Ash Wednesday – Bye bye Caffeine!

Today marks the beginning of Lent in the Christian community, and it will end in 40 days time on the 2nd April.

Lent is a time of giving things up. For Christians, it is one way of remembering the time Jesus’ fasted in the desert and is a test of self-discipline.

There are many foods that some Christians do not eat in Lent, such as meat and fish, fats, eggs, and milky foods. Some Christians just give up something they really enjoy such as cakes or chocolate.(http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/religion/christianity/lent.shtml)

I have to be honest about two things first though:

1. I am not the most religious person in the world, and so for me the idea of Lent is more of a personal challenge to make some positive and healthy changes in my life.
2. I’m usually completely rubbish at the idea of Lent and so this is going to be a real challenge for me.

I’ve been toying for a few days with ideas on what to give-up, and in the end, I had to go with the obvious choice – Caffeine. I’ve been trying to give up caffeine for around a month now as I’m sure you already know, and have considerably cut down, but for the next 40 days I’m taking it to the next level and removing it completely.

Cutting out caffeine is proved to help with anxiety and so it’s definitely worth the change for me – and if I see a big difference – I may remove it completely (I say struggling to even comprehend doing it for 40 days!)

For me right now, it’s all about healing. Being healthy physically can only help me mentally, and so from this day forward that’s what I plan to be.

Are any of you guys giving anything up?

Try not to torture yourselves too much!