Going Caffeine Free....suggestions

Do you have a medical reason to give it up or just giving it a try? I’m not catholic but I use to give it up for lent just to prove that I can. For sure be ready for the headache. And Advil doesn’t seem to help it much.

I had to get off it because it didn't play nicely with my migraines. I wasn't drinking much to begin with, so I just quit cold turkey.

In your position, I'd cut down, maybe switching to a blend of decaf and caffeinated coffee, gradually decreasing the amount of caffeinated coffee you include in your mix. Once you're down to decaf coffee, switch to decaf tea, then switch to herbal tea.

If you liked pepsi, it might be that you liked the bubbles and will miss them. You can buy a Soda Stream and just drink plain seltzer water with some lemon juice. I did that back when I was originally learning to like water. Or you could buy pre-flavored seltzers.

My experience has been that making changes in steps leads to them being lasting changes rather than trying to make sweeping changes all at once.

Not everyone gets headaches or withdrawals from giving up coffee. Simply stop. Drink water try both chilled and quite hot. Personally I love a slice of lemon in my water.

I get migraines. Have since I was 13, though they’re less frequent these days. I also love both coffee and Yerba mate. I have very low blood pressure, so I figure it’s self-medicating.
Sometimes a double espresso with a side of water will stop a developing headache from becoming full-blown.
Earlier this year I cut down my coffee consumption from 6-8cups of coffee per day to 2-3cups. I also stopped using creamer in favor of unsweetened almond milk and skim lactose-free milk. It was doable. Still... without coffee in the morning there’s little chance I’d talk myself into getting up at 5a.m. for work.

Since you've already switched to decaf tea, I would suggest decaf coffee if you really like coffee. It still has a little bit of caffeine in it. I went off decaf coffee for a few months (and discovered that the problem with my digestion was the added DAIRY to it, so now I just drink black decaf in the morning if I want it) and in that time drank a lot of specialty herb teas. If you have the money to do so, I recommend Capital Teas. You will not want coffee or soda if you get those teas as they are delicious (but expensive). You can also buy cheaper teas, like Tazo -- it's under $4 for a box in my Target, and make iced teas. This will take care of replacing the soda. You could even add a little sparkling water if you wanted.

Good water is important. If you don't have tasty clean water from your faucet (which I don't), you might want to invest in a high end water filter. When I got my current filter it changed my desire to drink water. I also like the water from my gym, which is filtered. If it is nasty regular tap water I have less desire to drink it.

Now and then when I do need a caffeine boost I will buy a BAI sparkling antioxidant infusion--in the can. It does have caffeine but no calories. I also find the bubbles are mild. If I drink more than 12 oz. of a regular or diet soda, I get gas...

Like others have said, going cold turkey is the worst way to quit caffeine since more likely than not you'll end up breaking and going back to the caffeinated stuff. The best approach would be to make a blend of both regular and decaf coffee/tea, and slowly shift the blend so you use more of the decaf in the blend each time. This cuts down the amount of caffeine gradually instead of all at once, which makes it more likely for you to succeed.

I now make my own herbal teas. Started growing herbs myself - they're not too difficult, thankfully - and a lot of common herbs are pretty good teas. oregano, marjoram, rosemary - you can make tea from all of them. Some fun tea and pureed fruit recipes can be found, too - one I remember was making tea from basil and then adding pureed strawberries to the tea, maybe a little sweetener or lemon to get the taste just right.

Also, if you have trusted sources of clean citrus or pomegranates (nothing sprayed on or coating the outside), citrus rind and pomegranate rind are edible and full of vitamin C and other nutrients. Clean them, dry them out, and then grind them up a little to put into the tea to steep. They often add a nice tanginess to any drink.

Ginger slices make a good tea as well - you need to boil them for 15 minutes, then steep for 15, though, so it takes a little longer. Turmeric added to drinks is good, but you need to add the powered turmeric, or make and powder yourself. They don't actually make tea well.

Also olive leaves, fig leaves, ginger leaves, and guava tree leaves you can make tea with (the boil 15, steep 15 thing again). I think you may be able to do the same to grape leaves, too, but not sure on that.

Tons and tons of things are added to boiling water to steep that can be tasty and interesting, you know? Or made from sun tea. Or mixed in after blending, too. :-)