Giving Up Coffee

[solarliving]

I'm on my 3rd day of no coffee. I definately felt a big difference on the first day. Less toxic, more centered and calm. I've been brewing up 2 teabags in my coffee maker. 1 green tea for a little caffeine and 1 roobios. This helps me avoid the headache, then I just switch to herbal tea next week. I gave up coffee for 8 months at one point and felt really good. I had naturally energy. I can't remember why but I had a cup one day and ended up getting hooked again. I do remember getting dizzy after that 1 cup after I hadn't had any for a while so coffee does affect blood sugar. I know I read that somewhere as well.

[TP]

I am 10 days off coffee (cold turkey, was pot-a-day for years) and feel great and liberated. I just used some ibuprofen when I couldnt take headaches anymore.. Only needed that for a day then the headaches the second day were tolerable... I am also 100% raw for a week now, so I am feeling way more energy now and am just not interested. My body tells me that coffee (abuse) is bad for it and is thanking me for finally listening...

[mamabird1953]

We've been a little poor lately so a freind bought us a can of coffee. Yuban! Yuck. I'm use to drinking french roast. So, this is really helping me get off coffee. I'm down to one nasty cup! Yaaay! Been doing it slowly.

[Northener]

I gradually lost interest in coffee...just seemed to happen over time. :)

[cara4art]

Green smoothies got me off coffee - seriously! I haven't looked back either and never miss it. I was drinking one cup per day, and on my body, even that was too much. Life is MUCH better without it. If I really want something hot, dark and dense, I'll maybe have a chai-like tea without the milk in it, and this only when it is very chilly out. The rest of the year I can do without hot drinks. Never thought I could do this, but after going mostly raw, it is actually pretty easy for me now. One does adapt!

[sbaker]

not raw..but Pero is great. I add agave and make it with almond milk. It's made from malted grains i guess.

[mamabird1953]

Been doing one cup for a couple of days now. I have a horrible headache. So, I''ll do the one cup for a few more, then bring it down to half a cup for a few. I've always loved coffee my whole life nearly, probably like most here in america, but its been tasting nasty and toxic to me. I guess it shows how much our body talks to us if we shut up and listen.

[Mary Kay]

I only ever drank a cup-a-day at my peak of addiction, yet it took me a month or so to wean. I 'quit" ---er sort of. I had an employee who would give me three sips-a-day. I still had fibrocystic breasts and the reason I quit was because I heard that in 80% of women who quit, the fibrocystic breasts go away....anyway, since I didn't get headaches on days he didn't work, I figured I was okay/not addicted..

FINALLY, I quit the three sips-a-day. and one month later, noticed my fibrocystic breasts were gone. THREE STINKING SIPS!!!! still affected me.

This was years ago, and I learned then that caffeine causes your cortisol to spike. cortisol gets to your progesterone receptors first and blocks progesterone. Nature's way of saying, if you're stressed, your progesterone will be lowered and you will be out of balance and will not get pg and bring a baby into this stressful world. Not to mention it makes you more acidic, more estrogen dominant, more prone to cancer and other illnesses...It's a Domino Effect......

Anyway, moral of the story: even small amts mess with your hormones.

I do drink a couple cups a year. I still enjoy it when I do. But I literally can only drink a small amt, because if I have say, a large cup, I am instantly addicted and will get a headache the next day and have to wean over the period of a couple/three days.

Dandy Blend is a good substitute. It is not raw, but it is made with dandelion root and chicory, beets....and is roasted at 250 F to minimize the acrylamides. When I quit, I kept adding more and more decaf and then I started adding Dandy Blend or something similar. Now I rarely/occasionally drink the Dandy Blend etc..

My kids and I like Roastaroma tea too.

HTH,

Mary Kay

[MTknitter]

I'm a newbie here. So glad to find a particular thread for OUR age group. I happen to think for those of us who are older (and have more damage to our systems from years of a SAD diet) this change to raw foods is the MOST exciting thing. For you coffee people, I have been coffee-free for my second month now. I ADORED my cup of OG FR RST, made in my French Press pot. I loved it. I had drunk it for ten years or so. WHAT a difference. My skin, whites of my eyes are now WHITE, a light feeling, no high from coffee but then no LOWS when I need some either. I experienced more of a toxic problem when I quit than I dreamed. Headache for about a week, muscle aches/pains, leg restlessness for a few days especially at nighttime. But I got through it. I must admit, I didn't think I'd experience much toxic side-effect because I felt that most of my diet was so organic and good. I was wrong. I was toxic and the coffee was bad, bad for me. I FEEL GREAT. For those of you who are still struggling, caffeine is a toughie and I sympathize but keep it up!!!!
When I get desperate I drink warm cups of Dandy Blend, an instant dandelion beverage. Its good. I don't like the fake coffees, none of them. Perhaps for some of you who havent' found a coffee sub that you like, try Dandy Blend. I think its rather good.

[mamabird1953]

I'm still batteling my coffee addiction. Gosh...it's sooo hard. I go up and down from 1 to 2 cups. I have come down from about 6-7 cups a day. Now the first cup I drink tastes good but the second is hard to finish. It starts to taste nasty and I find myself re-heating it a few times just get it finished. That's never happened. So, I guess my body is rebelling now, which is a real good thing!

[cara4art]

Hi mamabird1953!
You're doing great weaning off of coffee - getting down from 6-7 cups daily to one or two is awesome right now! The fact that you are noticing that that second cup is tasting nasty is a very good sign - your body is starting to recognize the coffee as something you totally don't need. Keep weaning off, and as I mentioned earlier in this thread, daily green smoothies really DO help! Soon you will feel GREAT minus the coffee. Might not seem like it right now, but after your body detoxes the coffee(takes a couple of weeks, during which you may well feel less energetic and more headachy some days)you WILL notice much more even-ness of energy, and without that speedy feeling that strong coffee gives you. When you've been truly off for a few months, take a sip of what you thought was delicious coffee, and notice how NASTY it tastes! I did, and thought, "how the heck did I manage to swill a cup of this stuff daily?" - LOL! You can be sure I stayed off!

[RawHealthyBeauty]

That's wonderful about not drinking coffee. :)

I had to wean myself off of coffee at one point. Glad that I did!! I noticed a huge difference.

Later on, I couldn't accept the fact that coffee wasn't that great so I had some. Drinking coffee gets me cranky. So staying away from that brew for sure now. It's amazing that I have neen drinking that stuff for years! I can see the difference between having coffee and not having coffee.

You'll be glad that you gave up coffee, I know I am for sure!

[VeGenesis]

Hi . With the Raw Food Diet is it best to give up coffee? As a diabetic I was told that coffee didn't affect my blood sugar and it has been one of my last pleasures . I have been on the Raw Foods for two weeks and have noticed a decreased interest in my morning coffee , but the old friend habit has kept me pouring a cup. Like to hear your opinions.

First of all Robbay - You are doing great!

The very fact that you are asking the question is a very good sign.

For me the last two non raw foods were coffee and an egg! It had been so much of my former life that it just seemed "right!"

Perhaps my solution will help you. I began to realize that my raw food "diet" wasn't working. I kept "giving up" the food I loved and then I was mocked by a couple relatives via email. But each thing that I "gave up" my body did feel better.

Like you I HAD diabetes. Pretty bad... I then was diagnosed with Celiac Disease and things went down hill from there.

I finally realized that I did not like to diet! I did not like giving up what I had liked for nearly 40 years! I realized that as long as I felt I was "giving up" stuff I would be holding on to my old lifestyle, along with my Diabetes, Celiac, Heart Disease and very High Blood Pressure (and a ton of other stuff!). What I needed was a lifestyle change!

So, I looked at what I wanted to be. I wanted a Raw Vegan Lifestyle based on Genesis 1:29 (NO Heat!). I took Vegan and Genesis and slammed them together and formed "VeGenesis!" I told my wife "I am a VeGenesist!"

From that day forward I looked at My Life differently. I was a VeGenesist - I embraced a VeGenesis Lifestyle!

"The Success Trait is...

* Do everything you Should do...
* When you should do it...
* If you like it or not!"

-David ben David

I started thinking about what I SHOULD do as a VeGenesist! This was my choice, MY lifestyle. Not a diet, a way of life! Coffee and eggs were not a part of my lifestyle of no heat!

I heard the same thing about coffee and diabetes, but blood sugar is not the only measure of your health! Coffee does some pretty nasty things to someone suffering diabetes... You just don't notice them as much on the SAD diet.

30 days after I went all VeGenesis Lifestyle, my doc took me off all meds. No more shots, no more pills... I finally got to the point I trusted my body and stopped taking my blood sugar and B.P. all the time. Why should I? As a VeGenesis it is always normal!

I know it sounds nit-picky embracing a new lifestyle with no heat rather than giving up what you like because of a diet - but as you say the words then this lifestyle becomes your own, your choice!

I hope this helps - just remember that this is your choice and your lifestyle.

If you ask me, I never did like sticking myself over and over again every day!

I am a VeGenesist now!

[MysticTree]

I'm giving up caffeine (4 litres of cola a day habit) this week and haven't had any since Sunday lunchtime. I felt horrible the first two days and now that has eased off so I hope other detoxing is getting a look in now!

Georgina
I'm still a bit irritable though ;oP

[Adream]

Wow, this thread is right up my alley. I'm over 50 and have given up coffee. When I thought that I'd just have a cup or two on a Sunday morning (it just smelled sooooo gooood!), I really paid for it. I had a wicked headache for two days - and I rarely get headaches. I usually drink white tea with agave and a bit of coconut milk. I love English Breakfast tea, but the caffeine leaves me with a headache as well.

This was years ago, and I learned then that caffeine causes your cortisol to spike. cortisol gets to your progesterone receptors first and blocks progesterone. Nature's way of saying, if you're stressed, your progesterone will be lowered and you will be out of balance... Not to mention it makes you more acidic, more estrogen dominant.... Anyway, moral of the story: even small amts mess with your hormones.

I do drink a couple cups a year. I still enjoy it when I do. But I literally can only drink a small amt, because if I have say, a large cup, I am instantly addicted and will get a headache the next day and have to wean over the period of a couple/three days.

My kids and I like Roastaroma tea too.

HTH,

Mary Kay

I can relate to all of the above. Wish I could find Roastaroma...

My skin, whites of my eyes are now WHITE, a light feeling, no high from coffee but then no LOWS when I need some either. Perhaps for some of you who havent' found a coffee sub that you like, try Dandy Blend. I think its rather good.

My husband and I noticed that too, between the raw food and eliminating coffee, the whites of my eyes are now very WHITE! Love it. I'll have to look for Dandy Blend. I'm going to Trader Joes and Whole Foods tomorrow ~ maybe I can find it as well as Roastaroma?

I love coffee. A few years ago i started tracking my ph, i was very acid, and shifted to a more alkaline diet. after researching it, i found coffee is extremely acidic, and gave it up. Being raw now, i mix almond milk, raw chocolate powder and agave or honey, warm it slightly (not over 105) and this warm coco is my coffee replacement.

That sounds great! I also enjoy So Delicious Coconut milk. I don't know if it's raw or not, but it is delicious (deserves it's name! . I use it to make soups, like Raw Mushroom soup, and it would surely be good in this conconction, Sierra. The weather has turned chilly; I think I'll make a cup this afternoon!