Thanks a lot firefighter! The Californian dream is inching closer and closer each day!
As for the caffeine, well done! You will definitely be knackered for a couple days but you'll find obviously in time that you've got more energy in general! Nothing worse than having to rely on artificial stimulation for energy! I always looked at it like:
-------------------------------------------- ~ This is stimulation from the caffeine.
-------------------------------------------- ~ This is normal energy levels.
-------------------------------------------- ~ This is the lack of energy from comedown or no caffeine intake eventually.
It gets to a point, I found, where your "normal" energy (that is the energy levels from the moment of waking and all throughout the day) levels are at this lower level and the caffeine you take in doesn't so much stimulate you as much as it simply makes you feel "normal" and the dependency doesn't serve any formidable purpose other than to satiate the inherent addiction and psychological or neurological dependency.
After cessation of caffeine intake though, you'll find that your energy levels are restored to their normal levels and you don't need caffeine any more! Exercising is one of the best ways to increase natural energy levels. Rather paradoxically, the more often you ferociously expend your energy, the greater your general energy levels! It's great!
I used to make INSANELY strong coffee's, to the point where the coffee was the texture of tar in my god-damn mug. COFFEE MOTHERFUCKER! You had to use two fucking hands on a wooden spoon to actually stir the shit. I was basically chewing the damn coffee.
But after abusing the hell out of it, it got the point where I was verging on OD each time I had some! Insane sweats, mental agitation, horrific comedowns, nausea, the works! Now if I have a coffee, even the weakest one gives me a really strong buzz - i'm super-sensitive to it now! But I do love having a fairly weak one now and again for a nice stimulation. I guess it's like everything - treat it with respect. I'll go through phases of drinking a weak one once or twice each day solidly for a week or two then not touch it for a month or two. I just love the taste so much! And of course decaf isn't real, it just aint the same.
So how severe is your addiction? Do you drink it all through the day? You reckon you can make it without it? Do you have instant shit or caffetiere coffee? Measure your dose in teaspoons and reduce it by 1 teaspoon every couple days, then reduce it by 1 mug every week or something. Try just having a small one each morning. I firmly believe in the cognitive health benefits of appropriated caffeine intake. If I have a perfect-sized one, then it definitely makes me more switched on and enhances my shit memory, but not in a clouded way that most stimulants do.
You'd think i've had some coffee with the way i'm banging on right now. ENOUGH!
I never want to go back to that way of thinking and obsessing over every little thing that goes into my body. I'm in a much better place now, mentally and physically, and I know it's possible for you to get there too - with time and perseverance.