Giving up caffeine is a game changer

[iOneIndividual]

It's the socially accepted legal everyday, liquid cocaine. (maybe just a lesser harsh version of it)

I've tried, and before have made it all the way down to 'decaf green tea' from coffee.
But that was another version of myself.

Long story short, I went through a period of being addicted to uppers.
If my liquid cocaine will satisfy the itch enough to keep me away from the powdered stuff for 10 years, I'll happily keep the vice.

Granted, some day, I'll give it up; when I feel far enough away from that other me that I'm convinced he'll never come back.
I applaud your dedication. Maybe I can embody it in the future.

 

[PixelFree]

I usually drink one super strong coffee a day (double or triple shot of espresso).

I have gone through periods without it and I slept like a baby. I've gone without for over a month, the biggest difference was waking with no bags under my eyes (late 30 - early 40). When I'm not drinking it I look 3 years younger and generally feel more relaxed and stable. Coffee does give some people (inc. me) very very mild anxiety and it can easily disturb my sleep if I have it after noon.

All it takes though is one late night, then you 'need' the coffee the next morning and bam you're on the coffee train / loop again.

At the moment I make up a 50/50 mix of decaf and regular coffee grind which gives me the strong taste and a little kick. It's not a bad step forward until I can have another go at kicking it again.

 

[kel]

I'm also doing half-caf now. I really don't feel anything from the caffeine, though, and I'm convinced I'm not reliant on it at all, I just really love my coffees, so if I could find a decaf that tastes the same I could do that all the time.

 

[Mortay]

I'm almost 3 weeks no caffeine. Sleep has vastly improved. I get deep sleep and vivid dreams which I haven't had in forever. The problem is even with a good night's sleep, I still get very tired in the afternoon. It has been really hard to sit in front of the computer and concentrate on work. I hope my energy levels improve the longer I go without caffeine.

 

[Towgunner]

I gave up coffee almost 10 years ago. I will never go back. Never. Being without coffee is awesome. I still have my morning beverage, I drink tea. I drink lots of tea. In the morning make a cup of English Breakfast or Earl Grey, which does have caffeine in it. However, I almost never finish the cup. For the rest of the day I drink non caffeinated herbal teas. I can't recommend quitting coffee enough.

Apropos, coffee is indeed a drug, literally. What is Starbucks? Its a huge multinational drug dealer, that's it. Several years ago the latte fad was getting out of control or so it seemed. Everyone from CNBC to Fox were perplexed that someone would but a latte for $7. It was just a cup of coffee after all, a glorified cup, but still just that. Well, that is true. But missing from the analysis is that drugs are subject to an inelastic demand curve. Meaning that the demand for the product changes very little in relation to changes of price. This is true for pharmaceutical drugs and nicotine products. That's why huge taxes on cigarettes are not very effective, if anything, they're quite unfair. This is because a consumer is either addicted or is dependent, in the case of medication, for these products. So, in theory, no matter what the price a consumer will pay for it. Coffee is subject to the same forces and describes how starbucks can get away charging consumers > $7 for a latte.

 

[donvance]

I use to enjoy my [email protected] coffee since they were very close, the drive thru was not too busy and they would sugar and cream it for the window hand off. At 2.65, it was affordable.

One day last summer their cost escalated to 3.25ish. That is a 20% increase, The coffee became bitter and i stopped going there.

I drive by there practically every day and see that they have a line of cars surrounding the building. I suppose they don't care about my boycott. The point of my story is, I have other options.

 

[Hermetic Seal]

This is an interesting topic for me.

My mom and brothers are coffee addicts and drink tons of it every day. My wife and dad don't drink it at all. I drink a cup of coffee 1-3 times a month on average.

I almost never drink soft drinks or other caffeinated beverages, so when I drink a strong cup of coffee every now and then (Chick-Fil-A's coffee comes to mind) I feel extremely uneasy, jittery, nervous, and so on. Not a good feeling at all. Usually when I do drink coffee, it's a high-quality pourover type from a hipster coffee shop. I don't have that problem with such high-quality coffee. But it's an occasional treat, not a daily thing I need to function properly. Outside of fancy coffee, when I do drink it, I get decaf - and even that gives me a bit of an undesirable buzz, sometimes. I don't understand how people think feeling this way is good or beneficial. I've never touched energy drinks.

Some of it probably comes down to one's particular biology - I wake up extremely fast. Even if, say, my alarm goes off when I'm completely asleep, I'm fully awake with 10-15 minutes maximum and have never felt the need for any stimulant to wake up. Perks of being a morning person, I guess.

Even though Mage is probably being obnoxious on purpose on the first page, I have noticed that a vast majority of my non-denominational Christian friends are utterly addicted to and obsessed with coffee beyond reason. It is a bit odd.

Over the past year I've taken to drinking Japanese green tea - the type with roasted rice flavor, powder, and leaves in the teabag. Tastes great, basically no caffeine, zero prep time, healthy, and cheap.

 

[PixelFree]

I gave up coffee almost 10 years ago. I will never go back. Never. Being without coffee is awesome. I still have my morning beverage, I drink tea. I drink lots of tea. In the morning make a cup of English Breakfast or Earl Grey, which does have caffeine in it. However, I almost never finish the cup. For the rest of the day I drink non caffeinated herbal teas. I can't recommend quitting coffee enough.

What would you say were the biggest and best benefits?

Is it mainly the anti-consumer stance? (which is a good one).

 

[Dan Handler]

Caffeine can elevate cortisol and lower testosterone, and it is also a diuretic: a substance that causes excess urine production and urination, which results in dehydration and electrolyte depletion, so it is better not to take it at all.

 

[ginsu]

Gave up coffee some days now because of this thread. I definitely notice improved sleep and healthier skin. I struggled years with sleep problems and dry skin at times, so going to stick with this now. Just wanted to say it really helps, give it a try if you're coffee addicted.

 

[Towgunner]

What would you say were the biggest and best benefits?

Is it mainly the anti-consumer stance? (which is a good one).

I'd say the biggest benefit is I'm not dependent on it any longer. I was, now a long time ago, a addict to this stuff. One of those people that wasn't himself until I had my coffee. Matter of fact, in my mid 20s I was up to 5 cups a day. It was akin to smoking. I used to smoke and when I gave that up I recall the satisfaction of not having that control me. Also, I feel a whole lot healthier too. I sleep a lot better. I used to have terrible insomnia now I don't. Duh, 5 cups a day, sometimes a caffeinated cup at 4 in the afternoon. Yeah, you're gonna have sleeping issues.

I find tea to be what coffee should be. A voluntary experience. I can go through my entire morning routine and not have my tea and it will not matter. I've boiled water only to let it sit and cool. This is because I got distracted by something. With coffee that would have never happened. Like smoking, coffee takes you over it becomes THE priority.

I highly recommend people stop using coffee or caffeine in general. BTW, I do not drink soft drinks or any of that. My daily liquids consist of tea and water. Cut lemon slices and water is VERY good! And very good for you.

As far as anti-consumerism, its a fringe benefit but not one that I'd take lightly. It does matter to me that I'm not contributing to the mainstream. I too have seen the cars wrapped around starbucks and dunkin donuts. When the pandemic first hit the line for starbucks backed up several hundreds of feet onto the main road.

Is that the brilliance of starbucks and its liberal ceo? No, its addiction, simple as that. Sheep being led to a trough. Recently starbucks, to add insult to injury, has become a part of defiling our optical environment by adopting "contemporary" architecture. There is a franchise not far from me that is an eyesore. A monotone grey with evergreen green box. Its institutional. The sight of if makes me recoil.

 

[Batman_]

I have never routinely consumed more than 3 cups of coffee (3tbsp) per day, but even when drinking 3 cups per day, I noticed that by the end of the day, I was highly eager for the morning so I could drink more coffee again. I don't know if it was withdrawal or just general cravings, but it was disturbing to me.

Whenever I stop drinking caffeine completely (slow taper followed by weeks of zero caffeine after) I always find myself inevitably drinking it again on weekends. It would reach the point where I was obessively excited for weekends because I'd end up binging on 5 cups of coffee which literally feels like liquid cocaine when you don't have a tolerance from daily drinking.

Perhaps coffee should be viewed analogously to any other stimulant, ie something you should only use on special occassions, if at all.

Btw, if this hasn't been mentioned yet - the reason coffee (and by extension, cigarrettes) are so addicting isn't just the caffeine/nicotine, but the naturally-occuring MAOIs, which tend to be quite strong mood-brighteners.

 

[harmonicpinch]

Perhaps coffee should be viewed analogously to any other stimulant, ie something you should only use on special occassions, if at all.

Btw, if this hasn't been mentioned yet - the reason coffee (and by extension, cigarrettes) are so addicting isn't just the caffeine/nicotine, but the naturally-occuring MAOIs, which tend to be quite strong mood-brighteners.

Yeah you can clearly see the difference in effects between an espresso (which contains even more of the fats/alkaloids) and a cup of strong black tea. I find the coffee to be much more disruptive to sleep even if its 12+ hours later.

Good point about it being a real stimulant. Treating it as a rare treat or something for special times is definitely the endgame for people like us that are trying to cut the crap out. Having it every day just creates a distraction. The "up" is a manic distraction/illusion and then the "down" and suboptimal sleep is a clouding distraction that can last for a few days.

 

[LoveBug]

I love the liquid (colas) too much.

Soda is bad for you, but I’m not sure what else to drink during a meal. Alcohol, even at moderate amounts is arguable as deleterious. Water is weak and ruins stomach acid/digestion. Milk? A lot of people have qualms with it as well

 

[Max Roscoe]

I was fortunate to have parents that didn't allow us to drink colas so I never developed a craving for them. I probably have one soft drink a month. More than anything the carbonic acid irritates my throat. We did drink tea a good bit, but it was mostly herbal teas. I bought one of those bialetti devices that makes something similar to espresso, but it's technically just a creamier coffee. I also have a carafe that will make cold brew coffee, which I like as it's not as bitter. I have one of those forms of coffee 1-2x a week.

I put this coconut collagen additive from Primal Kitchen in it which is good for your hair/nails/skin and tastes delicious. I think anything in moderation is good, but if you're drinking it every day, it's not good for your health or psyche, plus you become one of those annoying people always complaining "where's my coffee" on camping trips, work meetings, etc. It really is an addiction and it's very noticeable if you don't partake.

I found out caffeine has a half life of 5 hours!! That made me completely eliminate caffeine after noon. It really disrupts sleep patterns.

 

[whitewashedblackguy]

It’s been two weeks since I quit coffee cold turkey, and I feel way better. Didn’t realize how jittery I was until I stopped. My morning drink is now vitamin water zero. Starting the day off by replenishing electrolytes instead of depleting them is a total game changer.

 

[Armin]

I quit coffee 3 weeks ago. I was usually drinking 3 cups per day. It started with 1 cup per day, then suddenly i was at 2, then at 3 - i knew i had to stop it. For the first 3 days i had a terrible headache that felt like my brain was melting. For the first two weeks i felt only half awake and depressed. Now after 3 weeks i am pretty much fine physically, but everytime i see a Café the cravings come back and i feel the dopamine hit from just looking at it. but i need to resist the temptation.

 

[BlastbeatCasanova]

I gave up coffee while I was out of work a few weeks ago, I would usually drink a cup in the morning and then sip a protein shaker cup during the day up into the early evening. I never added sugar or cream or anything like that, just mixed in some coconut milk. I think this is maybe why I didn't really have any noticeable withdrawal symptoms. I think my sleep has gotten better for sure, in that I fall asleep a little easier, have more restful sleep and pop of bed when my alarm goes off. I felt pretty good when I packed up my coffee maker and put it in the closet. I mainly wanted to improve my sleep but also not staining my teeth was a big motivator as well.

 

[Царь Николай I]

Coffee is truly of the devil. The taste of a freshly mokka-cooked espresso may be God-sent, though the after effects - once I drink it daily - are not worth the flavor. If I don't drink my espresso for just one day I feel like a woman on her period, and it stays that way for the next couple of days until my dopamine and hormone levels normalize. Now I'm drinking mainly black and green tea, though I need to cut it out once I feel normal. I heard decaf coffee is more unhealthy than regular coffee because hazardous chemicals are used to decaffinate the coffee.

 

[PixelFree]

I heard decaf coffee is more unhealthy than regular coffee because hazardous chemicals are used to decaffinate the coffee.

Depends on the method used. The two big popular ones are Swiss Water method (healthier) and the chemical process you heard about (unhealthy).