How did you stop caffeine?

MJ0214
MJ0214 Posts: 36 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm currently trying to stop caffeine completely and I was wondering if anyone had any tips on how to do this without feeling like COMPLETE crap. I am already expecting to feel somewhat crappy, but I don't want to be super-cranky lol
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Replies

  • GiggityGiggity88
    GiggityGiggity88 Posts: 20 Member
    I was drinking atleast 4 cans of diet pop a day (usually more) and sometimes I would also drink a cup or 2 of coffee if I had time before work. One day I just switched to only drinking water. I drank it constantly... I haven't had any withdrawals it seems. I feel pretty good overall.

    Don't go into it thinking you will feel crappy. Expectations play a huge role in how you will perceive things. If you expect to feel bad, you probably will.
  • Skmellyg
    Skmellyg Posts: 158 Member
    Symptoms will vary. I am on my 3rd week and I will never go back! I feel more energized throughout the day. Anyways, I had headaches for the first week. I was always tired. Some people suggest doing it slow. Like 1 can a day, the maybe 3 cans for the whole week next week, then 2 the next week, then 1 then you are off. I cut it out cold turkey. I did however have BC powder to reduce the headaches, limit those though because they are not the best and have smaller amounts of caffeine. Chocolate had caffeine in it too. That is what I did.
  • diadojikohei
    diadojikohei Posts: 732 Member
    I worked out one day how much I was spending on mochas and realised that in 2 years I spent the price of a second hand car in coffee! I went cold turkey after that! Instant isn't the same, so now it's just tea, herbal teas and milk for me ( oh and gin!)
  • Amberonamission
    Amberonamission Posts: 836 Member
    I worked out one day how much I was spending on mochas and realised that in 2 years I spent the price of a second hand car in coffee! I went cold turkey after that! Instant isn't the same, so now it's just tea, herbal teas and milk for me ( oh and gin!)
    I asked my Dad how to give up smoking.. His suggestion... Start drinking. I love when people show me their genius.
  • lolly2721
    lolly2721 Posts: 56 Member
    :::Looking lovingly at my iced tea:::::: Why would you want to give this up? ;)

    I tried giving up caffeine once. I don't drink sodas and don't put sweetners in my tea but the caffeine is addicting.

    I would suggest not going cold turkey if you have been a long time caffeine drinker. I experienced severe headaches that rivaled, and sometimes morphed, into my migraines. I also found that I was tired and cranky. Unfortunately, I didn't kick the addiction. I have cut back but personally don't want to give it up. I would suggest cutting back slowly to let your body give up the addiction to caffeine.
  • MrsNANSEE
    MrsNANSEE Posts: 42
    I just stopped one day,drank plenty of water or herbal teas.Didn't have any problems with headaches or feeling cack.Go into it with a positive attitude.Haven't had caffeine for years now and if i do,like when i'm visiting someone and they make tea.I forget to ask if they have decaff.I feel dreadful afterward.Really sickly and weak.

    x
  • ahoier
    ahoier Posts: 312 Member
    I just stopped.....lol. I used to be a coffee and tea kind of person.....before MFP.....well.....MFP "motivated" me to ditch the iced teas and coffees, for the sheer fact that, "ugh, I don't want to have to log these empty calories..." lol.....so it was kind of like self control.

    Don't get me wrong, I still drink caffeine, but hardly/barely ANY sode....honestly, can't remember the last soda I had......errr....wait, actually, take that back, had a Rum and Coke at the bar one night.... :X lol. Couple weeks ago :)

    Don't just jump off of it, just moderate your intake.....that's basically what I've done.....I still drink iced tea, but only home made iced tea that I can be accountable for what goes in it....
  • Fozzi43
    Fozzi43 Posts: 2,984 Member
    I just changed to decaf tea..I don't drink fizzy..unless I have a large vodka in it :laugh:
  • jangyxox
    jangyxox Posts: 24
    I just stopped drinking coffee and caffeinated drinks. But being a full time uni students occasionally I will have a cup of black coffee during an all-nighter. and now that i have gone off caffeine if I have a cup of coffee I will feel really crappy about 1/2 way in to my coffee. I think it just takes your body a little time to adjust.

    If you are waking up tired, do few jumps on the spot or have a nice shower to wake yourself up. I also don't close my curtains at night so when I wake up the room is nice and bright.
    If you are feeling the caffeine craving during the day go for a run or go to the gym? I find after I exercise I feel really pumped and I have trouble staying still haha

    good luck I know it can be hard but if you really want it you will get there!
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    for my afternoon soda/caffeine fix, i started eating an apple. i read somewhere that an apple has the same amount of energy that a can of soda has.

    but no one can or ever will take away my morning coffee.
  • MJ0214
    MJ0214 Posts: 36 Member
    Thank you so much, everyone! I went ahead and used a crystal light pack with a bit of caffeine and will wean off that way since any pop is super tempting to me lol.
  • PinkHurricane88
    PinkHurricane88 Posts: 156 Member
    Caffeine is one thing that I don't want to give up right now. I have given up smoking almost two packs a day (cold turkey), all soda, excessive alcohol, and I will not give up my coffee or tea!!!! LOL, but I did cut back on the coffee, went from almost a pot of coffee a day to now about 4, 6oz cups a day, if that. Eventually I would like to have just one 8oz cup, no more than 16 oz. My advice is to cut back slowly on whatever you are trying to eliminate.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I didn't give up caffeine, but if I were going to I'd just cut down a little each week for a few weeks, then give it up completely.
  • capnrus789
    capnrus789 Posts: 2,736 Member
    I was having some crazy blader, intestinal issues (TMI?) and the Dr.'s couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. I started taking out several things in my diet, including caffeine. I went cold turkey and endured the wicked headaches for about a week, then I was fine. Lot's of advil in the meanitme. Then I added back 1 cup of morning coffee and that's it for the day.

    I don't believe caffeine is necessarily bad, but too much of anything can be, right?
  • opus649
    opus649 Posts: 633 Member
    Taper
  • butterfli7o
    butterfli7o Posts: 1,319 Member
    Stop caffeine??? Noooooo...... :sad:
  • emtjmac
    emtjmac Posts: 1,320 Member
    Just drink unsweetened tea or tea with a tbsp of honey (60 cals). And increase your water intake to at least 8 cups every day.
  • tattedchic
    tattedchic Posts: 66 Member
    I just quit caffeine this week since I found out I'm preggo! I had to quit cold turkey, I thought it would be bad cause I was a caffeine junkie before, but by the 3rd or 4th day I was fine. Drink lots of (decaf) green tea and eat small meals throughout the day to keep your energy up.
  • reree6898
    reree6898 Posts: 42 Member
    Cold turkey worked for me. I was addicted to cola and mt. dew, I would have a coke first thing every morning and several more soda's through the day. I joined a gym in May and gave up junk food, fast food, etc and started working out. Hydration is a key element to losing weight and my trainer told me that for every ounce of caffinated beverage you drink it will take two ounces of water to replace the hydration in your body. That really helped me. I did have the wtihdraw symptoms for a few days but once all the junk was out of my system I have felt better then ever. I have not had any caffeine in 5 months and I now drink at least 1 to 1&1/2 gallons of water per day. I have lost 59 lbs as well. Good luck to you!
  • CacophonyJen
    CacophonyJen Posts: 31
    I spent all summer cutting back on caffeine. Instead of keeping track of the amount I was consuming, I set a cut-off time every day and moved it back 10 minutes per day. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that my starting cut-off time was 6 PM, but it was a pretty bad addiction! (ah, the life of a full-time student!)

    Now I still have 2 cups of coffee most days, but my cut-off time is strictly set at noon. It's a happy medium - I have enough caffeine in me to get through morning classes, (I swear, nothing in the world should happen before 10 AM!) but I'm no longer dependent on it to get through my entire day.
  • Off10h8ed
    Off10h8ed Posts: 282 Member
    I am a coffee drinker. I use to drink it from the time I got up (3am) until the time I went to bed (11pm).
    I still drink coffee but limit myself to a max of 2- 24 oz cups. Generally I end up with just one. This is good for me because I generally would do 10-12 of these 24 oz cups. Yes, I have a 42 cup peculator and I still use it!

    My best advice to you would be to slowly pull yourself off. I got terrible headaches from caffeine withdrawal when I tried to knock it down all in one day. I ended up having to slowly replace my cups of coffee with water, adding more each week until I was down to where I am at. Caffeine is a drug and like all other drugs, it is best to ween slowly and not just abruptly stop.
  • arosethorn
    arosethorn Posts: 41 Member
    I had to wean myself off. First, I quit drinking regular pop. Then I started limiting myself to either one cup of coffee or one diet coke a day. Then I went to every other day. Now, I only drink it on occasion. Also take lots of B vitamins (B6 and B12). They really boost your energy!
  • PlunderBunneh
    PlunderBunneh Posts: 1,705 Member
    Wean off and expect crankiness and headaches.
    We're pretty hardcore caffeine addicts. About every six months, husband goes through a non-dependency phase and will quit caffeine cold turkey. Since he self-medicated his ADD with caffeine (works), along with withdrawal headaches and crankiness, I cannot stand to be around him. It's hell on our marriage.
    I've slowly knocked down the amount I take (trying to cut out the JetAlerts all together, down from 2 a day to maybe 1 once or twice a week when I don't have time to make coffee).
  • KittieLea
    KittieLea Posts: 1,156 Member
    I just did it cold turkey. I was surprised because I didn't get any headaches or anything, but I did feel depressed. I was off caffeine for 2 weeks, felt lame, and started drinking it again LOL. I'm not myself without my coffee!
  • pudgeylou
    pudgeylou Posts: 202 Member
    I stopped drinking caffeine about a month ago. I quit cold turkey, which may not have been the best idea. I had a horrible headache for 4 days and was still tired and cranky for another 5 days at least. Now I have found that I have more energy and it is easier for me to get up in the mornings without the caffeine. It was the best thing I ever did. I highly recommend getting away from caffeine if you can. You may want to slowly reduce the amount you drink though because quitting all at once can have some horrible side effects.
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
    I'm currently trying to stop caffeine completely and I was wondering if anyone had any tips on how to do this without feeling like COMPLETE crap. I am already expecting to feel somewhat crappy, but I don't want to be super-cranky lol

    I taper it off slowly. I switch from coffee to black tea a few days, then decaf tea with a quick dunk with the black tea a few days or possibly green tea which is less caffeine. The first week is the hardest, the 2nd week you still feel kind if tired, then after that it's amazing how good you feel.
  • freckles_cmj
    freckles_cmj Posts: 205 Member
    I have done it cold turkey before but had terrible headaches. Being home with 2 little kids I wanted to spare myself the headaches...so I am tapering myself off. I used to drink countless cans of diet soda, and large ice tea or coffee daily. I am now down to one can of diet coke in the morning, nd water or flavored seltzer the rest of the day. I hope to be free of it by next week!
  • needernt
    needernt Posts: 675 Member
    Why you want to stop coffee? what is wrong with it? It is full of anti oxidant and increases you metabolism
  • jlapey
    jlapey Posts: 1,850 Member
    I weened myself off of coffee by mixing it a little at a time with Teeccino. It's a completely herbal coffee substitute, no caffeine, no acid. Can be bought at WholeFoods or on the internet at http://teeccino.com/

    It is available in tea bags or grounds for your coffeepot just like coffee.

    edited to say: French Roast is my favorite as it is the closest to unflavored coffee.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    I used to drink 1-2 cups of coffee plus one 12oz can of soda a day - sometimes more, if I thought I "needed" it. I ditched all the soda and the coffee - although I do usually drink one cup at Sunday breakfast with my wife - and replaced my caffeine needs with one cup of green tea in the morning. Supposedly, teas typically have about half as much caffeine per cup than coffee. Most days, I don't have any problems. I'll probably switch to a decaf green tea when my current supply runs out, keeping a small stash of regular "just in case." Occasionally, I have a soda, but that's like once a week. Hey - I like the flavor - so it's just a treat.

    If you really just like the taste of coffee, you can try decaf, or maybe mixing decaf and regular, so you lower your caffeine intake.

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