coffee coffee coffee

[slyph]

Still drinking coffee although I did give up the milk today. What effect do you think it will have on my 30 day raw challenge? I think I will need a whole lot of motivation to give it up. :( Addicted to the buzz.

--Sylph

[FLuwrchLd]

Giving up coffee was the hardest thing I did 5 years ago. I went thru withdrawals like headaches, etc, but it was the best thing I did. I didn't like living my life dependant on some drink to get me by in the mornings. If I try to have a cup of coffee now I can't even stand the taste, its so weird, I used to never get past 10 a.m without it. Being coffee free definitley is possible. Don't give up! :)

[RowanC]

In my opinion, if coffee is the only thing keeping you from being 100% raw then you're doing danged fine!

When I gave up my 3 cups per day, I went down slowly to 1 cup per day of organic coffee. I did not have withdrawals at all.

Now, I drink something warm when I first get up. Sometimes it is a half cup of coffee. Sometimes it is herbal tea. Sometimes it is Mate. Sometimes it's just warm water with lemon and honey. But it stimulates my digestion and within 3 minutes, I'm pooping like a madwoman.

So I'm not going to stop.

If 1/2 cup of coffee 3 times a week means I'm not 100% raw :::shrug:::

I'm doing this for my health and I also take a teaspoon of fish oil each day for my inflammatory disease.

Other than that... I guess I'm 99% raw on this challenge.

By the way.. the green smoothies ROCK.

Today I put nettles in my smoothie. I read somewhere that stinging yourself with the nettles helps arthritis, so I whacked my wrists a bit. Dang those little buggers sting! But it did distract me ::laughing:: from the pain.

I decided I like them better in the smoothie!

[danened]

It's not raw, but at least it's not coffee. It's funny that this post should be here when I logged on...

I love mochas (being here in Seattle it's hard to avoid) But I found this substitute that is really good. It's called teecino. Right now I am drinking the Mocha flavored one- the ingredients are: roasted carob, barley, chicory root, almonds, figs, dates, cocoa and natural mocha flavoring. I also got a sample from them that I haven't tried yet that is Maya Mocha and it has: organic roasted carob, organic roasted barley, organic chichory, organic roasted ramon nuts, natural mocha flavor, organic cocoa powder and organic chile flakes.

YOu brew it like coffee. The website if you want to check out some of the benefits: www. teeccino.com. It says on the label "that it is rich in inulin (355 mg)- a fiber that enhances digestion and promotes regularity by increasing the quanitity of beneficial digestive flora in the intestines and colon. It helps restore the bodies natural alkaline balance which can be disturbed by the acidity of coffee." Also, the 65 mg of potassium gives your body a natural energy lift.

This maybe an alternative until you can kick the coffee habit.

[slyph]

You know you're addicted to coffee when just the aroma makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside! I am probably hopeless. I LOVE it. I have tried all the substitutes. Nothing beats the bean!
Maybe I need to accept what is right now and go with what I'm doing well at, which is eating as much raw as I can.
I'll keep at it!

[karenisraw]

slyph,

Here is what I have discovered about coffee. I quit coffee right when I went 100% raw7 1/2 weeks ago. I tried it the other day and it brought me down from the high & euphoria that I feel when I am 100% organic raw. I didtake the ege off and I felt slightly depressed. When you are eating SAD and drink coffee, your body is slowed down so much that the coffee brings you up from where you are. For me coffee brings me up when on SAD and down when on raw.


You may mot be experiencing the full euphoric effects of raw if you are drinking coffee.


k

[pjries]

Sylph, Coffee was the hardest thing for me in making the switch to raw. I had headaches and brain fog when I stopped drinking it. So I decided that I would taper off with coffee rather than just quit. (Teechino didn't work for me - I may be allergic to some of the grains).

What I did was drink a cup of coffee the first couple of days.. down from a pot a day! Then I mixed the coffee with water, making it a little weaker each day. When it was very weak, I switched to weak black teas for three or four days before tapering off that as well.

I think that listening to what my body says rather than what my head says I *should* do has been the hardest transition for me to make. But I do feel better when I pay attention to what my body needs.

Pam

[eachpeachpearplum]

It's not raw, but at least it's not coffee. It's funny that this post should be here when I logged on...

I love mochas (being here in Seattle it's hard to avoid) But I found this substitute that is really good. It's called teecino. Right now I am drinking the Mocha flavored one- the ingredients are: roasted carob, barley, chicory root, almonds, figs, dates, cocoa and natural mocha flavoring. I also got a sample from them that I haven't tried yet that is Maya Mocha and it has: organic roasted carob, organic roasted barley, organic chichory, organic roasted ramon nuts, natural mocha flavor, organic cocoa powder and organic chile flakes.

YOu brew it like coffee. The website if you want to check out some of the benefits: www. teecino.com. It says on the label "that it is rich in inulin (355 mg)- a fiber that enhances digestion and promotes regularity by increasing the quanitity of beneficial digestive flora in the intestines and colon. It helps restore the bodies natural alkaline balance which can be disturbed by the acidity of coffee." Also, the 65 mg of potassium gives your body a natural energy lift.

This maybe an alternative until you can kick the coffee habit.

Here in Snoqualmie; what shop do you get it in - or do you mail order? :)

Tried the link and did not work for me :(

[LovesAnimals777]

I gave up coffee not because I want to be close as possible to eating a raw diet but because the cost of fair-trade coffee is expensive for my food budget and didn't like the after-effects of drinking coffee.

[eachpeachpearplum]

I have gone off caffinated coffee many times.

This is my SURE FIRE GUARENTEED way to do it without pain: :eek:

Buy reg & decaf. You want to dilute the caffinated little buy little. I found diluting once a week worked well into tricking my system. :cool:

Week one mix:

1/4lb reg. + 1/8lb decaf

Week Two mix:

1/4lb reg. + 1/4lb decaf

Week three mix:

1/8lb reg. + 1/2lb decaf

Week four mix:All decaf.

You can vary the amounts to suit your need but you get the picture. It is truly addictive so once you get past the addiction part you will find what you then miss is the warmth and soothing aspect. This can then be easily be satisfied with other replacements. I use warm almond milk with cinnamon!

[surfergrrl]

i remember reading a post by Raw Priestess a couple of months ago about how she tapered off her "habit" so that she wouldn't have headaches, etc. or feel deprived. give it a read. (Come on R.P., help her find your post!)

anyway, I too, was into coffee big time since i was about 14 (I'm 47 now) and love coffee for its own sake - the flavor, aroma, not even the buzz. but i DID give it up, along with dairy in October of 2005- it's just no fun without milk for me. never could drink it black unless it was espresso. i hope you'll give it a real good try, even gradually. why? because of the other stuff we've read about it draining our bodies of so many good things. :D

[rawpriestess]

Hi, I gave up coffee three times
and you can do it

the fast and hard way
or
the slow and easy way

the fast and hard way, is simple, stop drinking it, you may get headaches, you may throw up, you may want to shoot yourself, that is how I did it 13 years ago,

I didn't drink another cup of coffee for 7 years, until I started dating a guy who owned an espresso shop, I though I was over it, UNTIL THEN (insert dastardly mysterious music here)

But alas, my addiction was a sleeping giant, waiting for my defenses to be down, and I was vulnerable, I mean FREE breve's mochas' lattes' all day long as much as I wanted, and they were the BEST micro brewed coffee in the world, all different kinds, and living in the gray Pacific Northwest, EVERYONE HAS A COFFEE IN THEIR HANDS, --WELL, not actually, but it seemed like it.

I didn't even miss coffee, until I started smelling it everyday.

I should have just stopped seeing HIM, but I didn't

So, I then quit coffee again, and again, and again, anyway,

when I finally decided that I chose to quit coffee, I did it the slow and easy way.

This is how to do it without terrible withdrawls or physical challenges.

Okay, so I liked Breve's they are latte's with half and half not milk, and I drank at least one--44 ounce Breve a day, that is 6 shots of espresso and 40 ounces or more of half and half cream. that's alot, some days I would have two. So I had it bad.

If you like hazelnut sauce, or chocolate or sugar, you just have to add that too.

here is the formula to make this work

the first day, drink3/4 your regular amount of coffee and 1/4 decaf, that is it for the first day, now keep doing this until you are okay with it, I mean if you have a headache the frist day, then you may need to start slower, but usually you will be able to handle 1/4 decaf and not feel bad.

Now, keep that up until you wish to change, I did it for two days, then switched to the next

drink 1/2 and 1/2, that is 1/2 regular coffee and 1/2 decar, now you don't want to change anything else in your coffee yet, keep up the sugar, hazelnut cream etc.

this process takes as long as it takes, usually in one week you will be able to stop sometimes it takes two, I've know people to do this and take a year, but how ever long it takes for you is perfect for you.

the next step is to go down to 1/4 regular and 3/4 decaf.keep this up,

now is the big step,

We aren't going to get rid of the caffeine yet, you are safe,

you are going to ask for one less shot each time, so if you are getting a 6 shot, ask for a 5, or if you are getting a double ask for a single, if it is too dramatic, then only drink 3/4 of your cup.

so, if you are getting a latte, say 12 ounces, with one shot, then you just want to either pour out 1/4 of it or stop drinking it when it has 1/4 or so left, and just toss it.

keep doing this until it feel right, then you can go down to 1/2 cup,

you are still at 1/4 regular coffee and 3/4 decaf remember?

Okay, now the next step is to go 1/3 drink and toss 2/3rds,

or go down another shot, what ever works for you,

next step, go to all decaf, if this doesn't work add a bit of reg coffee back in, but not more than 1/4 of your entire coffee consumption.

Now next step try taking out the sugar, or go sugar free, like sugar free hazelnut sauce, etc.

next step change cream for milk, still at 1/4 reg and 3/4 decaf,

next step change milk for non fat

next step change non fat for soy milk
next step change soy milk for no milk

next step change sugar free hazelnut for no flavoring

next step stop drinking this awful stuff.

somewhere in there you will find that you don't like it anymore.

I stopped liking it when I gave up the cream for the milk, so I could easily quit drinking coffee, if it didn't have cream in it, a freind, quit when she gave up the sugar for sugar free, another friend gave it up when she couldn't have her hazelnut anymore.

You see it is partially the coffee, but it may also be the additives, that we add.

try this, and it weens you off of it a little at a time, take as long as you need to, but the point is to

1. stop drinking coffee
2. not have terrible withdrawls
3. become healthier

everything you do during this system, should help you attain these three goals,

if you find you are having headaches add alittle reg coffee back in, but never more than you did in the previous step.

hope this works for you, it has worked for hundreds in my classes.

many blessings,
and Good luck to you.

of course, this only works if you actually WANT to stop drinking coffee, LOL

[timfksd]

i just joined this site this morning, and this coffee thread is so apropos for me. i have slowly been drinking less coffee over the last two weeks.
I used to drink two cups at home, then once I got to work...at least two, sometimes more...along with assorted pastries, etc. On weekends, forget it...it was a cup after another.

So...now after two weeks of only have my two cups at home..i find i don't even get thru the second one! So...i only have enough left for tomorrow, so that's it. I have decided to supplement it for the next week or two with one cup of black tea in the morning...then see how i feel about withdrawal.

I feel so energized reading all these posts about peoples experiences with the same issue. Thanks.

Tim

[RowanC]

Tim, this is a good point.
Sometimes I don't even get through the half cup I make.
You sort of lose your taste for it the healthier you get.
But I'm not for cold turkey.. just slowly cut back.

One benefit is when you cut back onthe coffee, you automatically cut back on the pastries!

YIKES!

Be sure to take your OWN sweets to work with you - much easier than saying no.

[theresaann]

I LOVE coffee. I LOVE the buzz, the aroma, the flavor. BUT I am lucky in that I don't go through too much withdrawal when I quit-like no headaches, but I do get some irritability. I am addicted to the psychological effects of caffeine. But the longer I am raw with food, the less appeal and less effect also that coffee has, and the taste that I thought was SO great starts to taste "burnt". In the end, it's having the courage to give up the "drug" effects on my mind and just be with life on life's terms....hmm... gave up alcohol, cooked food, now this has to go. I can relate....

[solarliving]

I've been off coffee since last July but I did have a cup 2 weeks ago and I felt horrible afterwards. I was dizzy, stomache hurt and yes, I felt depressed too. It is interesting because this time last year when I discovered raw I was having hypoglycemic symptoms. They completely disappeared after quitting caffeine. I have read that caffeine affect insulin levels in the body. The way I quit was 1 cup of green tea for about a week, then I switched to hot lemon and ginger water. No headaches. Now I can honestly say the energy I have is all naturale.

Good luck

[Secret Heart]

I have tried and failed many times to get off of coffee....to give myself resolve I like to research about all of the nasty qualities that it has...helps steel me against the inevitable cravings.

I know it is a very physical and psychological addiction for me...social outings trigger high cravings...but I made it through my last weekend of going out with no coffee!

I really find that herbal teas are what I need...yes, they aren not raw, but I am sooooo cold all of the time that I find a warm beverage is needed...during the summer i hope to not even have the teas.

[wyjoz]

Rowanc: you state
"Today I put nettles in my smoothie. I read somewhere that stinging yourself with the nettles helps arthritis, so I whacked my wrists a bit. Dang those little buggers sting!
where oh where did you find 'nettles' ? Joz

[timfksd]

Thanks all for the comments, support!
I've noticed that having my own raw snacks with me at work takes all the temptation away to go towards the garbage I used to eat so much.
Today was my last morning of coffee!! I'm going to see how it goes over the next week or so having a cup of black tea, then down the caffeine scale to green, etc.

I know for me it's a psychological jolt as well as physical, as was mentioned above too.
I'll keep everyone posted! Thanks for the good thoughts....
tim

[wyjoz]

It's called teecino.

danened you state; "Right now I am drinking the Mocha flavored one- the ingredients are: roasted carob, barley, chicory root, almonds, figs, dates, cocoa and natural mocha flavoring."

THIS IS THE BEST AND CLOSEST SUBSTITUTE FOR COFFEE ! My son took a sip of mine and he said it was good !
There's a store locator on their site. So all of you go ahead and enjoy it! I have a feeling the more 'raw' you become the less of even this delicious drink you;ll desire, in the mean time. ENJOY Joz

[Suzi]

I quit coffee over a yr ago and I don't really miss it. However, I do crave those Chai tea lattes! My mom is addicted to coffee and has been drink a coffee from Whole Food Farmacy that has mushrooms in it. She says it doesn't buzz her up like reg coffee does? I haven't tried though!
Suzi

[slyph]

Great advice, all! Thanks a million. I have started to do half & half reg/decaf. And I really have not put milk in it for three days now, which is amazing for me. It will be interesting to see how this goes. I am loving how I'm feeling today.