Breaking the caffeine habit

sarahsmart88
sarahsmart88 Posts: 84
edited October 3 in Food and Nutrition
I'm trying to cut out caffeine from diet since I am hoping to start a family soon. I've cut out energy drinks, but I still have my morning coffee every morning, an espresso or 2 a week, and caffeinated black tea most days. It's definitely a cut back from my college days, but I know I need to cut it all out.

Does anyone have any tips to get rid of the caffeine while minimizing side effects of withdrawl?

If you've quite caffeine, did you go "cold turkey" or a gradual lowering schedule? I'm thinking about manually tracking how many grams of caffeine I consume daily and going from there...

Any tips for some non-caffeine energy would be awesome, too!

Replies

  • Becky1971
    Becky1971 Posts: 979 Member
    When I originally quit I went cold turkey, stayed in bed for a week with awful headache. Since I get myself back into it off and on, though never ever as bad cause I can tolerate it like before. Now if I have it its a small fountain first filled with ice, every couple of weeks. If I need to get my usage in check again I just stop all together, it's the only way for me, but It's never as debilitating of course cause I'm not drinking it night and day.

    I found that doing my workout before sitting down to work on school work (I graduated last year) gave me as much if not more focus and motivation than having my caffeine.
    I'm trying to cut out caffeine from diet since I am hoping to start a family soon. I've cut out energy drinks, but I still have my morning coffee every morning, an espresso or 2 a week, and caffeinated black tea most days. It's definitely a cut back from my college days, but I know I need to cut it all out.

    Does anyone have any tips to get rid of the caffeine while minimizing side effects of withdrawl?

    If you've quite caffeine, did you go "cold turkey" or a gradual lowering schedule? I'm thinking about manually tracking how many grams of caffeine I consume daily and going from there...

    Any tips for some non-caffeine energy would be awesome, too!
  • lexximan
    lexximan Posts: 322 Member
    Apple in the morning gives you just as much a jump start ( I have heard)
  • 0SimplymeStacyLea0
    0SimplymeStacyLea0 Posts: 222
    I drank a cup of coffee almost everyday when I was pregnant with all three of my children. My Dr didn't see an issue with it being only one cup a day. Good luck on the future family :smile:
  • vintx
    vintx Posts: 34
    just do a little less every few days. make sure you are replacing the drink with something else, preferably water.

    if i start getting a caffeine headache, i'll take an excedrin (they have caffeine in it), or half an excedrin. within a couple weeks, you should be able to be caffeine free. :)
  • MandaLen13
    MandaLen13 Posts: 151 Member
    I've been slowly weaning myself off the caffeine for a few months now. I started out by doing 3/4 caffeinated coffee mixed with 1/4 decaf...then half & half...now I'm down to 1/4 caffeinated to 3/4 decaf. I've tried going cold turkey before and wound up with horrible headaches as a result but with this method I haven't had one side effect.
  • A_New_Horizon
    A_New_Horizon Posts: 1,555 Member
    Wish I could help - I have minimized my caffeine, but I haven't totally cut it out. I used to have 3 or 4 cafeined diet sodas a day now I am down to just one. BUT I still have a caffeined cold coffee drink regularly - I need to cut that out (too much sugar which is why I think the scale is stuck again). I wish you the best of luck!!
  • drog2323
    drog2323 Posts: 1,343 Member
    try going decaf to start. there's still a little caffeine in there plus you get the taste of coffee.

    then perhaps switch to herbal teas that have no caffeine. Rooibus (spelling) is really good and great for you.
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
    Anyone I know that has had a kid in recent years all still had ONE cup of coffee per day (during pregnancy and before). The good news is that one cup is great diabetes prevention and is full of antioxidants.
  • sheisunique
    sheisunique Posts: 10
    I've cut caffeine cold turkey. Been "clean" for a few months now, though it is hard to resist when friends want to grab starbucks or I smell it brewing in the Green Room at the theatre department. I suggest keeping it out of your life as much as possible--if your hubby does coffee, ask him not to brew it in the house. Take a different way to the water fountain at work and avoid the office if there is a coffee machine.

    ...There's always decaf!
  • VeganInTraining
    VeganInTraining Posts: 1,319 Member
    I am currently back on caffeine but when I quite before I just went cold turkey, by day 2 or 3 I had a killer headache....ok, I guess it wasn't cold turkey because I'd drink like 1/2 a cup to get rid of the headache. Anyway, week 3 was the hardest for me as far as energy went. but I definitely had better energy when I was off of it, i slept better and if I got sleepy a cup of water and a piece of fruit normally did the trick (unless I hadn't slept much the night before) the trick is to start getting the sleep you actually need
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
    try going decaf to start. there's still a little caffeine in there plus you get the taste of coffee.

    then perhaps switch to herbal teas that have no caffeine. Rooibus (spelling) is really good and great for you.

    Yes, but herbal teas are not actually tea. Some countries don't even label them as tea. Real tea helps with weight loss and disease prevention. Herbal teas do not carry as many benefits. You can look online to see which ones have less caffeine. I think white tea has the least.
  • trybefan
    trybefan Posts: 488 Member
    Ok, Ok...I am opening myself up for attack here. I am a BB coach so fire at will.....I was a pot o coffee a day guy until I started using Shakeology. Honestly, I cannot tell you why it has helped me cut back. I drink maybe 2 cups a day now, and the days I do not drink coffee I do not have any withdrawals.

    Let the beating up on Trybefan commence!
  • brandenocs
    brandenocs Posts: 146 Member
    I actually don't see a problem with caffeine itself so much as what you get it in (energy drinks, soda, fancy coffee, etc). Those are loaded up with empty carbs from all the sugars and what not. It's very normal for a bodybuilder to take a supplement that has caffeine, pre-workout to give that extra boost. I do. I take green tea extract. It's a good anti-oxidant that just so happens to give a caffeine boost. Now if you're taking in excess, just lighten the load a bit so you won't go through all the withdrawal symptoms.

    I did kick the, 4 energy drink a day, habit cold turkey a few years back... And let me tell you... It was awful. Got all shaky, and headaches for days. Caffeine is just another one of those "everything in moderation" types.
  • Bonny272
    Bonny272 Posts: 154 Member
    I had to quit the coffee habit because it was too acidic. I started drinking green tea. Lipton has "Superfruit" teas that I drink with stevia in the raw. They have a fourth of the caffeine and a bunch of flavinoids that are good for you.
  • trybefan
    trybefan Posts: 488 Member
    And honestly I think a good whey protein shake from most sources may do the same. There are a number of whey protein powders that have Branched Chained Amino acids that will give you an energy boost and help with focus.
  • MzMiller1215
    MzMiller1215 Posts: 633 Member
    I drank a cup of coffee almost everyday when I was pregnant with all three of my children. My Dr didn't see an issue with it being only one cup a day. Good luck on the future family :smile:

    I did too but, that was the only caffeine I had. I didn't drink soda or caffeinated teas.
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    I quit cold turkey from a 4-5 diet coke cans per day habit. It sucked for a week or two, but a little ibuprofen took away most of the headaches. I feel a lot better now. I sleep better, am much less puffy than I was, and have been feeling much more relaxed and able to concentrate during the day.
  • momof8munchkins
    momof8munchkins Posts: 1,167 Member
    I go in stages with caffeine.. I find myself drinking too much cooffee so I cut back and so on.. but 1-2 cups a day is in no way excessive and not harmful during pregnacy. The thing is most women find that caffeine makes them sick when pregnant so they naturally stop drinking any..
  • Bankman1989
    Bankman1989 Posts: 1,116 Member
    I'm trying to cut out caffeine from diet since I am hoping to start a family soon. I've cut out energy drinks, but I still have my morning coffee every morning, an espresso or 2 a week, and caffeinated black tea most days. It's definitely a cut back from my college days, but I know I need to cut it all out.

    Does anyone have any tips to get rid of the caffeine while minimizing side effects of withdrawl?

    If you've quite caffeine, did you go "cold turkey" or a gradual lowering schedule? I'm thinking about manually tracking how many grams of caffeine I consume daily and going from there...

    Any tips for some non-caffeine energy would be awesome, too!


    Good luck with that. i recently went "two days" without coffee..it wasn't bad. I think I drink it just because not because i have to. It is delicious though...

    PS congrats on wanting to start a family though.
  • Jolenebib
    Jolenebib Posts: 142 Member
    Try cutting out the espresso and black tea. Drink a green tea instead of black tea for awhile (still has caffeine but not as much). This will, "hopefully", reduce the withdrawl in the afternoon - eventually you can cut it out completely. You do NOT have to give up caffeine completely when pregnant - there is a limited number of milligrams you should have a day, don't know the number off hand, but your doctor will. As long as you make your own coffee and know how much you are having, you'll be fine. Baby will be fine. Starbucks drip coffee is about double the amount of caffeine as what someone would make at home. But if you feel that you must cut it out, and that's perfectly fine and your choice, go slow to minimize the withdrawl. Half-caf in the AM would probably help then go to decaf, then none at all.
  • raqufern
    raqufern Posts: 794 Member
    You are allowed one cup of coffee a day while you are pregnant or breastfeeding. The question here is: "What do you consider one cup?" To some people one cup can be 8oz, 5 oz or much much more than that! To my knowledge and correct me if I am wrong anyone out there, your coffee cup should be about 5oz. Also, I quit cold turkey as well and had major headaches, lack of energy and was sooooo moody. However, after a week now I can have one- two cups a week and dont feel that craving... by the way I used to drink 4 cups a day and my cups were about 12oz each!
  • sryan8408
    sryan8408 Posts: 244
    One thing I started to do to ween myself off was to only drink the caffine drinks while I was at home so everywhere else I only had water. Then I started to do it where I would start my day with 1 caffinated beverage then until I drank my 8 glasses of water I wouldn't have anymore. Then slowly cut out the ending beverages. Then the worst is the morning caffine.
  • leti333
    leti333 Posts: 27 Member
    Start taking vitamin B complex, all the energy drinks have it, it's all natural, harmless, and will help you avoid the caffein crash...It works wonders!!
  • infinitelyatpeace
    infinitelyatpeace Posts: 7
    Start by drinking half caf/ half decaf for a week. The following week go decaf only with a shot of wheat grass in the morning. Next try to get in the habit of drinking herbal tea.
  • fiberartist219
    fiberartist219 Posts: 1,865 Member
    I had to cut my caffeine habit out for a few months when I was in college. It was awful. I had some stomach issues, and the caffeine just aggravated the problem.

    I recommend cutting back slowly. If you drink 5 caffeinated beverages in a day, drink only 4 tomorrow. If you only drink one a day, you might be able to cut cold turkey, but if you drink more than that, you should ease off of it.

    When I get caffeine withdrawal, I get awful headaches. Last week, I was drinking 5 beverages a day. Over the weekend, I slowed down to 4. Today I had three cups of coffee. Granted, coffee has more caffeine than tea or pop, but don't make it complicated. Just count how much you are drinking by the number of cups or cans.
  • fiberartist219
    fiberartist219 Posts: 1,865 Member
    I forgot to answer the question about how to stay energized without it. Here are a few ideas:
    1. This might seem obvious, but aim for 8 hours of sleep a night.
    2. Practice good sleep hygiene. Go to bed at the same time every night. Wake up at the same time every morning. Try to keep distractions out of the bedroom, and only use your bed for sleep or sex.
    3. Get fresh air. I get sleepy at my desk at work all the time, and sometimes going outside for a minute wakes me up.
    4. Drink lots of water or decaf. :)
    6. Get some exercise. Sitting still makes me want to take a nap. If I get up and move around for a couple minutes, I usually feel better.
  • Becky1971
    Becky1971 Posts: 979 Member
    I just can't imagine that, my kids were teens before they could have caffeine. Still wasnt crazy about it, but I can't imagine giving to my baby, what has such an effect on me as an adult. I'm just saying, I know docs know more than I, and I know I am more sensitive to things than most people.
    I drank a cup of coffee almost everyday when I was pregnant with all three of my children. My Dr didn't see an issue with it being only one cup a day. Good luck on the future family :smile:
  • sarahsmart88
    sarahsmart88 Posts: 84
    I drank a cup of coffee almost everyday when I was pregnant with all three of my children. My Dr didn't see an issue with it being only one cup a day. Good luck on the future family :smile:

    Thanks! I have read that one cup a day is fine, too. I'll keep that in mind, cause I loooooove coffee lol
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