Scott Desgrosseilliers

Early Rising and Quitting Caffeine - Day 22

Monday, September 8th 2008 I made a special point to get up today. 2 days in a row of blowing off 630 wakeups had me nervous. It is a slippery slope that causes someone to fall off any wagon of well-meaning intention.

It actually wasn’t all that difficult however. I had a flight home to catch in the morning so there was no option but to wake up in order to make the flight. However, rising early whether for a flight or any other reason is now becoming easier and easier. And although it is getting monotonous to say, I had no desire or need for coffee throughout the day

Early Rising and Quitting Caffeine - Day 21

Sunday, September 7th 2008 I haven’t needed to make many excuses or rationalizations during my trial. It has been easy to wake up at 630am. When I went to bed Saturday night, I had no intention of getting up early. In fact, I constructed the hotel room in every way possible to induce a long deep hibernation. Crank the a/c. Draw both sets of shades. Triple-check the alarm clock and wake up call to be off. After a hurricane wedding a day early, an evacuation for 30 people to Miami Saturday morning, and then all-day by the pool and a nice dinner Saturday night, I needed rest and was not about to wake up at 630 and feel zonked out all day just to satisfy the trial.

I really didn’t feel any guilt over this decision either. As long as I don’t relapse into daily snoring past my alarms, I can live with a trial error.

Early Rising and Quitting Caffeine - Day 20

Saturday, September 6th 2008 I am definitely committed to this trial, but no man sets an alarm the morning after his wedding day. I woke up around 8 am basking in post-wedding bliss. The rest of the morning’s details will remain confidential except for the facts that I did not need coffee and I once again hit the world’s greatest breakfast buffet.

Early Rising and Quitting Caffeine - Day 19

Friday, September 5th 2008 I woke at 630am and debated running. I conducted the debate from bed until about 745 am. I did not fall back asleep, but I certainly wasn’t accomplishing much else. My definition of being awake is simply not asleep. The 30 day trial does not specify that I was at full alert the moment the alarm goes off. It is more about mentally retraining to wake up rather than sleep in each morning.

So there is no guilt when I turn off the alarm but stay in bed for awhile. I admit it is not optimal behavior. But I am on vacation to get married, there is no need for guilt over this trial, or for anything in life for that matter.

While laying in bed mustering the resources to start my day, I am spending between 15-45 minutes in quiet meditation and visualization. The visualization of goals already being achieved begins to build up my energy. I try and continue along this thinking until my body begins to get agitated that I am still laying in bed. Then I pop up without any further hesitation.

Coffee has become a complete non-issue. I played tennis for 2.5 hours and then raced to the last call for the glorious breakfast buffet. Realizing there was 5 minutes until close, I made 3 trips so that my table was covered with plates overflowing with incredible breakfast treats.

The digestion of all of this would’ve forced me to grab a coffee or a nap in the past. I was noticing definite slower capacities when I received a call on my cell phone. The wedding coordinator was on the line asking me if I would like to get married tonight! Hurricane Ike was forcing an evacuation and a decision had to be made….but the hurricane wedding is an entire blog in itself that will be posted after this trial.

Early Rising and Quitting Caffeine - Day 18

Thursday, September 4th 2008 I stuck with the early rising today. I wasn’t sure I’d stick with it. A long travel day, being on vacation, I could think of a lot of reasons to take a day off from the trial. I woke up at 630 am however. I didn’t exactly spring out of bed and hit the ground running.

I slowly eased into the day from bed, taking a good hour to stand up. My morning mental routine consists of numerous affirmations and visualizations. I like to get them done in 10 minutes time upon first waking. Since I was on vacation, I took my sweet time getting through them.

There were a lot of coffee options enticing me in the breakfast area of the beach house. I felt a little groggy and briefly considered partaking in some hot caffeinated tastiness. But the vastly improved stomach health since I gave up caffeine has overridden any coffee desire so far. I decided to check out the breakfast buffet.

It was oral nirvana. I had never witnessed such a spread for breakfast. Every known morning delicacy was spread out inn glorious all you can eat fashion. I needed 3 plates to satisfy myself. Despite the grotesque overindulgence, I warded off afternoon fatigue with a steady supply of banana daiquiris and floating in the infinity pool.

Early Rising and Quitting Caffeine - Day 17

Wednesday, September 3rd 2008 My flight to florida to get married was at 830am. If I couldn’t wake up early on this day then there is no day I can early rise!

We got to the airport early which means one thing to me: O’Brien’s Spicy Bloody Mary’s. These delectable breakfast treats can be found at O’Hare airport in Chicago in the American Airlines terminal. TheFiancee was so into them that we missed our boarding group and were the last people to board the plane.

This wouldn’t be so bad except we had upgraded to first class for the flight to Miami. First class means boarding first. Why rush on the plane? Because if you get on their quick enough, you get served a drink, and then get to sit there sipping a drink and reading the paper while everyone else lumbers on.

We missed that perk but got to catch a nice morning buzz from the first class beverage service. The flight attendant came by during the flight and handed us a wedding gift from the crew. It was 2 bottles of wine and 15 nip sized bottles of hard alcohol. How can you not love American Airlines?

We drove to Hawk's Cay Resort to start our long wedding weekend festivities. The drive through the keys is sweet, the car is on stretches of highway with only ocean on either side. You don’t need caffeine to get excited for this drive.

Early Rising and Quitting Caffeine - Day 16

Tuesday, September 2nd 2008 Just over the hump of the 30-day trial. I haven’t slipped once on caffeine that I can remember. I have slipped a few times on getting up at 630am. However, I’m not beating myself up on it, I am still getting up much earlier than my normal 945am or later that was happening pre-trial.

Today it was easy to get up on time. We were facing a long drive back to Chicago and I still had to pack for my destination wedding.

The alarm went off at 630am and I turned it off. Rather than jumping out of bed, I lied there and went through my morning meditations and visualizations. This was a risky move. I could’ve slipped back off to sleep.

I managed to stay awake, although I was startled to find out my morning mental process took about 45 minutes. I am not sure if I got lost in my own head while still conscious (hopefully), or I passed in and out of consciousness.

Caffeine seems to have become almost a non-issue. It will be interesting to see if it stays that way when my partying kicks in to high-gear down in florida.

Early Rising and Quitting Caffeine - Day 15

Monday, September 1 2008 2 days of blowing off a public 30-day trial caused enough internal consternation for me to zealously set and respond to my 630am alarm. I had the added incentive of having the entire week off. I wanted to enjoy the lake all day because I wasn’t faced with fighting holiday traffic back to Chicago.

I not only got up early but even went for an 8 am run, on Labor Day no less! This is a radical departure from most labor days that were spent groggily in bed until noon. Having my workout out of the way so early in the morning is a great feeling. I used to envy those that could get up early and workout, now I have become one of those people.

I believe the early morning workout is key to avoiding caffeine. Your body doesn’t have that cramped tired feeling (that I have right now from sitting in front of the computer on and off for 16 hours today). The harder I exert myself in the morning, the more awake I feel after I’m done. I am eating like a horse in the mornings though. I rarely can get to lunch without a banana, a protein shake, and a scavenge of my fridge for leftovers. I might need a 30-day diet trial after this one is over.

Early Rising and Quitting Caffeine - Day 14

Sunday, August 31st, 2008 I had a great time partying Saturday….so I forgot to set an alarm. I naturally woke up at 830am. This is very bad, 2 days of slipping off the 630am time. While yesterday I did not care about my wakeup slip, today I felt a lot of guilt.

The guilt was quickly assuaged by drinks on the beach while the wedding playlist was created. Why is alcohol such a great guilt reducer? Sometimes its better not to know.

Caffeine consumption is increasingly become a non-issue. Post-lunch I might have a slight fatigue if I over-stuffed myself, but it passes within 30 minutes. When I was on caffeine, post-lunch comas were very common. My brain would not be able to get over the hump of all the chow I inhaled. I would be forced to trudge into Starbucks like a zombie from thriller, arms straight out, eyes black and crusty, and mumble “Grande skim mocha with an extra shot” and hand over my hard-earned 5 bucks.

Not doing that anymore is pretty sweet.

Early Rising and Quitting Caffeine - Day 13

Saturday, August 30th 2008 My alarm went off at 630am and I felt like I had just been gassed with anesthesia. I rolled back over and snored until 915am. I did have a momentary flicker of the thought “what about my trial?” but then I collapsed and didn’t consider it again.

There was fresh brewed coffee percolating when I awoke. I’m happy to say it didn’t tempt me in the least. My stomach health has improved so much since I quit caffeine I find that it overrides any brain-tempting qualities it might provide.

Later in the day I reconsider my decision to blow off the 630am wakeup call. It still doesn’t bother me at all. I’m still committed, but that’s no reason to beat myself up over one snooze.