Addict Revealed

I did it. It was hard, but I did it. I gave up coffee. Starbucks, to be exact. I have been addicted for years.

Hi, my name is Melanie and I'm a Starbucks-aholic.

Coffee and I have shared a love affair since I was eight or nine years old when I would visit my grandparents and they'd let me have a cup or two or three. I felt grown up and besides, it tasted good all loaded with sugar. They drank it all day long, even with dinner. Michael's grandparents were the same way.

They also used the powdered non-dairy creamer. I loved it until I discovered half & half. The powdered stuff has never satisfied me since. When I got married and Michael would make me a cup, I wondered how to get him to make it just right, with the correct amount of cream. Then I had an epiphany! "Make it beige,"I told him. Perfect! He got it right every time with that technical instruction.

At this point, I was just drinking any old brand: Folgers, Maxwell House, John Conti. My first encounter with Starbucks left me turning up my nose. We went to Atlanta, Georgia to visit our best friends. This was a yearly trek we made for seven years until they moved back home. On one visit, we went to the mall and there was a Starbucks. People were lined up for miles for this coffee. I had to have some to see what the big deal was. I was not impressed; it was too strong!

I continued to drink my usual brands when a woman at MOPS told us about the business she and her husband started; it was a little coffee stand where you could get your fix while sitting in your car. Drive-thru coffee? Who knew?! That's when I discovered lattes.

With a big company like Starbucks, they didn't last long. And just my luck, one opened up right in front of my neighborhood. I am not kidding. It was literally 90 seconds from my house. My heart pounds as I type. I would go by occasionally, then frequently, then daily.

Michael soon put me on a budget. "Here's a card for you to use. I will fill it every two weeks. When you're out, you have to wait til then to get more or use your own money." This was in addition to my weekly allowance and I was in heaven, plus now I had more than him! ;) It still wasn't enough. So we started buying it to brew at home so it would reduce my daily trips. I even got a grinder so it would be fresh. My obsession quickly grew.

Having two children (one with ADHD, anxiety, etc.), moving across the country, moving across the state, homeschooling, etc. suddenly took me from "I love Starbucks" to "I NEED STARBUCKS!!"

So, after four Java Chip frappuccinos in one week and my weight not budging, I was snapped out of my caffeinated stupor. Also, if I had a cup of coffee I must have something to go with it: scone, muffin, Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake. I realized I was sabotaging my efforts at weight loss with my obsession for Starbucks and sweets. I decided to go cold turkey.

It has been a week and a half, and yes, my family is still alive. I drink Black tea in the morning because I MUST have caffeine. I drink water and green tea the rest of the time. I actually crave less sweets now. I also started exercising....working up to a hundred crunches a day (currently at 65), climbing the stairs in my house, and walking with the family (which will soon have to happen at 3:00am because of the Houston humidity). I feel much better.

I will only drink coffee with dessert when we go out for special occasions or Sundays at church before serving in the nursery or when it's that time of the month or....