I'd like to give up coffee

[AZRedhawk44]

Any pointers?

I've decided I'm starting today.  I've had a couple cups of tea this morning rather than my regular coffee.  I imagine the headaches will come sometime after lunch from caffeine withdrawal, and stick around for about a week until I'm detoxed.

[charby]

Why?

[AZRedhawk44]

Because I can tell I "need" it when I wake up. 

I think I drink too much of it.  I brew about 6 cups (as counted by the coffee maker) each morning, and I'll sometimes have another cup while out and about later on in the day.  It darkens teeth, it makes my heart race, and I think I have a caffeine addiction.

All in all, better for me to cut it out of my life for awhile at least.

[41magsnub]

Don't take Excedrin for the headaches.  I forgot it had caffeine in it when I quit coffee for a while.

[roo_ster]

Unless you have a prior health condition that makes the consumption of coffee
a Bad Idea, coffee consumption is likely a net plus.

Unless this is for anarcho-capitalist Lent.  Some of those guys are wound pretty tight and could use some decaf.  [My church's doctrine has no Lent fasting requirement, but I gave up gefilte fish anyways, this year.]

[charby]

I probably drink that much each morning also, probably addicted to it also, but alas its not crack so I'm not harm to society.

[Neemi]

Most folks I know who gave up coffee (for whatever reason) either did a substitute (like tea or even a coffee substitute like pero) or just gave it up cold turkey.

I haven't tried pero, so I couldn't tell you if it was any good or not.

[MrsSmith]

Meh. If you're worried about a caffeine addiction, switch to decaf coffee (unless it's decaf tea, it has caffeine too). IMO, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. The scent of grinding beans, the aroma of coffee brewing, the flavor as you sip, the way my brain wakes up after a few sips .... all good things that make me happy, don't cost much, require little effort, and have no negative impact on my health. Why would I voluntarily give it up?
LOVE COFFEE!!!! 

[roo_ster]

Most folks I know who gave up coffee (for whatever reason) either did a substitute (like tea or even a coffee substitute like pero) or just gave it up cold turkey.

I haven't tried pero, so I couldn't tell you if it was any good or not.

I hear coca leaves do the trick.

[Balog]

Not drinking coffee is bad for your health... 

http://lifehacker.com/5986506/the-science-behind-coffee-and-why-its-actually-good-for-your-health

[charby]

  It darkens teeth, it

Regular biannual dental cleaning visits takes care of that.

[Nick1911]

I'm aware that I'm massively addicted to caffeine.  Most of us are.  And you know what, I don't actually care.  Caffeine is a cheap, ubiquitous, legal stimulant with an acceptable therapeutic index.  Like Roo_ster, I view it as a net plus.

I have detoxed from caffeine before to see if it was adversely impacting my sleep.  I found that decaf helped me have something to drink that didn't contain caffeine or alcohol but was more interesting to drink then water.  [How strange is it that the most commonly consumed beverages contain either an upper or a downer?]

[Tallpine]

You can have my coffee when you tear the cup out of my shaking hands 

[Kingcreek]

I don't smoke, drnk liqueur, gamble, or carouse with loose wimmin.
If I can't have coffee, just shoot me. Please.

[makattak]

If I can't have coffee, just shoot me. Please.

These kind of statements make me glad I find the taste of coffee repulsive.

Also, it's nice that I don't have to drink something in the morning before I can function. My mind works just as well when I first get up as the habitual coffee drinker's does after his coffee.

I don't understand why people choose to impair themselves.

[lupinus]

Why on earth would you do that to yourself?

Next you'll tell us you're giving up bacon.

[gunsmith]

I don't smoke, drnk liqueur, gamble, or carouse with loose wimmin.
If I can't have coffee, just shoot me. Please.

this, except I would love to carouse with loose wimmin...but they all seem to live in areas that outlaw ccw/open carry.

[Perd Hapley]

You've found tea. Problem solved. You have many teas to explore. Gunpowder, Assam, Yorkshire Gold, plain Yorkshire, Builders', etc.

 If you're out running around and need caffeine, fret not. Most places you used to buy coffee also have tea. Or, they have hot water. Bring some tea bags with you, and chuck one in the hot water for about a minute.

[bedlamite]

It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion,
It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed,
The hands acquire shaking, the shaking becomes a warning,
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.

[mtnbkr]

These kind of statements make me glad I find the taste of coffee repulsive.

Also, it's nice that I don't have to drink something in the morning before I can function. My mind works just as well when I first get up as the habitual coffee drinker's does after his coffee.

I don't understand why people choose to impair themselves.

I don't *need* coffee to get started in the morning, but I do like it.  I like the taste and smell. 

Chris

[charby]

If you give up coffee you can't have one of these:

[BlueStarLizzard]

I only read this thread to laugh at the coffee addicts peddle their drug of choice.


I'm not a big coffee drinker, but a bad caffine addict. I just injest my caffine via diet coke or diet pepsi (yummy yummy chemicals)
The headaches suck, but it passes in a day or so. Caffine actually leaves the system pretty quick. I kicked the habit for almost two years. I switched to Sprite. College and Vanillia Coke brought me back to the dark side.
If you want honesty, caffine or no caffine, it didn't really affect me one way or another. *shrug* I still was an ADD powered insomnic without the ability to fully wake up until I'd been on my feet for a few hours.
For the record, caffine is not even close to powerful enough to make me a morning person. And cocaine is too exspensive.

Supposedly, coffee is good for you, in the same way red wine and chocolete are actually good for you (they say in moderation, but I think attempting to moderate chocolete consumption is entirely too dangorous for both the induvidial and the innocent bystanders)

If you must, switch to decaf first. Kick the actual caffine first. Then, once you get that out of the way, try herbal teas. BTW, chocolete also contains caffine (so there goes the hot chocolete suggestion)

[lee n. field]

I'm aware that I'm massively addicted to caffeine.  Most of us are.  And you know what, I don't actually care.  Caffeine is a cheap, ubiquitous, legal stimulant with an acceptable therapeutic index.  Like Roo_ster, I view it as a net plus.

it's a delicate balance.  Too much, and I loose sleep, which makes me stupid.  Sometimes I can't tell when it makes me stupid.  Not good.

I have detoxed from caffeine before to see if it was adversely impacting my sleep.  I found that decaf helped me have something to drink that didn't contain caffeine or alcohol but was more interesting to drink then water.  [How strange is it that the most commonly consumed beverages contain either an upper or a downer?]

I've gone off a couple times.  Cold turkey means mood swings and a lot of napping for a few days.  I didn't get headaches.

[Ben]

I don't *need* coffee to get started in the morning, but I do like it.  I like the taste and smell. 

Chris

Same here. I have a couple of cups every day and have never found myself "addicted" to it. When I have to go to sea, I never drink it because it will sometimes bring on seasickness. Or even some days I just wake up and don't feel like any. I never get a craving.

It's interesting, I NEVER liked coffee when I was younger and rarely drank it. Then in my late 20's, started having it when the then girlfriend and I would go out to breakfast on the weekend, or when on vacation. Then through my 30's I would have it at home on weekends as well. It wasn't till my 40's that I got into having morning coffee on weekdays as well.  Now it's just kind of a ritual to get up and make a french press full, have a cup at the computer while I peruse APS and my work email to see what I'm in for, then a second cup with breakfast.

I've never been into having coffee later in the day. While I will sometimes have my third cup of the day in the morning at work,  I rarely drink it after noon.

[gunsmith]

http://www.bulletproofexec.com/how-to-make-your-coffee-bulletproof-and-your-morning-too/