I QUIT COFFEE.

Guys, I can't believe I'm writing this. Me, who adored coffee. Who drank it black and several times a day. Who didn't bat an eye at spending $5 on a comforting, smooth latte. Who frequented the local cafes in my neighbourhood several times a week. Who would bring my own beans and coffee maker with me whenever I traveled because I wanted the best cup I could get my hands on. It's true.

It's been two full months since I said good bye to coffee, and it's kind of a funny story. First of all, I didn't set out to quit coffee. I've tried cutting things out of my diet cold turkey like that, and it's always been miserable and never lead to lasting change. No-Sweets November, I'm looking at you. Even when I've done my best to stop drinking coffee, I've spent most of my time wishing I was drinking coffee, not to mention nursing a huge headache from the withdrawal. So why was this time different?

Instead of forcing myself to stop something I needed and wanted, I changed some habits which in turn altered my needs and desires, and in the end I stopped needing coffee and eventually, didn't desire the taste either. I know, I'm shocked too.

The two biggest changes that lead to this were: I started exercising, and I doubled tripled my water intake. After Christmas I started the BBG workout that everyone and their mother are doing. It's crazy popular, the girl has millions of followers on Instagram, and for good reason: it actually works. It's do-able, if not hard, it's new every time so you're not bored with the same old, and you see serious results if you commit to the program. Did I mention it's only three times a week for 28 minutes? I won't go on and on, because other bloggers like my friend Abby, have done a great job reviewing the workout and singing it's praises. But basically, ENDORPHINS ARE REAL. The very first day I started BBG I had been awake since 4am and was exhausted, and for whatever reason, I hadn't had a coffee yet before I started my workout. After the 28 minutes, I was sweaty, breathless, but oh the energy I had! I didn't need coffee and really, all I wanted to do was guzzle water. A pattern began, I used up my coffee when guests were over and didn't buy more when I ran out. After a few weeks of not having coffee, I kind of stopped thinking the taste was all that great, and haven't craved it since.

I know this is probably atypical, and I know tons of women who workout regularly and still love coffee (Morgan!) but even those women have said they rely on coffee less than they used to before they started exercising. Crazy, right? Now that I'm working out almost daily (I have started doing the BBG workout about 5x per week instead of 3x, and I am outside walking almost daily, because city living), I have so much energy and the thought of coffee honestly makes me feel a little bit gross.

One major benefit to kicking my habit? I probably spent around $40/month on coffee which is now money in the bank. Recently I wanted to buy a season of a show on iTunes, which was around $20 and I hesitated for a minute, before realizing, wait, I would spend that every two weeks on coffee just a few months ago! It's funny that at the time we don't think much of spending money once something is integrated into our habits. Same goes for alcohol, which I've also cut back on since starting to workout (again, because the desire isn't there and mostly I'd rather just drink water or mint tea).

Something I don't miss about coffee? The smell, once it's not fresh. EWWWW! Walking into a coffee shop or opening a bag of fresh ground beans is heaven, but let's be honest, coffee breath is putrid, and I usually want to burn my clothes when I leave a coffee shop. I still drink tea, and occasionally (like once every 2 weeks) stop by tea shops, but my breath and clothes are fine after. Such a win.

Anyway, I know I've been blogging about coffee forever (I wrote about my favourite cafes, which I still recommend to others, and 8 ways to save money in Montreal's cafe culture) but this girl is officially off the coff. Yeow!