Giving up caffeine - any tips or experiences to share?

Jenninscotland
Jenninscotland Posts: 97 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi there,

In an effort to become as healthy as possible, I plan to give up caffeine starting tomorrow. I am off of work for a week and thought this would give me enough time to go through the withdrawal and adjust. I plan to buy plenty of headache tablets today - any other tips or advice to get through it or personal experiences would be very gratefully received :)

Thanks so much.

EJ

Replies

  • mdivamuffin
    mdivamuffin Posts: 164 Member
    I drink this stuff instead of coffee. It's not like the real thing I admit but it does help me through that 11am phase when everyone else is having a coffee at break time. And it's all organic and natural :-)

    http://barleycup.com/
  • Mady1911
    Mady1911 Posts: 90 Member
    I drink one coffee or two a day,and/or black tea. Since I'm using sweeteners and reduced milk, I find I don't enjoy it as much. But would not give up on it for good! How many were u having? And why give up and not reduce? Coffee does nothing bad as long as you stick to 2 a day. Or do you have a medical condition that prohibits you caffeine intake?
  • missyjane824
    missyjane824 Posts: 1,199 Member
    Cold turkey I did that over a year ago and haven't looked back. I was drinking diet pop and gave it up due to the artificial sweeteners as well.
  • Via_14
    Via_14 Posts: 992 Member
    Green tea has replaced my black tea and coffees. Takes a while to get used to the taste but over time it's like drinking hot water.

    All the best!
  • BetinaBee
    BetinaBee Posts: 63
    Have you ever tried Rooibos Tea? It's caffeine free. I find it a great substitute for coffee. I don't usually like herbal teas.

    I grew up in South Africa and drank this as a child with milk and sugar - quite common over in Cape Town. You can skip the milk and sugar :smile:
  • VeganLexi
    VeganLexi Posts: 960 Member
    I have green tea and herbal tea.
  • plipsurt
    plipsurt Posts: 185 Member
    Just go for it. I did it cold turkey about 15 months ago. I now can't stand the taste of tea or coffee. (I drank copious amounts of both previously). Be warned though, it will hurt. If the headache gets too much take a simple painkiller and drink lots of water to help flush your system. Good luck!
  • rousehouse
    rousehouse Posts: 133 Member
    I stopped cold turkey and took Tylenol for the headaches for about a week. I replaced it with non-caffeinated diet soda for a while and that worked well. I eventually quit diet soda too for a long while because I feel the sweeteners were messing with my appetite. I just started drinking it again recently in small portions (250ml / 1 cup) and only with meals. But, by far the biggest help was drinking 8-10 glasses of water per day so I wasn't thirsty for anything else.
  • steffij100
    steffij100 Posts: 85 Member
    Sounds like you already are, but be prepared for headaches. i gave up tea and coffee a few years ago just for a month. I have a tendency to scoff at anything affecting me, so served me right when I got massive headaches for two days.

    Do you need to cut out caffeine for medical reasons?

    Herbal teas can be very useful, you just need to experiment and find one you like the taste of.
  • CherylP67
    CherylP67 Posts: 772 Member
    Good luck to you!

    How much do you drink? Would cold turkey be harmful? If you drink a lot you may want to cut back gradually.
  • Jenninscotland
    Jenninscotland Posts: 97 Member
    Hi all,

    Thanks so much for your responses. I actually watched a TV show recently that outlined how bad caffeine is and decided that it's probably not a necessity for me.

    I only drink one to two cups of coffee a day and one tea a day. I probably have about 2 diet cokes a week. I believe I will definitely have some withdrawal, but hopefully not too bad based on these amounts. I plan to drink herbal teas as a replacement for the hot drink factor.

    :) Thanks again :)
  • Jenninscotland
    Jenninscotland Posts: 97 Member
    I drink this stuff instead of coffee. It's not like the real thing I admit but it does help me through that 11am phase when everyone else is having a coffee at break time. And it's all organic and natural :-)

    http://barleycup.com/

    Thanks :) I'll check it out.
  • Jenninscotland
    Jenninscotland Posts: 97 Member
    Have you ever tried Rooibos Tea? It's caffeine free. I find it a great substitute for coffee. I don't usually like herbal teas.

    I grew up in South Africa and drank this as a child with milk and sugar - quite common over in Cape Town. You can skip the milk and sugar :smile:

    I actually worked for Twinnings for a while and sold this and many other teas. I'll put it on my list as something to drink - sans milk and sugar :) thanks :)
  • sally_jeffswife
    sally_jeffswife Posts: 766 Member
    substitude soda for the zero type of sodas like if you are a coke drinker go to Coke Zero there isn't any calories in that and its easier to wind down with the taste but going without that. Or try matcha green tea it gives you a caffeine type of feeling but a calm awake type feeling rather than a jittery one and is healthy for ya. I prob would never be able to give up coffee I am too much of a coffee holic but just go to drinking it black instead of with the flavors n creamers etc. sugar free hot chocolate isn't that bad either for a sweeter treat some of those are pretty low calorie.

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