Quitting coffee
By Diane Ako
I've quit coffee. (Again.) I only drank one or two cups a day, but there came a point where I realized I was addicted and got headaches if I didn't drink the coffee by a certain time of day.
I stopped entirely when I was pregnant, but started up again because I like the smell and the buzz. I am not an addictive or obsessive-compulsive personality, but as so many people know, coffee is quite seductive!
Recently, I decided to make some changes to my lifestyle, and dropping the coffee habit was one of them. I'm surprised at how easy it was this time - in previous attempts, I failed because I would think about it and miss it. This time, I don't know what was different, but I just resolved to not miss it. It's worked.
I stepped down gradually. I drank 1/2 cup for a week, and then decaf for a few days. Then, just tea. No headaches, no cravings.
I will tell you, I'm fuzzy-headed and tired. I read that could last up to two weeks. Ug!
But it'll be great when it's over, right?!
Do you drink coffee or have you quit?
Small Talk
August 8th, 2012 at 4:56 am
I quit coffee at one time too but i'm back on it again. I'm happy you were able to do it!
August 8th, 2012 at 5:18 am
I wonder whether being addicted to coffee is like being an alcoholic. "Recovering" alcoholics believe they must give it up completely and never have another drink. They keep track of how many days or years it has been since they stopped drinking, and brag about it. So I wonder if that's how it works with coffee. I drink maybe 3 or 4 cups of coffee per year -- only if I'm in a restaurant where coffee is included with the meal at no extra cost; or if I'm at someone's home where the hostess has it already prepared and most everyone is drinking it. But I've never made coffee myself, and have no special desire to drink it.
Once every year there's the "Great American Smokeout" -- a day when there's big social pressure on smokers to stop smoking, at least for that one day. So sometimes I'll tell someone "Yes, I'm giving up smoking for today. And in fact, I'm making a solemn pledge never to smoke after today." Funny thing is, I have never smoked. So it's easy to take the pledge and get hugs and kisses for being socially/politically correct. I have also stopped beating my wife. [I've never beaten anyone. Oh, and I don't have a wife!]
August 8th, 2012 at 7:07 am
Hello Diane,
I stopped drinking coffee over 30 years ago and never drank it ever again.
August 8th, 2012 at 7:24 am
There are many health benefits to drinking black coffee, moderately. Of course, adding a ton of sugar and cream to your coffee defeats the purpose. Coffee is loaded with antioxidants, and there are many recent studies to show that coffee has anti-cancer properties, as well as protect against diabetes, Parkinson's, to name a few.
However, I also don't like being dependant on coffee. Most coffee drinkers that I know cannot start their day without a cup. If they don't drink their morning coffee, they get fatigued, headaches, irritable, etc.
August 8th, 2012 at 7:49 am
Coffee is awesome! I mean....for your sake, nah, its terrible! Glad you were able to kick the habit. I'm still a coffee drinker. I'm like you - I love the smell and the taste. I always tell my wife I'm going to switch to green tea, but that hasn't happened yet. Congratulations and hang in there!
August 8th, 2012 at 7:59 am
My coffee maker had a hard time starting this morning and I panicked....I love coffee. Remember once standing in a checkout line with a cup of coffee and telling the man behind that I was thinking of quitting coffee and he said "Just think, the way you feel before that coffee is as good as youre going to feel all day." Hmmm..got me thinking.
August 8th, 2012 at 10:57 am
One of my fav hate/love subjects.
I love the flavor of strong, bold coffee & regular coffee doesn't do it for me at all, taste-wise. Add chocolate to the mix for a mocha & you have one of my favorite drinks of all time.
I used to be nuts over sbux iced coffee and when they got the 'trenta,' that's what I ordered. At the time, I would drive/work 10-12 hours a day & often needed a boost more than once a day so I could keep up the pace. Then for various reasons, had to stop - one being that I broke my ankle. Caffein leaches calcium from the bones, and that's when I realized the habit needed to stop. Plus I wasn't driving all over & at all hours, so why did I really need all that caffein, anyway?
Rather than go cold turkey, I switched to iced Americanos- first with half decaf & half regular espresso, then backed it off until it was pure decaf. Then I skipped the water part of it & just get 3 shots decaf espresso over ice. I then add chocolate soy milk & protein powder sweetened with Stevia for a nice iced mocha. I don't miss the caffein now. It did take at least a week to do the transition, but it's worth it. So, good call!
August 8th, 2012 at 7:02 pm
I drink coffee on and off.... I never really got into coffee drinker...I drink here and there...only when I feel like it.... I drink orange juice and water and lactantia milk in the morning....I think if you have some sort of liquids in the morning you wont crave coffee...I drink water first thing...then I have other types of liquids.
August 8th, 2012 at 7:08 pm
OH TIREDNESS and fuzzy brain in the forties..make that 44..then you drag your butt out of bed.....no amount of coffee could make me more awake even..omg....yes tiredness in my 44 I NAP TWICE..omg ! WAIT add a sprinkle of menopause YOU MIGHT JUST GRAB THAT COFFEE..omg!
August 10th, 2012 at 8:03 am
I can't seem to do just an occassional cup. It becomes daily, then 2 a day. I think I have to be extreme here. Oh well. I have no other addictions or vices, in the big picture my relationship with coffee isn't the biggest deal, huh?