Giving Up Coffee - Personal Experience And Suggestions Welcome:)

[Sabster]

In general if I want I can often give something up cold turkey... but that's usually easier for me when it's based on ethical reasons or very well informed knowledge... or even safety in terms of food.

Now coffee.... errr that ones a bit more complicated. I've kind of tried in the past and been successful for like a week... to a month.... probably not a month but atleastly a week.

The thing is it's such an engrained habit. And obviously a bit of an addiction too. I've been drinking the stuff since I was in middle school.... that's like almost 10 years.... I love the aroma... etc etc. I'm not sure it's all addiction based... I just like it.

I'm such a high stress person that it's just there... I live under stress... school... work... etc. So, yeh. Enough of a ramble.... eh.

I worked in a bookstore for several years... I've seen the threads on this forum... I've read articles... I've heard it from friends... and I'm familiar w the book mentioned in other threads... but at the time I'm not as interested in the side effects... and everyone has their own story to tell.... instead... I'd like good/great natural energy boosters... alternatives... great fruit shakes.... or something to nix the habit.

How about decaf coffee and tea.... ??? Not that I'm interested in drinking decaf ... a false boost.... when I'm feeling like heck in the morning and have to work... but more for taste reasons. Atleastly, at this point.

This might be a short lived thing... but I'd like to give it another try... maybe more serious or permanent this time. I'm hoping that it will be good for me and my nerves in the long term. I'm kind of sluggish as of late... but I think that's more the running around not preparing my own meals than a byproduct of my coffee consumption.

[DontJustDoSomething, SitThere]

If you find that you need energy boosters, maybe you should try to find out what it is that is reducing your energy? Maybe even coffee does (after an hour or three?)

Lots of people feel that sugar and wheat (especially white bread) disturbs their energy. The two together is a real energy killer on my system.

[foxytina_69]

hi sabster

good that youre giving up coffee! its not attractive to see people freak out in mornings and need their cup of coffee before they can go on with their day!

how many cups do u drink a day? i would slowly go down one cup every two or so days. if u drink three, drink two. then one. then none. (or u could go down by half cups) then u could switch to decaf. (i know the aroma is delicious) u probably will go thru sum detox symptoms, as its a chemical your body is addicted to after drinkingit for so long, but im sure after a few days youll feel aLOT better, and the energy ull feel in the morning is such a different energy then your coffee dose.

[tsunami]

A B-complex vitamin will help a lot with your stress problem, and better rest as well. Just set aside time to go take a nap or just rest and calm down, even ifitis just minutes a day, it helps. Meditation also help a HUGE amount.

Reducing the amount is good. You can also skip sips. when you are about to take one, stop and just hold it off. Instead of what would be your third sip, have taken only one or two, and it will go down eventually. And cut down on the overlal amount drunk like the statement above by foxytina_69.

Coffee can and often does take away your energy. It releases adrenaline and sugars, which over time go down, making you tired again. They can even make you gain weight. And the overuse of adrenaline makes you more and more tired.

Hope this helps, good luck. ^_^

[cedarblue]

i enjoy the OCCASIONAL cup of cafetiere coffee - i like to have one after a meal when out, so i'm not the only one not having a creamy dessert & just sitting there twiddling thumbs waiting for someone to ask me to try their ice cream (oh go on try it! just a smidge! go on, go on!! )

i like the OCCASIONAL coffee at home too.
always decaf and black, no sugar.

[Sabster]

lol .... I haven't thought of coffee as a dessert... but you know.. Now a nice starbucks soy late is a total treat.... but eh a bit on the pricy side.

yeh I might go w the twidling down.... that way I don't revert back. I'm going to give it a go w none for a couple of days since I'm working late sunday and off today... It's always easier when obligations aren't there.

[ConsciousCuisine]

Switching to green tea or yerba mate as a transition (they are energizing and beneficial) has always worked for my clients. It can be a shock to your system if you don't transition at a comfortable rate for your body to be able to adapt to and that' places unecessary stress on your system.

[cedarblue]

i also like earl grey tea decaf my fav and green tea with lemon, and fennel tea and nettle tea and lime flower tea. the yogi range of teas are nice, sore throat tea, womens tea, detox tea to name a few

[Gorilla]

i'm trying to give up coffee too. i only drink one cup in the morning but i think i'm relying on it too much for supposed energy-boosting.

i drink decaf sometimes with soya milk, it's still got a nice flavour. i'd like to drink herbal/fruit teas but i've tried loads of different kinds and i just can't bear the taste don't know why but they always taste really weak and make me feel a bit sick.

[After The Rain]

It's interesting to see ho we all tend to think that if we drop something we need to replace it with something else, like replacing coffee with tea or herb tea. We don't!

[Sabster]

Well, tea wouldn't exactly be a replacement since I'm a frequent tea drinker too. If I'm not drinking coffee I'm drinking tea.

I love a lot of herbal teas. Especially florally based teas.... they smell so goood... and taste just great. They're so good you only need a fractional amount of sweetner to bring out the flavor.

Green tea is supposed to be good for you. But so many mixed stories out there about things... Probably in moderation.

I love English tea... I've been drinking it since well before coffee

Yeh... total caffeine head here.... I was doing a little cleaning around my place but I'll probably brew one of my herbal teas later

[ConsciousCuisine]

It is a part of human nature to revert to old habits, especially when there is not only a psychological "addiction" to a substance (or activity or whatever), but when there is an actual physiological reliance on a chemical substance that alters your chemistry, then it helps ensure your success if you transition/ "wean off of" the habit at times. Otherwise, it is a shock to the system and can greatly increase the urge to partake of and the withdrawl from said substance. Transisitoning is important, just as many people who decide to go to a vegan lifestyle from the S.A.D require a transitioning from one place of meat eating to the veganism instead of an instant "epiphany". Making lasting, healthy, conscious choices and changes is really a journey, not a destination.

[eve]

From time to time I drink good coffee, and enjoy it. I rarely drink tea, occasionally have a cup of cocoa. and like hot water with a piece of lemon in it, sweetened with stevia.

[DontJustDoSomething, SitThere]

Hi Eve, I just read this about stevia. Do you know more about it? The article is a few years old, but it seems that experts still disagree on stevia.

[gertvegan]

A wake up and smell the coffee article from get ethical. Click here

[eve]

Hi DontJustDo.... no I've not seen any scientific studies, but the fact that the FDA hasn't yet approved the use of stevia doesn't concern me. After all, they have approved the use of aspartame and saccharin, both of which DO cause harm! I squeeze a little stevia if I want to sweeten cocoa or lemon drink; I'm not a big drinker of cocoa, but usually have a glass of hot lemon once a day. The FDA has also approved the use of GM foods, irradiated foods, etc.

[DontJustDoSomething, SitThere]

Sure, I don't trust FDA either, I just think that if it isn't even FDA approved, it could be really bad. On the other hand, maybe the sugar industry is putting pressure on FDA, like they have done with WHO. Stevia has been used for centuries, and I have no reason to suspect it to be harmful. The only "scary" thing is that it is so extremely sweet. I checked Google, and nobody seems to agree on how sweet is really is... 15-30 times sweeter than sugar, 40 times sweeter, 180 times, 200, 250, 300, 70-400 times sweeter...: http://www.google.com/search?q=stevi...UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

[Sabster]

I like the article. That's really great

Err... I'm off of coffee for err almost 4 days... but not caffeine. I had green tea a couple of days ago to soothe a headache... and working a late shift I gave in to caffeinated soda to gain a little energy at end of shift... and I don't like soda... but it's a lesser dose of caffeine than coffee.

[eve]

Hi Dontjustdosomething.... I just happen to have come across a recent article on stevia by Dominique Finney who runs a natural practice on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. She says that the stevia leaf must come close to qualifying as the queen of herbal sweeteners! She refers to hundreds of scientific studies documenting its ability to help regulate blood sugar, lower elevated blood pressure, aiding the healing of wounds, reducing acne, improving digestion. It has a glycaemic index of zero, it promotes pancreatic health, and contains a variety of useful minerals and herbs. As to Stevia's sweetness, she says it is 30 times sweeter than sugar.

I read it in the Aug/Sept Nature & Health. Her website: http://www.medicineroom.net/

[eve]

Interesting article in the EMagazine on coffee, not just its taste but the ethical aspect.
http://www.emagazine.com/view/?1970 (the number 1970 doesn't relate to a year but to a numbering system for articles).

[gertvegan]

An interesting drmcdougall newsletter titled Coffee – Pleasure and Pain, Quitting Is Better Than a Lifetime of Medications or Worse. Just here.

[Gorilla]

hmmm thanks for the article, i quit coffee cold 'tofurky' as it suggests when the weather got too hot to drink it. that was quite a few weeks ago but i don't feel much different to be honest. i guess my symptoms aren't coffee related (suspected that anyway though)

[Roxy]

Some others may have received this in their inbox today. I thought it was an interesting read about the effects of coffee. Coffee affects blood sugar levels

[Atlanta Newbie]

I quit my 3-4 cup per day coffee habit a few weeks ago. I had tried the gradual approach before with little success, so this time I did it all at once. My only advice is to have a lot of bottled water handy. That definitely helped me through.

[Mystic]

I am giving up cold tofurkey as well coz (I have anorexia) and yesterday I was really tired coz I didn;t sleep. On top of that I was anxious about having to gain 5kg and eating lots of cake! I had drank 2 perculated long blacks due to tiredness and I actually engaged in panic attacks and shakiness all day. I am convinced it was the caffiene...What else has caffiene in it?

[Gorilla]

Banana, as well as coffee caffeine is found in tea (not herbal teas), chocolate, soft drinks such as Coke, Pepsi, Dr Pepper, Mountain Dew etc. and anything containing guarana (a natural stimulant).

Carob (chocolate alternative) does not contain caffeine.

[ConsciousCuisine]

Oh, sorry about the Panic Attacks, Banana..they suck. No one understands unless they ahve had them personally....
Calcium, Magnesium and Zinc helps stave off the attacks when taken regularly...

[Gorilla]

yeah i meant to say i get panic attacks too, not necessarily related to caffeine but it doesn't help...i don't know if you can get Bach flower remedies in Australia but i find the Rescue Remedy calms me down very well

[ConsciousCuisine]

Yay for Rescue Remedy!

[wuggy]

Coffee used to give me panic attacks, so I gave up all caffeine. I had terrible, dull headaches, and two migraines - these lasted about two weeks, also I felt dull and sleepy. I drank tons of water, had a quick snooze whenever I could, and one day woke up feeling loads better. I will never drink tea or coffee again.

[GwynneVeg]

Sabster

I gave up caffeine (in the form of Excedrine and diet soda) about five years ago. I was taking Excedrine to relieve my headaches which were actually caused by the Excedrine - UGH. A ridiculous cycle of a "rebound" effect. Anyway, the pain lasted for about two weeks and I haven't touched caffeine since. It's not easy to get off it, but once you're off it, it is worth the effort. Good luck to you!

[Andie]

Have you tried roasted grain beverage. It's dark and taste kind of like coffee.
I grew up drinking coffee (thanks Mom) and associate it with good conversation. Before getting medication for my OCD and the depression it caused, I used coffee as a medicine. The caffenine seemed to boost me for a short while.
Now I only drink coffee as a treat. Most of the time I drink herbal infusions which fill my "coffee cup" and tonify my liver.

[veganblue]

Day Two: Without coffee. I drink toooo much - maybe I should be saying drank? I am avoiding the headaches with vanilla tea in the morning - any tea will do. Getting away from the espresso habit is the idea. 4 - 8 tablespoons of ground beans a day seems a lot for one - and I feel surprisingly ok so far.
I will wean off too much tea since I have a veritable wall of herbal infusions but most of them have medicinal purposes so I have to be careful. Drinking lots of water seems to be a good idea

[littleTigercub]

I always have been a caffeine addict which includes diet coke as it does coffee.

I have made several attempts to ditch it, but the serious and successful one was in January this year after I heared a talk by Patrick Holford who explained that caffeine and alcohol behave like sugar in your system and give you cravings.

The first two days, I had a terrible headache and felt plain awul, but this just spurred me on. If something gives you so bad withdrawal sympthtoms, what a nasty poison must that be!

I still have got the occasional can of diet coke (about one a week rather than one or two a day) but had no coffee (apart from one moccha).

Since then, I have changed to herbal teas which I never previously drank and which I now got used to. The only situation when I miss coffee is when I am in coffee shops with friends and smell the freshly ground beans, see all the tempting varieties on the menu and everybody else is having them. There is not much I can have instead. I used to stick to hot chocolate, but this is off limits as well now, of course....

LittleTigercub

[RockyRaccoon]

The first two days, I had a terrible headache and felt plain awul, but this just spurred me on. If something gives you so bad withdrawal sympthtoms, what a nasty poison must that be!

I'm with you on that one littleTigercub. The fact that I so desperately wanted a cup just put me off even more. I didn't realise I was addicted to caffeine until I stopped drinking it. I'd drink a cup of decaf tea or coffee then want another one straight away, my body still searching for that kick. Luckily it only lasted a few days.

Now I very rarely drink tea or coffee (decaf). I'll have a cuppa when I'm in a 'tea and biscuits' mood, or a coffee sometimes when I'm out. I now tend to drink fruit and herb teas and I drink alot more water than I used to.

I

[Zool]

It's been strange reading this thread as I just gave up coffee about 2 weeks ago. I was a very heavy coffee drinker and began to notice staining of my teeth so I decided to quit cold turkey. (I don't like tea or soda.) I had horrible migraines for the next 3 days straight. I feel for any of you out there trying to quit. After about 5 days I was good to go though. I've been pretty ticked at coffee ever since due to what it did to me. I don't even have the urge to drink it now.

Good luck and best wishes to any of you who may be trying to kick caffeine. You won't regret it afterwards.

[GwynneVeg]

I drink herbal tea now also. I was SOOO addicted to Diet Pepsi and had to have one every morning by 9:00 or my head would SCREAM for it. I still miss it sometimes, but most of the time I'm fine with my tea. I don't miss the headaches though!

[veganblue]

Day Four - no coffee - and amazingly no headache!! I am drinking one pot of weak caffeinated tea a day with water in between plus the other drinks are rooibos, green teas and fruit teas.
I feel remarkably well and *very* hydrated. It seems that the coffee addiction has hit the dust without even a whimper! I can't get addicted to caffeine in tea like I could coffee as I only drink weak tea, but used to drink coffee as black as it comes, the stronger the better.

[Want2BVegan]

I gave up coffee for the second time a few months back. It was assisting in my panic attacks.

I now drink decaf green tea or decaf coffee. Once in a while I have real green tea and it doesn't seem to do any harm.

[cedarblue]

i dont take caffeine at all in any guise - have avoided it so long now i always have to turn down tea and coffee out at friends houses as it makes me feel unwell and buzzy

i drink decaf earl grey tea, decaf cafetiere coffee and herb/fruit teas, juices & water.

[spo]

Hi Veganblue
If you are drinking a pot of weak tea, I was wondering if you had tried
"white tea"? It is the first new buds of the tea leaf, harvested before ripe,
and contains virtually no caffeine. The reason I mention this is that white tea has a tremedously high, actually the highest level, of the beneficial anti-oxident polyphenols that are so good for you.
spo

[veganblue]

I will have to look it up! Thanks Spo!

I have been drinking caff tea to start - lemon scented this morning - then went onto rooibos and now am up to peppermint and licorice root. (Was recommended to me - is quite nice actually).

I have about 40 different teas or tea ingredients in little jars (to keep a constant fresh supply so get to mix and match a fair bit and depending on what I want from the medicinal herbs. Five types of green tea seems a touch excessive however.

What I am really keen on finding is fermented tea - I think it might be Japanese and Korn or CC referred to it as being high in B12.

[ConsciousCuisine]

What I am really keen on finding is fermented tea - I think it might be Japanese and Korn or CC referred to it as being high in B12.

MMMM! Kombucha! You can order cultures to make your own at home! It is soooo good and has probiotics and B-12!

[littleTigercub]

I now drink decaf green tea or decaf coffee. Once in a while I have real green tea and it doesn't seem to do any harm.

One second... I thought green tea does not contain any caffeine? If it does, could you give me some advice on where to find decaf grean tea? I never saw it anywhere, thus, I assumed that it is decaf by default...

littleTigercub

[veganblue]

MMMM! Kombucha! You can order cultures to make your own at home! It is soooo good and has probiotics and B-12!

Thanks CC! (Geez that was quick!) I was wondering what it tastes like - if there are any analogies. My imagination is bringing up some creative but unpalatable possibilities.

[cedarblue]

Thanks CC! (Geez that was quick!) I was wondering what it tastes like - if there are any analogies. My imagination is bringing up some creative but unpalatable possibilities.

it has a fermented taste to me, bit strong for my taste, maybe i was making it wrong - long time ago now when i tried it.

[Seaside]

I am drinking some kombucha right now. It is a bottled variety from a company called Synergy. I got it at Whole Foods. It contains 95% raw kombucha and raspberry juice, and it contains probiotics and 20% of your daily requirement of B12 without it being added in supplement form. It is fizzy, and definitely has a fermented taste, similar to rejuvelac, but not very strong. It does have a little bit of the "mother" floating in it. I like it, but it may be an acquired taste for some.

[Hemlock]

My next task is to give up coffee, I am a total coffee addict and drink tons of the stuff.
Last time I tried giving it up I got monster headaches and after 3 weeks couldn't bear it any more and gave in.
Is there a way to make it any easier?

[sugarmouse]

try using a chicory substitute?

[scruffyhead]

try using a chicory substitute?

Never heard of that will have to try it out, mind you i dont drink that much coffee.