There is no denying I am a coffee junkie.  I think I got serious about coffee around 14, and I’ve been drinking it ever since.  I grind my own beans at home, I know the perfect ratio of water to beans, in short, I am not just a casual drinker of the elixir of life.  Heck, I even buy it in cans from vending machines when I’m in Japan… I just love coffee… period.

That being said, I’m trying to cut back.  It’s not so much the coffee, but my caffeine intake in general.  I was drinking anywhere from 3 – 6 cups of coffee a day, 2 – 3 glasses of iced tea and then a cup of green tea per day.  After talking with a friend of mine who is a registered nurse this weekend, and being admonished for my trying to lose weight/gain muscle while consuming that much caffeine, I am trying to cut back.

My current consumption is down to no more than 3 cups of coffee (studies show 2 cups a day will lower your risk of diabetes, something that runs in my family) and my 1 cup of green tea (caffeine or not, the health benefits of green tea make it worth it)  Now you would think just cutting back wouldn’t be that bad, but I am finding it really difficult to get to sleep.  Apparently my body is not “crashing” like it was, and the past two nights I have laid in bed, trying to will myself to sleep, for over an hour.  Prior to the cutback it would take me seconds to fall asleep, but now I just feel too awake when I hit the sack.

I know this is for the better, and if it wasn’t for the diabetes angle, I would cut the coffee completely, only keeping the green tea.  However, I know my body will adjust with some time, it’s just sucking having trouble getting to sleep due to a LACK of caffeine, I always thought it was supposed to be the other way around!