Cutting out caffeine...

ShellyLee
ShellyLee Posts: 293 Member
edited September 21 in Food and Nutrition
Anybody done it? I'm on day 3. I've always been a diet coke fan, but was on a trip and suddenly decided I was going to try and go caffeine free. I don't like regular coffee or tea so no issues there, diet coke was really all I had to cut out. Of course I decided this and then realized I have an entire case of diet coke in the garage fridge lol.
I've been drinking water, lemonade, and some diet sprite and so far I've been good. Has it helped anyone by cutting out the caffeine?
I've also considered just detoxing for a a week or two and then maybe going to just one or two a week or something like that...

Replies

  • drvvork
    drvvork Posts: 1,162
    Wow... good luck:flowerforyou: I'm addicted to coffee but have been able to cut back from my once intake of 8 - 12 cup pots of coffee a day to maybe 1 pot (or 2 if there is family here to help me drink it). I went through horrific headaches and nightmares (DT's!!) It sounds like you are doing great... good for you! :bigsmile:
  • barbiecat
    barbiecat Posts: 17,202 Member
    :flowerforyou: my husband and I both gave up caffeine in January 2009 when we started our weight loss journey......I drank 4-8 cups of coffee a day and he drank 4-8 cups of coffee and 6-10 Diet Pepsi.......it was the greatest decision we could have made......we drink herb tea in the morning so we have a hot beverage to start the day.......we also gave up artificial sweeteners so we drink our tea plain and don't drink any soft drinks at all.

    good luck to you....it may seem like a challenge at first but your body will thank you :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:
  • Soon2Bfitmamaof3
    Soon2Bfitmamaof3 Posts: 1,911 Member
    Cutting out caffeine is hard, especially in the first week or two. I was an avid coffee and diet coke drinker and gave both up 6 weeks ago. I was drinking green tea for a few weeks as it has lots of good for you stuff in it but then decided to give that up as well. Now I only drink water, I have crystal light at dinner time and drink sprite but only when my tummy is upset. Hang in there, it will get easier after the first couple of weeks.
  • patriot201
    patriot201 Posts: 117 Member
    I would love to give up diet sodas, but I just can't do it right now. I have two reasons: (1) I get terrible migraines and caffeine actually works just as well as my migraine medication to help get rid of the nausea, auras, etc. I have cut out caffeine a few other times in my life, and after the withdrawal headaches and nausea, everything was good until one of the real migraines hit. My migraine medication messes with my other meds, which becomes a nightmare. It is easier for me to just use caffeine. (2) I have major sleeping issues that are just as bad when I don't have caffeine (the times I cut it out for months at a time) as they are when I do have it. Due to my sleeping issues, I need caffeine in the mornings to help keep me awake so I can work. I stop drinking caffeine at about 10:00 A.M., though, so it doesn't affect my sleep at night.

    I would really, really like to give up diet sodas, but I am just not there yet. Maybe my reasons above are me trying to justify a bad habit, but for now, that's where I am. :o
  • happy_jax
    happy_jax Posts: 289 Member
    ....I don't get why though?

    Don't get me wrong, I'm not being funny (!!) :happy: And I think it's great that everyone has something to work towards that they think will benefit their health...but there seems so many contradictions with caffeine that I don't know what to think really...?

    I mean - I very rarely drink coffee or fizzy drinks - so I don't get caffeine there, although I do drink green tea.

    But then I have started taking Maxitone Sculptress Capsules which have really boosted my weight loss in recent weeks - and they are packed with caffeine!!?

    So to me the caffeine seems to do me good...? :ohwell:

    Is it good or bad?? Or does it depend how you get it/ or how long you expose yourself to it? Seems to be a grey area!
  • Suedre
    Suedre Posts: 435 Member
    Yes, I did it completely gave it up. If you would have told me a year ago that I would be a non-soda drinking person I would laugh in your face. My line was always ‘I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, Diet Coke is vice and I’m drinking it’. I meant it too!

    I'm so glad I did it now and wouldn’t go back for all the 'Diet Coke' in China. I went from drinking 2L+ a day of Diet Coke to none. The first day was hard. I had terrible headaches; I was sick, and ULTRA crabby. I literally sat on the couch for an entire day and did nothing but cry and whine and yell at my family. The second morning, the headaches were gone and I felt fine. I wanted the coke out of habit, but I made sure there was frosty cold water everywhere I went. No excuses right? By the second week I didnt miss it and several of my health problems were gone (fatigue, muscle twitching/cramping, slumps in the middle of the day). After the first month, I licked (yes, licked) some Diet Coke and much to my surprise it tasted like total crap. Six months later, I don't miss it AT ALL. I almost exclusively drink water, sometimes I will throw in a bit of milk or orange juice here and there.
  • rhoward66
    rhoward66 Posts: 34 Member
    I gave up diet Mt Dew (2-3 per day) and coffee (2-3 cups per day) about four months ago. I had headaches for a couple of days, but got through it. Now I keep reading about the benefits of caffeine to energize your workouts!
  • stringcheeze
    stringcheeze Posts: 286
    But then I have started taking Maxitone Sculptress Capsules which have really boosted my weight loss in recent weeks - and they are packed with caffeine!!?

    So to me the caffeine seems to do me good...? :ohwell:

    Is it good or bad?? Or does it depend how you get it/ or how long you expose yourself to it? Seems to be a grey area!

    Like everything, some is good, too much is bad. One cup of coffee, tea, or equivalent caffeine in a different drink has been shown to benefit your body, but if you go overboard....
  • ShellyLee
    ShellyLee Posts: 293 Member
    http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Diet/story?id=2990014&page=1 This seems to be a simple article on the good and the bad. I suppose just like everything else, moderation is key. I've just noticed that I THINK I drink too much diet coke. So I'm hoping that doing a week or two of none and then adding back one or two a week will help me reduce the need (or want) for caffeine.
  • Mirabilis
    Mirabilis Posts: 312 Member
    hmmm

    well, I haven't given up caffeine and I don't think I will because I do love my latte in the morning. It's an efficient vehicle to get my morning milk and get me going, if you know what I mean ;)

    BUT

    I have given up diet coke, pretty much without any repercussions. I bet some of you know that even if you don't give up coffee, normally (or at least for me) you can still get diet coke withdrawal.

    I did something differently this time. You know how easy it is to say you're drinking 8 cups of water a day and then not do it? Well, instead, I drank them and no Cokes. No headaches.. go figger. I wonder if dehydration doesn't have something to do with it. If you replace your Coke liquid with water, maybe you won't get the headaches either.

    Mirii
  • bluehorsesjp
    bluehorsesjp Posts: 34
    ....I don't get why though?

    Don't get me wrong, I'm not being funny (!!) :happy: And I think it's great that everyone has something to work towards that they think will benefit their health...but there seems so many contradictions with caffeine that I don't know what to think really...?

    I mean - I very rarely drink coffee or fizzy drinks - so I don't get caffeine there, although I do drink green tea.

    But then I have started taking Maxitone Sculptress Capsules which have really boosted my weight loss in recent weeks - and they are packed with caffeine!!?

    So to me the caffeine seems to do me good...? :ohwell:

    Is it good or bad?? Or does it depend how you get it/ or how long you expose yourself to it? Seems to be a grey area!

    Caffeine bumps up estrogene production in your body, which is one of the reasons women with PMS get sore breast prior to their periods. Cutting out caffeine usually eliminates that symptom. And for me because I am estrogen dominant, ie my body produces too much estrogene which led to a whole host of other problems for me. One of which was fibroids which resulted in a hysterectomy last year.
    So for my heath cutting out caffeine was a huge benefit. I was a avid coffee drinker. I cut it out slowly by mixing in decaf and regular. Eventually I went to all decaff and finally did not need that boost in the morning anymore. Thank goodness I did not have a diet coke habit, because that seems even harder to break.
    Now if I want a little "cup of love"/latte I order a decaff. I know that has a little bit of caffeine in it, but so much less that regular.
    the interesting thing now is that if I get a caffeinated coffee by mistake I get super speedy and my face feels numb. I know, I am weird. :) It just proves to me just how strong caffeine can be. Almost like a drug.
    But I never would have thought caffeine would effect me so strongly as it really seems like such a benign thing.
  • Serqita
    Serqita Posts: 34 Member
    Wow... good luck:flowerforyou: I'm addicted to coffee but have been able to cut back from my once intake of 8 - 12 cup pots of coffee a day to maybe 1 pot (or 2 if there is family here to help me drink it). I went through horrific headaches and nightmares (DT's!!) It sounds like you are doing great... good for you! :bigsmile:

    i'm try cutting out caffeine . i'm restart my diet. i fell off my diet becuse of my love of caffeine
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