Coffee has been a part of my morning routine since college when I would wake up with just enough time to make a pit stop at the campus convenience store on the way to class. Back then I took it very light. Lots of sugar and cream to the point where it was almost white.

Then I entered the real world. Coffee became a regular staple in my day. I'd get to the office at the horrible former job, drop my stuff off and head straight for the coffee maker. No holds barred. Nobody better get in my way before the first cup. No one rarely did. God help the first person to come to me with a problem before I had my first sip of java goodness, taken much darker and maybe with only one packet of Equal.

Then I had my first kidney stone attack. My doctor told me to cut back. Not cut out, just cut back. No problem. I'll just cut back to a cup a few times a week. That's it.

Yeah right. That's like telling a crack addict they can only shoot up once every now and then.

Soon I was back into the cup or two a morning habit, convinced my doctor was a quack. How could my beloved coffee be the cause of such pain? How could something so good be so bad? How could I possibly give up the most perfect thing in my life?

Two kidney stone attacks later, I'm going through coffee detox.

I didn't list it as a New Year's resolution because, well, for my own well being I need to stop drinking it and that qualifies it as more important than a resolution. So far I'm doing o.k. but it's hard. Last week I only had three cups total. And no stops at Starbucks.

I've been searching for suitable (non-caffeine, because that's the real culprit) substitutes. Hot lemon water has been a passable stand-in. And it helps if I ate overly salty food the night before (an old trick from my L.A. Weightloss days), flushing the system and all. This morning on the way to work I picked up some Celestial Seasonings Apple Cranberry Zinger which I'm sipping right now. It's good and may be my new morning best friend.

Just like I said before, in order to move ahead, sometimes we need to let go. So good bye my dear friend coffee, you've caused me pain and now I must let you go once and for all. I'm afraid this whole back and forth, hot and cold relationship just isn't working for me.