Please help me

[blue_sky]

Hi :) I am an old member who fell off the raw bandwagon. I desperately want to get back to the raw lifestyle. I need some help for accountability, like minded people and support. So I am posting here.

Oh, and this time around I'm doing it with two little ones to take care of and a limited food budget! But, I have a lot more belief in myself than ever more, so I know I can do it.

my worst sad "addiction" is coffee.... I really need to kick it.... any tips? I get a horrible headache if I stop cold turkey. Yuck.

Well, thanks in advance! :)

[katchmoleen]

Welcome back! Come and join us on the 30 day thread for accountability. I also drank a lot of tea and did not want to go cold turkey, so I switched to green tea and gradually reduced the amount I drank. It took about 2 weeks to get off it altogether and I still am except the occ cup of tea at work.

[Beth]

Welcome back! I am returning too.

You can do it! I just had my first caffeine free day and I am still alive, LOL.
I've quit coffee many times before and did have a bad headache but I am very surprised that this time I don't have a headache yet...we'll see tomorrow. My symptom so far is just feeling a bit foggy and sleepy which was a bit hard at work. But in any case remember that the worst physical withdrawal symptoms only last a few days and then you will feel great not being a slave to coffee! It was getting so I had to have more and more it was killing my stomach!

We can do it together! :)

[islesgirl]

Hello blue-sky and a big welcome to you. There is a special section on this forum called "Raw "Over 50" Group". Click on that and scroll down to look for the thread "Giving Up Coffee" (it is marked with 4 or 5 yellow stars beside it.) Hope that helps. I am struggling with this too. But the more raw you ingest over time, giving this up will be less of a problem I think because you will feel so much stronger and some say they really don't care for the coffee as much as they once did. Anyway, there are plenty of ideas in that thread.:)

All the best,

Sue.

[spicyfull]

Your Wagon awaits you.........

[blue_sky]

Thanks all.... today was my first day 100% raw.... with the exception of a cup of coffee. (one instead of my usual 3 though! progress!)

It was great!!! :)

[rawrawks]

a big wooohoooo for you hooooo

[Veganforlife]

Hi! Substitute the coffee with something else..like fresh oj...or coconut water...or just plain water. You conditioned yourself into the habit of drinking that coffee. You CAN give it up!

[rawlight]

Hi blue sky and welcome back.

My opinion is don't focus on the negative. Just work on cutting down the cups of coffee you drink each day. And put your focus on raw foods and what you are getting out of it. Maybe you'll always have one cup of coffee? The point is, just start doing raw and allowing that to transform the rest your life.

[MrsJohnnyG]

Howdy! I fell off the wagon so badly, it backed up and ran over me a few times. Now that I'm back (NEARLY all raw except for a daily cup of herbal "coffee" -- more on that in a sec), I feel so much better than I did before, even when I was 85-95% raw previously.

The coffee thing... boy do I hear ya. I thought I would never be able to give it up. I tried substituting things (even herbal tea, hoping that something hot and in a cup would satisfy the need to drink something steaming), but that never worked... the smell of coffee always did me in.

This time around, I tried something called Teeccino... it's an herbal coffee substitute made of organic chicory, dandelion root, almonds, dates, etc... you brew it like coffee. Okay, I know it's not raw, but I LOOOOOOOOOVE it!! It definitely satisfies the coffee need (once you get past withdrawal, of course) because it's got the nutty, rich flavor. My husband brewed some organic coffee this morning and weirdly, I wasn't remotely tempted!!

Withdrawal is crap no matter whether you go cold turkey or by tapering off... my only advice is do it over a weekend or a couple of days when you can "sleep it off." I slept something like 14 hours the first night/day (including a spontaneous nap or two) and 10 then next... I guess my poor body had been so jacked up on caffeine that I didn't realize how utterly exhausted I was. So, I slept as much as I needed to to "reset" my body (I preferred sleeping through withdrawal headaches rather than medicating myself for them). By the third or fourth day, I felt so clear and exhilarated (I know a lot of that was eating raw again), and with naturally caffeine-free Teeccino, I knew I could sustain it this time! So far I'm drinking a cup a day, but I'm hoping to wean myself off of even that, and only have a cup on occasion (if ever!).

[rawrawks]

I love Teechino!!!

[Frugal Raw]

Welcome!! I wish you the best of rawesome health!!!