I need some help breaking a caffeine habit!

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Hi all!

Just wondering if any of you have successfully given up caffeine. If so, any tips on doing it? I drink coffee EVERY SINGLE DAY. But it’s not just the regular coffee you can brew at home. I crave the specialty coffee, particularly ice blended white chocolate mochas from our nearby coffee house.

Like I said, I drink it everyday and I have led myself to believe that I NEED it to make it through the day. I know this isn’t true, as I gave up caffeine for lent this year. I endured some pretty bad headaches (as in an ongoing headache for a few weeks), but I did it.

But I’m back to drinking coffee daily again, and I want to give it up completely. For one, it is an expensive habit. And, it is not a healthy habit at all, either!

Please help!
 
I agree that getting an ice blended mocha with any regularity is terrible both to your pocket book and to your overall health. Years ago I used to go to Starbucks and get a venti mocha almost daily. Now it is more like a tall late every once in a while. Starbucks is still my favorite little splurge though. I do still drink coffe daily, just the stuff I make myself. I don’t think I drink enough coffee each day for it to be a problem though, and I do think when you drink coffee in moderation the benefits outweigh the negatives.

As far as breaking any habit, it can be done by just doing it. I gave up coffee for Lent. It was pretty hard because I do drink it daily, but just the same, I did it. Although, I will never choose to give up coffee again. After giving it up, I can see how much it adds to my day. I can think more clearly, stay more focussed, and am just generally happier when I drink coffee. Plus I set my alarm to get up extra early in the morning so that I have a cup or two of coffee and have the time to surf the net a bit before everyone else is up and the day begins in earnest. That cup or two of coffee each morning just seems to start my day off right.
 
dulcissima said:
After giving it up, I can see how much it adds to my day. I can think more clearly, stay more focussed, and am just generally happier when I drink coffee. .
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Yikes, that’s not going to help her, lol;)

SD MOM…

if you really want to give it up, you will. If you believe it is in your best interests, you will. If it’s important to you, you will. See a common theme? It’s all about you!!! Not often a mama can say that, is it?

My practical advice would be to do what works for you. If giving it up cold turkey and enduring the killer headaches is bearable, then do it. If you need to wean yourself off (what I would do) then set a clear plan and stick to it. WRITE it down. Tell a friend or family member who will hold you accountable. And PRAY.

If you know that you’ll have to admit to God at the end of the night that you just couldn’t resist you’ll start to feel pretty silly and that in itself may help you along.

I am the poster child for getting through life without caffeine. And believe me, if anyone needs it, it’s me. I just refuse to become dependent on a substance. I have given in and had a coffee on really bad days and have enjoyed the boost, but that’s precisely why I won’t let myself get addicted. I would just need more and more…where would it stop???:confused:

So I applaud you for wanting to reduce or eliminate your caffeine habit… surround yourself with supportive people and GO FOR IT!!!

Malia
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Feanaro_s_Wife said:
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Yikes, that’s not going to help her, lol;)

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I did think about that. I just don’t see drinking ice blended mochas as being a “caffeine habit” as much as a junk food habit. Seriously, checking out the nutrition info in those drinks is enough to make me never order them.
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Oh, caffeine.

My caffeine addiction is one of the cold, bubbly persuasion. I have successfully quit drinking Diet Mt. Dew. But I replaced it with Diet Coke!

While pregnant this past year, I managed to drop Diet Coke by reducing 2 oz. per day! Doesn’t seem like much, but it kept me from getting the awful headaches that render me useless, and it worked.

In the past, when not pregnant, I’ve relied upon taking an Excedrin to get me over the hump (it has caffeine in it, which took care of the headache - but then I was able to go without the next day. Don’t know if this is good advice from a “chemistry of the body” standpoint, but it has worked for me in the past, on more than one occasion.)

Also, once you are physically able to drop the stuff, slowly replace it with a different, healthy drinking habit - like water. You’ll miss the coffee less.
 
For incentive…choose your favorite charity or “cause” and put the saved money into a jar. When you hit $50 send it on. That good feeling will help. It will be a tangible reward for your sacrafice.
 
dolphinlove said:
decaf…
a coffee addicts new best friend!
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useless, worse than non-alcoholic beer
coffee doesn’t taste good enough to drink for anything else than the caffeine, which is why some of us have to add sugar, cream, and flavored syrups, and run it through fancy machinery. I guess for us addicts you have to break it down into its component parts: am I addicted to the drug caffeine, if so, coffee consumption can be reduced only very gradually, because of the side effects, mainly headaches (5 day migraines resulting in hospitalization) and other withdrawal symptoms. The true caffeine addict also has to look at other sources of caffeine and address them: OTC medications (including migraine relief pills), chocolate, tea, cola etc. Or does the addiction include the sugar, cream, flavor, liqueur or other additives.

Or does the addiction include the experiential aspects. My mom had to stop drinking coffee when she quit smoking because she could not do one without the other, and she had to stop talking on the phone, because she could not do it w/o a cup of coffee and a cigarette. Or is it the trip to the coffee shop, the ambience, friends, wify whatever.

To break habit we have to break down the components and steps of the habit. It ain’t easy. I always drink it black, because that is how it is done in my family, sugar in coffee or tea makes me gag. I never drank it at all until grad school about 15 years ago, now I am down to one generous mug a day (from a pot a day) but cannot go cold turkey, I can’t take time out for the migraine just now.
 
Check out the following website: www.hillbillyhousewife.com

In her recipes section she has recipes for mix it yourself versions of those latte style drinks. Start out with doing the mix it yourself. Then tweak the recipe, changing the sugars for Splenda, etc… Finally make up a caffeinated and a decaffeinated batch. Switch to the decaf every other day. Then finally, switch to the decaf version.

I suggest doing all of this over the course of a week or two. Making a big switch like this will take some time. Hopefully by weaning yourself off lik this, you’ll avoid the headaches.

I might also suggest you save the money you would have otherwise spent on the coffees. It could be put in the poor box, or donated to the St. Vincent de Paul society at your church! Good for your health and good for your soul!
 
SDMom said:
Hi all!

Just wondering if any of you have successfully given up caffeine. If so, any tips on doing it? I drink coffee EVERY SINGLE DAY. But it’s not just the regular coffee you can brew at home. I crave the specialty coffee, particularly ice blended white chocolate mochas from our nearby coffee house.

Like I said, I drink it everyday and I have led myself to believe that I NEED it to make it through the day. I know this isn’t true, as I gave up caffeine for lent this year. I endured some pretty bad headaches (as in an ongoing headache for a few weeks), but I did it.

But I’m back to drinking coffee daily again, and I want to give it up completely. For one, it is an expensive habit. And, it is not a healthy habit at all, either!

Please help!
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How about adding something to it you don’t like, or taking away something from it you do 😉 ?​

I exist on white coffee, & have never had a headache yet 😃
 
SDMom said:
Hi all!

Just wondering if any of you have successfully given up caffeine. If so, any tips on doing it? I drink coffee EVERY SINGLE DAY. But it’s not just the regular coffee you can brew at home. I crave the specialty coffee, particularly ice blended white chocolate mochas from our nearby coffee house.

Like I said, I drink it everyday and I have led myself to believe that I NEED it to make it through the day. I know this isn’t true, as I gave up caffeine for lent this year. I endured some pretty bad headaches (as in an ongoing headache for a few weeks), but I did it.

But I’m back to drinking coffee daily again, and I want to give it up completely. For one, it is an expensive habit. And, it is not a healthy habit at all, either!

Please help!
Click to expand...

How about adding something to it you don’t like, or taking away something from it you do 😉 ? Change the taste or texture or smell or something, & it may be less compulsive.​

 
Gottle_of_Geer said:

The black stuff - with the white stuff 🙂 = Coffee with milk (no sugar, please; ok, just a small amount - sometimes)​

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Coffee with just a little milk. That’s what I drink. I had never heard it called white coffee before, but I guess that is a good name.
 
I usually drink 3 or 4 cups of coffee a day. Only in the morning, and I like it black. I don’t see anything wrong with this, and I enjoy my coffee just as much as I enjoy good food, wine, music and friendship. It adds to my happiness and I am grateful for it.

I’m going to probably offend some people’s sensibilities here, but I’m tired of every little habit being labeled an “addiction”. When you use the term “addiction”, you are giving up control over one’s wants and desires, and replacing that with a physical component that may or may not be there.

Dealing with a caffeine induced “headache” is far more managable than dealing with heroin cravings, or dts from alcohol abuse. That is an addiction.

So my advise to you would be to slowly break your habit. Have some coffee in the am, but skip the Starbucks. Do it gradually. Do it with a smile. Remember, it’s a habit, not an addiction.
 
WOW!!!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU everyone for your support & words of encouragement! I posted this thread late last night and didn’t expect to see so many responses so early this morning!

I am so very grateful for everything you all have said here. I am very determined to skip my daily ice blended white chocolate mocha purchase today. I have to admit that I did go out with my “refillable travel coffee mug” and purchased a cup of brewed coffee. A first step? I hope so!

The weird thing for me is that I will completely finish the blended specialty stuff, but when I buy the brewed stuff, I usually only end up drinking a few sips or so - and that’s enough for me. Who wouldn’t drink ALL of the sweetened good stuff? 🙂

So I think about the one poster who mentioned the habit PLUS all that goes along with it … the trip to the store, the time away (15 minutes - heaven!) from the little kids, the purchase, the cold drink in my hands! And I realize it is more than just the ice blended white chocolate mocha that I crave.

I am determined to end this coffee habit. This is really something that I want to do and know I can do. I will be very proud of myself when I can stand one day and not need my ice blended white mochas anymore, or any other type of caffeine for that matter.

THANK YOU AGAIN for all of your kind words. You are great! May our gracious and awesome God bless you all abundantly for your kindness! And may you all have a wonderful, blessed Sunday and rest of the week!

Hugs! :hug3:
 
cheddarsox said:
For incentive…choose your favorite charity or “cause” and put the saved money into a jar. When you hit $50 send it on. That good feeling will help. It will be a tangible reward for your sacrafice.
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I LOVE this idea, and it is such a great incentive for me. I am going to try this week to save up the money I would have spent on my specialty coffee, put it in a jar, and place the savings in next Sunday’s collection basket!

We’ll see if I can do this!

THANK YOU again for your prayers and support! 👍

Have a blessed week!
 
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