I'll blame it on caffeine...

Caffeine Crash!?!
I didn't swim yesterday. Didn't do yoga, and I still have to kick my behind to at least get my ride in today.
My body is out of sync. My joints are great, even my fingers feel normal lately! But my energy level is down. I'm blaming caffeine.

About two weeks ago, I decided I wanted to get rid of my caffeine addiction. I used to have a big cup (more like 2 cups) of coffee every single day. I know it's not that bad, but as soon as I would spend a day not having coffee, I'd get a crazy strong, handicapping headache, that would go away if I would drink coffee. So I decided I didn't want to depend on my daily coffee to function normally. I tried a couple of days without coffee. Ouch! It really hurts and doesn't stop. I guess I wasn't patient enough with it...

So I decided I would try to drink green tea. It has much less caffeine, compared to coffee (15mg compared to 135mg), but that's depending on how strong you make your tea/coffee. So I suppose I've been making it too strong, because after 1 week of green tea, I still have a headache if I don't drink green tea. Yesterday, I had no caffeine intake. And I was not functional.

I've been doing research and found that bit of information, according to Wiki:
"Withdrawal symptoms—possibly including headache, irritability, an inability to concentrate, and stomach aches—may appear within 12 to 24 hours after discontinuation of caffeine intake, peak at roughly 48 hours, and usually last from one to five days...may cause feelings of fatigue and drowsiness... A reduction in serotonin levels when caffeine use is stopped can cause anxiety, irritability, inability to concentrate and diminished motivation to initiate or to complete daily tasks..."

Yep, except for the anxiety and stomach aches, it sounds like me right now :(

I just have to be patient and wait until the effects go away. It shouldn't take too long. Wiki also confirms that a small dose of caffeine should ease the withdrawal, so I'm going to reduce dramatically the strength of my green tea!

I was able to quit smoking, cold turkey, 6 years ago, so I'm sure I can get rid of my caffeine addiction as well! I love coffee, but at least I'm going to be able to enjoy it on my own terms, instead of needing it!