Letting go of coffee

AwesomeHealth

Hello,

Does anyone have tips on how I can let go of coffee?

I used to have coffee on a Saturday when I was a child. I liked that it wasn't a habit. I grew up thinking coffee was for adults. Well, I started coffee daily when I went to college. I know it's probably like this for a lot of people. The thing is that I don't really like coffee every day, but I have this addiction that has just gotten really old. I think that the sugars I add to it every time I have a cup daily with the cream just adds up to extra weight.

I did stop coffee a few years ago for like a month. I don't like the feeling of being down and the random migraine and is what scares me. I had some random migraines but I really liked not drinking coffee. I tried to just have it once a while but it became a habit again. It's like this fix. It's like my mind just keeps saying that coffee will perk me up and solve my problems lol. So pathetic, right? The thing with coffee is that I have it three times a day.

I have black tea and I don't mind drinking it as long as I seep for a minimum of 3 minutes otherwise it taste bitter. I read that leaving it longer contributes to this stomach ache in some people. I have to drink it with food or I get nauseated and a stomach ache. I read this article that it has to do with how long you let it seep that causes this. I am too scared to try it on an empty stomach to see if the 3 minutes steeping doesn't cause it. Black tea doesn't cause this jittery and anxious feeling.

I think the fear from having failed before and the side effects makes me scared of trying again. I don't like coffee because it is extra calories because I don't have black coffee plus I just don't really enjoy it. It's just a silly habit and silly ritual. So pointless. It also makes me feel bloated, so it's a reason why I dislike it also.

WickAndArtoo

I totally understand jitters and feeling sick. I have overdosed of coffee a couple times and holy cow that is not a good feeling! So if I do drink coffee I always eat before hand, like you do with black tea.

Have you tried green tea? What I have done is replace coffee with green teas that are different flavors (like peach ginger, or hibiscus) this way I drink them without any sweeteners or creamers. Green tea has a natural chemical in it that is relaxing, but it still contains some caffeine, but only about a third of what coffee has. I don't get the jitters when drinking it or ever feel nauseous. As with black tea you shouldn't steep it more than a couple minutes or it tastes bitter, but if you want cold tea you can cold brew it (place tea bags in the cold water shake it up and refrigerate over night) and this makes sure there is no bitterness and actually makes it taste naturally sweet in my opinion.

Good luck!

sarko15

I'm with you. I drink two cups a day, maybe three on the weekends, and while I really love coffee there's been times in my life where I've really had to try to cut back (working as a barista for many years is a fabulous way to feed an addiction). I try to restrict my coffee intake to before 11am though. After that is black tea or water.

I totally understand the withdrawal symptoms, they suck, but maybe the key is just cutting down before cutting out. Just like how everyone on these forums say to not restrict yourself from ice cream or cheese or whatever you crave, the same goes for coffee. If you restrict too aggressively you might end up getting a strong coffee to appease the migraine.

But you might be able to slowly wean yourself off. Some days I'm just too busy for those two cups of coffee, and I'm always surprised how little coffee it actually takes for me to feel normal and not get migraines--only like half a cup. The rest is pure indulgence because I like the taste, but I don't actually need it to feel like a human being. Part of it is definitely chemical, but also psychological. Sometimes the simple ritual of drinking coffee in the morning feels right, and if we skip it it feels wrong. If you slowly wean off and figure out how much coffee you really need to function, you might be able to very easily cut it entirely.

MelanieCN77

It's something I wish I could dispense with, not for calories or anything but just for the dependence and I sort of resent the time it takes me to drink two cups and be ready to go.

Elise4270

Why not try some decaffeinated coffee?

But I'm a little confused:

AwesomeHealth wrote: »

Hello,

Does anyone have tips on how I can let go of coffee?

I used to have coffee on a Saturday when I was a child. I liked that it wasn't a habit. I grew up thinking coffee was for adults. Well, I started coffee daily when I went to college. I know it's probably like this for a lot of people. The thing is that I don't really like coffee every day, but I have this addiction that has just gotten really old. I think that the sugars I add to it every time I have a cup daily with the cream just adds up to extra weight.


I think the fear from having failed before and the side effects makes me scared of trying again. I don't like coffee because it is extra calories because I don't have black coffee plus I just don't really enjoy it. It's just a silly habit and silly ritual. So pointless. It also makes me feel bloated, so it's a reason why I dislike it also.

Calories arent a problem in coffee, there are basically zero. Use some stevia and coconut/almond milk (35 calories a cup).

Personally I don't believe there's a problem with the caffeine addiction. But if you are trying to get rid of it, wean off of it and replace the drink with herbal teas. I like peppermint, ginger and lemon. There's a tazo passion that's nice too. There are endless options for herbal teas with antioxidant properties. I'd recommend adding a good vitiman or just a good B supplement. I gotta have that pick me up.


Baby steps OP. You can do this.

PennWalker

As other people have said, coffee by itself doesn't have calories (or some tiny number, like 1 or 2). The sugar and milk/cream you add have all the calories.

Headache queen here. To the best of my knowledge, coffee (caffeine) will not prevent headaches of any kind. However, if you drink caffeinated coffee on a regular basis, and suddenly stop, you will get a whopping headache. You can also get severe headaches from dehydration. When you stopped drinking coffee in the past, did you drink more liquid of some other kind? If not, you probably got dehydration headaches.

If black coffee and black tea upset your stomach, but you still want a hot drink, try herb teas until you find one you like.

lemurcat12

I love coffee and drink it black so am not concerned about calories (I get up early and find it relaxing to hang out reading the news and drinking coffee before my day starts--well, the news isn't always relaxing, obv). However, I continue to drink it all day and the caffeine is too much (and in my mind decaf tastes bad although that may be psychological), so I've been subbing low caf tea for some of the cups (most of them for a while, but I've backslid again, since I really do love the taste of good coffee, but it's not too hard to shift if you do it gradually).

cwolfman13

I love my coffee...and coffee actually has some pretty decent nutritional value, particularly where antioxidants are concerned...I buy very good quality coffee and just drink it black or sometimes with just a splash of 1/2 & 1/2 if we happen to have it on hand.

successgal1

Coffee is not the problem. The quantity of coffee might be, as well as the sugar rush from sweetening with sugar.

Also, is your "cup" an 8 oz cup, a 12 or a 16 and up? Mines a 12.

I use stevia extract, no more than 4 drops is fine for me in 12oz of coffee, and I use skim milk and figure those calories in with breakfast, pre adding the afternoon cup I may or may not have.

Having coffee/sugar on an empty stomach will also increase the jitters. Eliminating that sugar can lead to a crash too, not just the coffee.

Maybe try measuring your coffee in 8 oz portions, (though I think technically a serving of coffee used to be 6 oz) and see if that helps, or switch to half caf half decaf and see how it goes.

Coffee/caffeine is a diuretic, and definitely on an empty stomach can have side effects as its very acidic. http://www.livestrong.com/article/511107-how-to-neutralize-the-acid-in-coffee/

char71165

Tea has tannins in it and many people don't tolerate those well. When I gave it up I did it slowly by reducing the amount I drank over a 4 weeks. So if you are drinking 3 cups a day you can reduce to 2.5 a day for a week, then 2 cups etc until you give it up completely. It seems like those coffees each day are comforting or happen at break times? If that is the case then see if there is another hot drink that you could replace it with. There are a variety of herbal blends that you can drink (like a tea but don't contain tea) that don't have tannins. Or you can try hot water with honey, stevia, maple syrup, any of the natural sweeteners and some lemon or spices like cinnamon, cardamon, allspice, etc. I hope these ideas and information help. All the best to you!

H_Ock12

Caffeine pills are a cheap alternative to coffee and you can take them with a glass of water, to spare the calories.

lisamarie327

I have gotten really bad headaches without coffee but I started drinking less overall, maybe 10 Oz a day instead of 20-30, and put less cream/sugar in it to take away some of the calories. then I drank it every other day, now usually only on weekends.

SuperNerd42

Step it back slowly (very slowly) to avoid the headaches and withdrawal. Buy a bag of decaf and start to mix it in with your regular. If you brew a pot with two scoops of coffee, do a week of a scoop and a half reg and a half a scoop decaf. Then half and half for a while, etc. once you get to all or mostly decaf it will be easier to let go.

Caffeine withdrawal is no joke! I had to go cold turkey to a much lower caffeine intake each time I was pregnant and it was rough.

Karb_Kween

Get in the habit of taking downers and you'll never want coffee again