Uncomfortable Living, Part 2: No Coffee

I gave up coffee for Lent.

For those not familiar, Lent is the period between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. That's a little under two months. In observance of Lent, some people give up something. Some give up desserts, others give up Facebook. The point is to draw closer to God in those moments where you really really really want the thing you gave up.

I really really really want a Starbucks.

I wasn't aware that coffee withdrawal can give you headaches. Turns out that coffee, or other caffeinated products, dilate the blood vessels that can cause headaches. Lovely. So far, the headaches have only come once. That was yesterday. It was painful.

To combat all these symptoms, I'm trying to do the following:

- Sleep more. So far, so good. I've slept 8.5 hours on a couple occasions. That was unheard of pre-Lent.

- Stay hydrated. I've been chugging water like crazy at my cube. Didn't ease the headaches much.

- Switch to tea. A bust. It's not the same.

- Running in the mornings. This helps. But getting up at 5:30 is...difficult.

- Pray. Yes, I've been a lot of talking to God. "Oh Lord, wake me the heck up, please. Inject my veins with some magic caffeine. Sorry, I mean with Your Spirit."

- Taking short naps at lunch and on breaks. And during work. Just kidding. If anyone at work is reading this, I am WIDE awake at meetings. Really I am.

I've given up red meat, desserts, even Facebook. We're less than a week in, and I'm fairly sure this will be the hardest fast of my life. I'm learning that I depend on coffee way too much, sacrificing sleep and screwing up my body. I haven't been taking care of my body for a while. Hopefully this will be the start of a new, uncomfortable, caffeine-free life. And hopefully the headaches will be gone soon.