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I mentioned my soon to be reduction in caffeine last week.
I really wasn’t in a hurry to write this post only because I knew once I hit publish, I’d need to put my words into action (kind of like that plan to reduce my grocery bill even more… Yeah there’s a reason you haven’t seen that one yet).
Before I get into the how, let me talk about the why.
Why in the heck do I want to cut caffeine?
I didn’t read a new study about coffee being bad for you or the effects of caffeine on health. A celebrity didn’t come out and say caffeine sucks and I ran to follow. Nope none of that.
I decided to cut caffeine for 2 reasons.
The first: I find I’m really sensitive to caffeine. If I have it at 5am one day, I NEED it by 5am that next day. Caffeine headaches come on easily and quickly. If I have too much caffeine (more than 2 big cups in a day) I start to feel shaky and not so good.
The second: My doctor told me it was probably a good idea to start cutting down on the caffeine because once I’m growing a baby inside me caffeine needs to be very little. Once that happens. That is not now.
It isn’t just coffee though. My usual routine consisted of 2 (big) morning mugs of coffee + 2 cups of caffeinated tea (one in the morning and one in the afternoon).
It turns out to be a lot of caffeine at the end of the day.
The plan: how to cut caffeine without feeling like death
I am no fan of caffeine headaches, but since I get them so easily it’s just something I’ll have to deal with.
Step 1: switch to just 1 cup of coffee in the morning (still my big cup) – tea can stay the same
Step 2: switch to half regular + half decaf coffee (still in my bug cup) OR all regular in a small cup – tea should be 1 caffeinated and the other(s) decaf.
Step 3: if I’m still feeling like I need caffeine at the same time each morning switch to all decaf coffee – tea still 1 caffeinated and the rest decaf
If I’m feeling good with my caffeine cravings then keep it here but alternating some mornings with caffeinated tea instead of my small cup of coffee to keep my body guessing with how much caffeine it will get.
Step 4: assess + reevaluate as necessary
Right now I’m on step 1. It’s mornings like today when I really want that second cup of coffee. I slept in an extra 45 minutes (despite going to bed an hour later), but feel insanely sleepy + groggy.
If I really have trouble getting my caffeine down in the morning I’ll try and workout first thing pre-coffee. That always seems to wake me up and lessen my need for coffee.
Gina shared a great tip last time I mentioned it…
Do you have any other tips to share? Has anyone else gone through these tough steps? Why did you want to cut caffeine? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Heather
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When I first started to cut out my caffeine, I had no side effects. I couldn’t believe it! I’d heard of (and even experienced) the bad headaches, but for some reason I wasn’t getting them myself. I was thrilled. That is, until I realized that I was in fact having a smoothie every morning. A MOCHA smoothie! Ok, so I definitely wasn’t on my game for those days, but your plan sounds good! Maybe you could try switching to a tea with lesser amounts of caffeine? I think white doesn’t have as much (but I’m not sure).
I used to drink way too much coffee. I didn’t like the way it made me feel, and it did impact my sleep. I cut back to one cup a day several months ago. I also drank about two cups of green tea per day. At this point, I still drink one cup of coffee most days, but I’m not too worried if I have an extra cup of coffee once in a while. As long is it doesn’t become a habit again…
I think half regular/half decaf is a great idea. Good luck!
Yeah if I drink caffeine too late in the day it definitely affects my sleep too. That’s good that you can keep your extra coffee random. It becomes a habit for me so quickly!
I hardly have any caf in my diet, or try not to, if I have wayy to much I get a wicked badheache, and actually get really jumpy! Haha 🙂
I am so interested to see how this works for you. I’ve cut out coffee but then I switched to diet coke. Then I cut out diet coke and went back to coffee. I know I need to just put in the work and say ‘no’ but the 1/2 reg 1/2 decaf might be a good start for me.
Yeah the half reg half caff is a nice way to trick yourself during the adjustment.
I think Gina is right on. I could lessen my caffeine, but not my coffee 🙂 It’s hard, but I think it’s worth it. Caffeine-related headaches are, by far, the worst. I would take a migraine over one of those. Okay, that’s a toss up…but they’re HORRIBLE!
Yeah they both stink! At least with the caffeine headache it can be cured quickly with the deliciousness that coffee is.
Ah, cutting caffeine is so hard for me! It is more of a ritual/social habit that has become an addiction and it stinks! Decaf helps though 🙂
Yeah the morning coffee ritual is almost just comforting.
good luck! i’m not all that dependent on caffeine, probably because i only drink a cup or two each morning and that’s it. your plan sounds like it will work well!
Good luck girl! I completely cut it right before i got preggers. I went completely cold turkey! First couple days suckkkked, but after that- seemed essy! You can do it
Cold turkey is hard core! It would get the headaches out of the way quickly though.
I’m very dependent on my caffeine. I used to be an all tea girl, then switched to coffee. It’s obnoxious. But I’ve been scaling back more in the afternoons- that’s my first step. We’ll see how I attack this whole habit of 2 cups in the morning when the time comes…
That’s a good first step. I’ve been an all tea girl before too… It definitely keeps the headaches down!