!
Sunday: 1 cup regular in morning, 1 cup ½ caff afternoon. Ok, some breast tenderness and a mild headache, but sometimes I get headaches when it rains, which it did Saturday and Sunday nights. My mood/anxiety was also a little worse, but I watched 2 episodes of Outlander that had me in my feelings.
Monday: 1 cup ½ caff morning, 1 cup ½ caff around noon; moderate headache, but was raining.
Tuesday: 2 cups regular in the morning and early afternoon, no headache until that evening, rained some that day, mild anxiety.
Wednesday: This is bullshit and I don’t want to do it anymore.

I did determine that 2 cups of regular in the morning seems to be my sweet spot. I can get work done without being sluggish or twitchy. That has become my new goal. I gave up lattes for Lent, (just lattes, not coffee, don’t @ me!) but after Lent is over, I will allow myself one a week, or bimonthly, or for a special treat.

I learned that even though I could give up caffeine, I just don’t have the desire. The truth is, I am not quite myself without caffeine, especially coffee. I enjoy it, and I am not in the business of denying myself what I enjoy (within reason). Coffee jokes become me. They have become a part of my personality and even my heritage. Hell, I have a standing event in my business called Fika Fridays where I pause and wax poetic about all things coffee, tea and pastry. That’s what I do. I just needed to find a balance. I feel I am much more balanced in that area of my life than I was. Don’t get me wrong, if I don’t sleep well or there is a special occasion I like to get a good caffeine buzz on; but on a regular day, my past level of caffeine tolerance leaves me feeling nervous, jittery and sometimes even sick.

Stay tuned for my next Fika Friday and my fitness blog post on further finding a balance in what I eat and how I exercise post OCD.