When I was a younger kid, I wasn’t allowed coffee. All that caffeine is bad for you, said, my mother. Never mind there Is often as much in the cup of tea I WAS allowed. it was My first venture into coffee was around the age of about 12, and it was made with hot milk and something instant. I quite liked it, along with a couple of spoonfuls of sugar.
How times change. In my early twenties, and having left home, I purchased a cheap electric coffee maker – drip filter with an electric hotplate, that rapidly burnt the coffee if it wasn’t drunk soon after brewing.
Wind on to the present day. I get freshly roasted coffee delivered which I enjoy black and definitely with NO sugar or sweeteners added.
Is it more expensive than instant? I guess it is, but the expense isn’t everything; enjoyment counts too. Oh, and as one goes through life, tastes change.
Do you keep a journal? Why? I do. Why? Because I like to make a note of things that I’ve been doing so I can look back on it in years to come. Also, after my demise, there will be a little history for my descendants to read. Perhaps they’ll even find it slightly interesting in a couple of hundred years or so.
Journalling with coffee
In the past, we’ve really only been able to read rich people’s history. Way back, only the well=to=do had any kind of formal education and learned to read and write. The peasants relied on what they were told and they had no way of checking if they were being told the truth or not. Nowadays. there’s so much information out there that it’s still difficult to know whether we’re being told the truth or simply someone’s biased opinion.
We all see, and perhaps report, events in front of our eyes in different ways. We all have, often unconscious, bias. Some is passed down by our parents; some is developed from our own life experiences.
One of the problems in this day and age of having a free-for-all public stage in the guise of social media is that most of us shout from it, but few listen to it. We also tend to only consume media (of all kinds) from sources that we feel aligns with our own bias or ideology, instead of exploring and listening to what the ‘other side’ is saying and/or doing.
Anyway, getting back to my journal. I don’t really make many opinionated comments. I simply record what I’ve done that day. Right now, I’m going to get myself another mug of coffee.
I really need to get off the couch. I need to lose weight, get more active and tone up a little, drink less alcohol.
I really need to lose about eighty pounds, to get down to a healthy, slim BMI. I’m not really worried about how I look but more about the health aspects and also that it will make me feel more energetic.
I read quite a lot about how alcohol is bad for you, and also people’s stories about giving it up and going sober. I’m not planning to become teetotal, although I will be the first to admit that I can’t tolerate it a swell as I once could.
Back in the day, though, I would go out and drink entirely too much, only stopping when I ran out of time, money or I exhausted the bartender’s patience in some way. Now, I can have just a few beers and still feel decidedly sluggish in the morning.
I actively make myself alcohol free days now. I don’t drop into the pub every day on the way home, and I don’t usually drink very much indoors
Coffee Time
Kathy and I have started a fasting regime. It’s working, albeit slowly. It’s not a quick-fix diet, but more of a lifestyle change. We don’t eat after dinner in the evening. Also, we can only drink water, black coffee or green tea. It does save eating crisps, nuts, cookies and the once-upon-a-time ten o’clock sandwich(es).I know I’m eating less calories. Also not having any alcohol in the evenings must be beneficial and again, it saves a bucketload of calories.
Can we keep it up? I’m sure there will be little slip-ups along the way. We can be flexible, so if we do go out and eat in the even ing, it means we can’t eat until the following afternoon, to get the hours of fasting in.
The one big change we need to make now, and which will the most difficult to keep up is the exercise. Being a couch potato is so easy, and it’s also relaxing for both of us when we’ve had an early morning start and/or been on our feet all day. 10,000 steps, here we come.
