Need help coming off caffeine

[StrawberryFields]

I'm finally ready to break my caffeine addiction, but am dreading the detox period. I work full time and I rely on my artificial energy to get me through the day. Any suggestions for making the transition a bit easier? Any particular raw foods that might help? Should I go cold turkey or do it gradually? I LOVE coffee and hate to give it up, but I drink it all day, and I'm sure it's taking it's toll on my body and bones. I'll take any helpful advice you have. I hope I can do this. Thanks guys!

[ren]

Me too. I want to stop drinking coffee. It's almost like dropping crystal meth or some other stereotypical drug.

[rawpriestess]

Well, have I got a deal for you.

Actually I have given up coffee several times, and so I am aware of how terrible it can be

so you can go cold turkey, and have the migraines nausea and all that for about 4 days.

Or you can do it MY way, which is the easy way, and totally painless.

So, depending on how much you drink you will need to decide how quickly you wish to rid yourself of this.

So, the first day up to a week, you drink 1/4 decaf mixed with 3/4 reg coffee, drink how much you normally do, don't attempt to cut down on your number of cups yet, because you are actually cutting out 1/4 of you caffeine intake.

The next day or week 1/2 and 1/2.

The next day or week 1/4 reg and 3/4 decaf

then you can start cutting down on how much you drink, instead of taking a full cup each time you go for coffee, take 1/2 cup or 3/4 whatever works for you, or start using a smaller cup, each person is different as to what works for them.

then the next day or week, try all decaf, if you get a head ache just take 1 drink of reg coffee, then 1 full glass of water, and see if the headache goes away, if it does, your'e fine, if it doesn't up the caffeine just a bit.

also if during this time frame while weaning off of caffeine you notice headaches, then drink a full glass of water before going for the coffee.

This isn't supposed to hurt of be a challenge, this can be painless and easy, if you just keep cutting back.

Now if you find yourself getting tired, I find that straight carrott juice livens me up, or you can drink any kind of juice that you like, you will get an instant energy boost and feel soooo good afterwards.

Good luck, this is a wonderful thing you are both doing for your body.

blessings,
Rawpriestess

[StrawberryFields]

Thank you Rawpriestess! I'm printing this out and going for it. This makes very much sense. May I just say that I love reading your posts and am grateful that you are so willing to share with all of us here. I'll let you guys know how I do!

[Queenie]

Evette:

sigh... coffee is a challenge for me also.

I agree with RawPriestess but I have also found tea to be helpful in weaning myself off the addiction. First black tea, then green, then herbal only. I was caffiene free for several months and have gone back on it lately. Another thing that is good is yerba mate. It tastes good and has no caffiene but rather a non-addicting stimulant.

Good luck. Maybe I'll join you. Coffee is my biggest challenge to going totally raw.

Cheli

[StrawberryFields]

Well, this morning I made the office coffee with 1/4 part decaf, just like Rawpriestess said, so we'll see how I do. I guess I'll be weaning the rest of the office off of it as well. I guess what they don't know can't hurt them right? LOL! As a matter of fact, it should help them very much. I'm nervous about going decaf, but I think I can do it, and I trust this method, it sounds very doable! I'm also going to try the yerba stuff, it sounds good.

[solarliving]

I quit coffee cold turkey 3 months ago by switching to green tea for 1 week,then going to just hot water with lemon and ginger. I never had a migraine, but I was tired for about 3 days. Now I look foward to my lemon and ginger drink in the morning. Good luck!

[rawpriestess]

Oh, I am so glad you are trying it,
I've gone cold turkey, and all, but I was drinking 3 triple shots each day, and the day they put an espresso machine in our lobby, I quit coffee, hey this was 13 years ago, and I had a $14 a day habit. Which to me just didn't work at all.

So, I gave it up cold turkey,
Now, If I want something like that, I make a cup of chamomile tea with a dash of cayenne, the tea is 115 degrees, but the cayenne makes my mouth "THINK" it's hot. mmmmmmmmmm I love this stuff.

I add alot of cayenne to my food and beverages in the fall and winter,

[jaurequi]

Good luck, evette!

Queenie, Yerba Mate does contain caffeine. There are various levels in each type, but it *is* tea. It has, roughly, 1/3 to 1/2 the caffeine of coffee. It is a green tea (which all tea is, by the way), and contains a lot of benefits because of where it's grown (the soil, etc.) Perhaps you were thinking of rooibos? Delicious. Love that; but it's an herbal or "tisan" (a.k.a. "teasan"); not a true tea. Another favorite is Honeybush tisan.
I agree that it (Yerba Mate) is very mild in that it does not cause the anxiety like regular teas and coffee.
It's not often raw, though; you have to order it special. I think it's "Natural Zing" that sells it online.
What brand do you get? "Guayaki" is pretty good.

[rawpriestess]

Hi,

Just wondering how everyone is doing with the caffeine release?

Remember if you get a headache, you DON"T have to accept it, drink a full galss of water, and have some coffee (whatever percentage you are working on right now), and this will pass.

You can take your sweet time about this, you do NOT have to have any pain, just take it as slow or as fast as what works for you.

But let me know how you are doing, I care, and I'm sure others will be curious, and maybe jump on the band wagon. With us.

blessings,
Rawpriestess

[Autumn]

I thought I was going to have a very hard time giving up coffee. I drank about 6-8 large mugs a day, minimum. The fear of migraines and sluggishness prevented me from quitting for a long time. One day (about 3 years ago), I bought a cannister of decaf and decided then and there to switch. The next day we switched and I swear I never noticed the difference! The fear of "what if" was so much worse than the switch. Then, about 8 months ago, I stopped drinking decaf and and switched to chamomile tea (hot). Again, the switch didn't bother me. Then I started weaning off the hot (cooked) tea and now drink it finger-warm or sun-warmed. I love my warm tea, and have at least 2 big mugs a day. I never even think about coffee anymore.

I guess what I am saying is that for those who are afraid to give up coffee, it might be much easier than you ever thought possible. :D

[StrawberryFields]

Well just an update on the caffeine withdrawal. None so far! The only thing I experienced was a slight headache yesterday afternoon, so I had a cup of the caf/decaf mix I had made. Headache disappeared. Later in the evening, I noticed a mild feeling of anxiety/impatience. But being late in the day I just didn't want to take in any caffeine at all, so I rode it out. It wasn't that bad at all and passed quickly. This morning I've had my caf/decaf mix at the office and so far am feeling no pain! I think I will be able to go all the way, so I'm very excited. I hear that you sleep better without caffeine in your system, so I can't wait to feel more rested. Thank you to everyone here for all the great tips, and to Rawpriestess for checking our progress. I'll keep everyone posted as I decrease the caffeine and increase the decaf!

[Gosia]

was won due to the fact that I simply could not sleep after having coffee. Before raw, I used to drink coffee about 3 times a day, during working hours, so that I would not fall asleep and could concentrate of my research, which requires a high level of brain activity. After going raw, I discovered that I did not need to drink coffee anymore to keep me awake, and I realized that it was the cooked food that made me feeling lethargic. Furthermore, even a tiny ammount of coffee would disturb my sleep. So my addiction to coffee ceased. I just could not stand sleepless nights!

Same goes for chocolate. I just cant stand having it! Each experience with chocolate ends up in me having a sleepless night. So, I just have to give it up! Perfect solution, isn't it? :rolleyes:

Best,
Gosia.

[rawpriestess]

Gosia, I used to have terrible insomnia, and also migraines about 3 times a week, I can't believer I ever got through high school. but I started drinking coffee when I was 4 years old. It's a long story, we were very poor, so my mom would make us the "second" pot of drip coffee, and she would drink the first drip through, we always felt special, drinking our coffee, because we knew other kids didn't get it.

But unfortunately by the age of 9 or 10 I was totally hooked on full strength coffee, and had an espresso maker way before any one else did. in the 70's, imported etc.

I loved turkish coffee too, very very strong. etc.

When I finally gave up coffee I was drinking 3 triples each day, plus 3 pots of coffee daily.

When I even think of all that coffee, it is hard to believe, but I was drinking a pot before I got to work, a triple at first break, coffee all day long (I had my own pot on my desk LOL) and a triple at lunch, and another triple on the way home, plus I'd make a pot when I got home. JEEEEZZZZZ, how addicted was I???

So, when I quit cold turkey, YIKES. I was so sick. then 7 years later dated a guy with an espresso shop, so started up again, then the NEXT time I quit, I did it this easy way.

[Raw Sweetie]

I had such a love affair with coffee!! And sugar, and flour, and...well that is all for a different post! I'd make my coffee so strong and so full of sugar that my spoon would just about stand up straight if I let go!! I'd drink it all day long, no water or anything else!! I quit before I went raw, and I quit coffee, cigarettes and alcohol all at the same time!!! Wow...I felt like a zombie for 3 months, but it was so worth it. Now being raw, I still sometimes feel the pull (usually when I'm stressed out) to have some green tea. I need to fight it because that green tea will get me buzzing in a way that I don't really want anymore (no matter how much I think I do at the time). Caffeine is such a drug, and my body is so clean now it reacts to it quickly. Be encouraged, whatever unpleasantness you experience now will be so outweighed by how wonderful you will feel when you're clean and raw!! Once you break the addiction, you never have to go back!! Don't wait anymore, you deserve to feel good (and being enslaved to anything is never truly a way to feel good, right?) Let us know how it goes, OK? You'll do great!

[Rawma]

Evette, thanks for this timely post. I have been endulging in coffee (less that one cup) almost every day since I went raw. After reading this post and the replys I threw out my cup of Vermont Maple black coffee and made myself a cup of warm water and lemon my new breakfast coffee. It get cold her in NH and I need something warm in the morning but I don't need caffeine. By the way, I threw out the rest of that wonderful maple coffee. I drink so little that I don't think that there will be any detox symptons but If I have a craving, I will probably grab a decaf and that will digust me so much that I won't take that root again! :)
Good luck,
Lisa

[StrawberryFields]

Wow Rawma, that's great! I'm happy you threw it out, although part of me is thinking it sounds delicous! Nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels though, right? Today I did the office coffee w/ half caf/half decaf and boy did I feel it! I started getting the bad headache, so went ahead and drank more until the headache went away. Feeling a bit "out of it", but other than that, I'm ok. I like you, just keep thinking of how good I'll feel when all of the junk is out of my system. My energy will be REAL. Thanks to everyone here for your posts and for encouraging me. Your all Rawsome!

[rawpriestess]

Evette,

so glad you are still at it.

If going from 3/4 to 1/2 reg coffee is too fast, then simply up it a tad, you want to have no or very little detox, unless you want to go cold turkey, it is all up to you. But you can ween yourself off of coffee slowly, and make it seem easy.

You are doing so well, I applaud you. I KNOW it isn't easy, boy, do I know.

And pretty soon, you won't even want it, you'll be drinking some wonderful raw concoction that you brewed up yourself. keep us posted, it always helps to talk (type) about what is going on too.

Anyone else in the office notice anything?