Trying to get Caffeine free - because I think for me, I HAVE

gazz777
gazz777 Posts: 722
edited November 12 in Food and Nutrition
Hi all. I started this almost a year ago by changing 3 things that have control over me.

1 is laziness - still working with that. Hidden excuses for not moving.

2 is sugar - stopping adding sources of it (such as Sodas, Cola, etc) and white sugar to tea, cereal, etc. Now I have some form of self-control over it. Doing this I think resulted in loss of 60+ pounds last year.

3 I gave up Cola, tea, etc.

I went back to tea in moderation (without milk & sugar), but I think the Cola habit is returning. I tried substitutes such as different tea drinks.

I tried coffee there for a while just to see how it went. I loved Mocha's :) but they dont love me.

I also hear it can affect flexibility and other fitness aspects.

So, I get the hint. I want to eliminate Caffeine altogether.

Doing this as natural as possible, how do I get off Caffeine - what natural alternatives are there (not de-caf, nor the tea/coffee caffeine level debate) and how do I get off it ?

Replies

  • Ilisidi
    Ilisidi Posts: 43 Member
    Hmmmm, all the stuff I've seen recently is quite positive about caffeine - so for me are you you really sure?

    Plus, my progress to date is based upon lifestyle not diets etc, so my suggestion is to try and frame what you want in a way that allows you to manage your caffeine intake in a positive way, not cease it completely :-)
  • goron59
    goron59 Posts: 890 Member
    What's wrong with caffeine for you?

    If not caffeine, perhaps it's just the foods that contain it?

    http://nutritiondata.self.com/foods-000131000000000000000.html is a reasonable list - it's not just tea/coffee!
  • lizard053
    lizard053 Posts: 2,344 Member
    Kicking the caffeine habit is really hard. It's more addictive than most drugs out there! I have slowly cut back my caffeine intake. Now I'm debating on 1 less cup of coffee in the morning (leaving me with just one cup of coffee most days). I just plain need the energy kick first thing in the morning.

    Too much caffeine isn't good for you. Some won't hurt. Unless you medically have to! Caffeine mixed with sugar is even harder to kick! Good job kicking the colas.

    Some friends of mine quit caffeine cold turkey, but always end up back again. I just gave up on totally giving up caffeine, instead just limiting it a lot.
  • laurastrait21
    laurastrait21 Posts: 307 Member
    me too! I tried to quit cold turkey numerous times -- did NOT work!! but I have been limiting myself to one cup of black coffee every day and I think will have to stick with that.
  • WifeNMama
    WifeNMama Posts: 2,876 Member
    Do you really like hot drinks or prefer cold? If you still want a hot drink, you could steam milk with a cinnamon stick and vanilla bean in it. Or put a little bit of vanilla extract in, check the label though, because most add sugar to the vanilla, but it would be a trace amount. You could also try chamomile tea, or other herbal teas that naturally do not contain caffeine.

    I also do this: a piece of fresh finger, cinnamon stick, nutmeg, cloves, vanilla bean steeped in hot water for 5-10 minutes, covered so it doesn't get cold. Add a little milk if you want. It's like chai without the tea bag.

    I've always preferred sugar in food or drink instead of artificial sweeteners. The aftertaste and potential health hazards put me off.

    Another alternative hot drink is switching to drinking low sodium soup broth, and add complimentary herbs or spices to it for extra flavor.
  • Kendrawinn
    Kendrawinn Posts: 160
    Bump... I need the answer to this one.
  • d3mon4ngel
    d3mon4ngel Posts: 242 Member
    I went caffeine-free last year. I went cold turkey and switched to camomile and fruit teas (I found I really like Twinings Apple and Camomile), and lots of water. I had an absolute monster headache for about 2 days, but after that it wasn't too bad.

    I was completely caffeine-free for about 8 months, but I've recently started drinking tea again, because about a week before I decided to give it up, I had bought a massive bag of about 1000 teabags and I started to feel guilty about spending money on them and letting them go to waste :laugh: Once these are all used up, I'm coming off it again for good. Without caffeine, I found that I slept so much better, a lot fewer insomnia nights, but I did find that I had slightly less energy towards the end of the day. Hoping my healthier lifestyle this time round will help against that though.

    Hope this helps :flowerforyou:
  • scubaruby
    scubaruby Posts: 36 Member
    I also do this: a piece of fresh finger, cinnamon stick, nutmeg, cloves, vanilla bean steeped in hot water for 5-10 minutes, covered so it doesn't get cold. Add a little milk if you want. It's like chai without the tea bag.

    This would only work for a few weeks till you run out of fingers, no?


    Sorry, I had to. :-D
  • WifeNMama
    WifeNMama Posts: 2,876 Member
    I also do this: a piece of fresh finger, cinnamon stick, nutmeg, cloves, vanilla bean steeped in hot water for 5-10 minutes, covered so it doesn't get cold. Add a little milk if you want. It's like chai without the tea bag.

    This would only work for a few weeks till you run out of fingers, no?


    Sorry, I had to. :-D
    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: maybe get some sponsored? Ahem. GINGER. Sheesh. Also, this is a great recipe to soothe and clean a sore throat. Acts as an antiviral/antiseptic.
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    Hi all. I started this almost a year ago by changing 3 things that have control over me.

    1 is laziness - still working with that. Hidden excuses for not moving.

    2 is sugar - stopping adding sources of it (such as Sodas, Cola, etc) and white sugar to tea, cereal, etc. Now I have some form of self-control over it. Doing this I think resulted in loss of 60+ pounds last year.

    3 I gave up Cola, tea, etc.

    I went back to tea in moderation (without milk & sugar), but I think the Cola habit is returning. I tried substitutes such as different tea drinks.

    I tried coffee there for a while just to see how it went. I loved Mocha's :) but they dont love me.

    I also hear it can affect flexibility and other fitness aspects.

    So, I get the hint. I want to eliminate Caffeine altogether.

    Doing this as natural as possible, how do I get off Caffeine - what natural alternatives are there (not de-caf, nor the tea/coffee caffeine level debate) and how do I get off it ?

    I was on 5 cups of coffee a day. I switched to tea for a while (I'm not a fan but at least I didn't get headaches). I then started taking in more water. I might be crazy but since I've been eating apples and drinking more water I feel way more alert and don't have the crashes that caffeine give. Now I don't drink coffee unless I'm in school, and I only do it socially (not to wake up).
  • gazz777
    gazz777 Posts: 722
    It would be for me ... not the next person. I am not suggesting everyone withdraw from Caffeine. Just me. My health .... my happy ....

    Someone else's happy maybe IVC - intravenous coffee lol - I know some !

    I may be allergic to it. I also seem to be allergic to garlic, raw peanuts. I can eat PB by the container, so the roasting or processing may rid the peanut of the protein I am allergic to.

    Throwing back a year, I think I was off tea for a while too.

    I read a site about B12 flexibility and Coffee (google it).

    Interesting reads from THAT search. Have fun finding YOUR happy !

    Thanks to all for your responses.
  • ribye
    ribye Posts: 59 Member
    They make caffeine free alternatives to most major cola's coke, diet coke, Pepsi,
  • OliveGirl128
    OliveGirl128 Posts: 801 Member
    What's with all of these necro bumps?
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    OliveGirl128 wrote: »
    What's with all of these necro bumps?

    Not sure. Someone is searching for all the old coke related threads?
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