Who here has quit caffeine?

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L_Sludger

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After a lifetime of caffeine dependence, I decided to kick my caffeine habit to the curb last week. Here are some facts about my situation:
My level of caffeine dependence went up and down with the amount of caffeine I had recently consumed; if I consumed 600mg of caffeine one day and then 400mg the next, I'd get a minor headache the next day that would only be curable with more caffeine.
If I went a whole day without any caffeine, I'd get a headache that started in the morning and intensified throughout the day, leaving me useless in the afternoon.
Most troubling, to avoid the hassle of coffee, I'd taken to using 200mg caffeine pills for the past few years. Usually two of them and I was good to go for the day. And the worst thing was that I got no noticeable energy boost after ingesting them - I just didn't get a headache later.
I knew I needed to change, so I cut my caffeine dose in half one day late last week, from 400mg to 200mg. The next day, I consumed 140mg. The day after that, 100, and the day after that about 60mg. Since then, zero. (has been a couple of days now)
Now I find that my energy levels are more even throughout the day, my vision is improved (I don't know how or why, but I'm not complaining), and my overall quality of life is better now. Coming off a lifetime caffeine addiction was easier than I thought, now I just have to stick to it. Has anyone else done this, or am I alone?
 
I guess you quit too soon.
lol.gif


http://health.ninemsn.com.au/healthnews/8469141/drink-coffee-live-longer
 
I was totally caffeine free for about 3 years. Except for what is in milk chocolate. No sodas, coffee, tea, etc. Now I'm a bit guilty of a Diet Coke or Pepsi in the morning, but I'm weening myself off of those again.

I noticed that I slept much much better and my energy level was higher and much more consistent when I was caffeine free.
 
You were taking pills...so, you quit caffeine...because that's all that was going in, the pure caffeine. On the other hand Coffee is different: a complex beverage with anti-oxidants, etc...

I am still drinking coffee.

And I have no intention of stopping....
 
Last edited:
Quote:
I am still drinking coffee.

And I have no intention of stopping....


I'm with you on that i am a 10 cup min a day man and have been for 40 yrs.
 
I (sort of) quit. I had a friend with some health issues and his doctor told him he had to quit smoking. Since I don't smoke, I figured that giving up drinking pop may be a way to be supportive. I didn't have a single sip of pop for about a year but it turned out he was still smoking, just being sneaky about it. I did get some caffeine headaches for a few days that eventually went away. I eventually did go back to drinking pop, which is why I say I "sort of" quit. Sounds like you have the right idea with gradually decreasing the amount. Good luck!
 
Not addicted.
One day decided to just stop buying coffee in the morning and realized it did not affect me at all. No dependence at all.
Props to you for kicking it though, addictions or dependencies can be a real pain. (literally in some cases)
 
Originally Posted By: L_Sludger
Originally Posted By: Trav
I guess you quit too soon.
lol.gif


http://health.ninemsn.com.au/healthnews/8469141/drink-coffee-live-longer


I rolled my eyes when I saw that article come out in the middle of my ramp-down. LOL, I can laugh about it now - I hope they live long and prosper; just saying that being caffeine free is working for me.


LOL, another article told me to start drinking again. Um..no, I wont live longer, not by my definition anyways..(admission of a problem ssshhh)
 
Well I wake up at 3:55 AM for work, and am on the road for an hour starting at 5. I like to be as alert as possible, so that means sipping some coffee. Plus I just like coffee. I always have. There is no "I hate coffee but need the caffeine" going on here. I stop drinking it at like 11 AM at the latest.

Coffee in moderation (like anything else) is probably not bad for you. A lot of the recent research is showing it has benefits. Previous research of this kind apparently didn't account for the fact that many coffee drinkers were also smokers back in those days (70s, 80s).

Oh, and there is evidence that nicotine can help with Alzheimers, so even that has some possible "benefit" to it. I also remember reading a few years back that it can help keep Alzheimers from starting at all.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/AlzheimersN...12#.T7a4T59YtGg
 
All things in moderation. I've completely quit drinking caffeine this past week.

I think what would be more important for most of America is to stop drinking soda and consuming so many highly refined foods in general.

Black coffee and salad every day is obviously healthier than hamburgers, french fries, and a large Coke every day.
 
The best thing i ever did was to remove meat, wheat, dairy, sugar, alcohol & caffeine from my diet. Life changing effects and I could never go back to the way i used to eat/live.

Caffeine is a way of borrowing energy that we can make ourselves when we do things right...what results is a much cleaner, clearer, sustained energy that does not put you thru peaks & troughs.

call me extreme/crazy, I knw what works!
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted By: stro_cruiser
The best thing i ever did was to remove meat, wheat, dairy, sugar, alcohol & caffeine from my diet. Life changing effects and I could never go back to the way i used to eat/live.

Caffeine is a way of borrowing energy that we can make ourselves when we do things right...what results is a much cleaner, clearer, sustained energy that does not put you thru peaks & troughs.

call me extreme/crazy, I knw what works!
smile.gif


Could you elaborate a little on what you allow yourself to eat? Maybe a typical day's food?
 
Originally Posted By: L_Sludger
my vision is improved (I don't know how or why, but I'm not complaining)


A lot of vision "problems" are tension/anxiety/psychologically related...took me a long time to learn that.

Simple office experiment, consciously note which work e-mails are "easy to see", versus those that are "hard to see". If you see a sender/title, and subconsciously are saying "I don't want to see/read this", it will be more difficult to see/read.

As to caffeine, there's other than caffeine in the beverages.

I respond very differently to multiple cups of strong tea than I do to a single cup of coffee. At 44, I could never go back to my University days of washing No-Doze down with coffee and a coke chaser to keep the books open to 2AM.
 
Originally Posted By: L_Sludger
Originally Posted By: stro_cruiser
The best thing i ever did was to remove meat, wheat, dairy, sugar, alcohol & caffeine from my diet. Life changing effects and I could never go back to the way i used to eat/live.

Caffeine is a way of borrowing energy that we can make ourselves when we do things right...what results is a much cleaner, clearer, sustained energy that does not put you thru peaks & troughs.

call me extreme/crazy, I knw what works!
smile.gif


Could you elaborate a little on what you allow yourself to eat? Maybe a typical day's food?


well, one of the first things that i saw i had to do was to remove the conditioning that dictates what I "should" eat at certain times of the day....the biggest hurdle here is breakfast.

I ditched the whole milk & cereal thing, now, often make a big salad for breakfast. as a 6'3" 200lb guy, im amazed how far I can go and what i can do on a salad as the first meal of the day....I always add avocado, lots of organic sea salt, lot of olive/flax/hemp oils, almonds, various seeds

I eat tons of greens, green veggies, I use quinoa and millet for "carbs" since they are far less acidic and mucous forming than any rice/pasta...a much "cleaner: carb for us.

I consume lots of oils as mentioned above

I juice veggies every day

some days I start out by making a big huge bowl of food that will last me the whole day, it may contain: quinoa, edemame, celery, cauliflower, soaked almonds, sea salt, olive oil, avocado, all chopped and mixed together...i will eat it as im hungry with NO set timing, simply when my body needs it, not over eating.

The most important thing that i consume is water. I drink Kangen Water® which is simply essential and has changed my life. I drink 2 gallons of it everyday.

Nearly all of my work is physical and I have better strength and endurance now at 38 than I have had since I was 17 growing up at the farm in England.

the key things that we need to eat are chlorophyll, oils, water and salt.

Im a big follower of Dr. Robert Young whose work really has transformed my life. it may sound crazy to many of you but when i eat this way and stick with it, im smarted, sharper, have more heightened senses, i have taken depression out of my life, i get on better with people, have better relationships with everyone that i know. This work that we can do with ourselves and for ourselves with nutrition is DEEP and PROFOUND.

its been 4 years for me now that i have lived this way and i will never and cannot go back. We have to eat live foods that have something to give to us, not dead foods that take from us.

we are electrical beings, we run on electrons, not calories, fat grams or any of that stuff, we get our energy from the sun thru food, a realization of that will change your life forever.

im very passionate about this topic and am always happy to help others in this area.

Like I said, we, like it or not, are very deeply conditioned and a huge part of that conditioning is about food, what we eat and when we should eat it, moving away from that was one of the best things I have ever done.
 
Originally Posted By: Shannow
Originally Posted By: L_Sludger
my vision is improved (I don't know how or why, but I'm not complaining)


A lot of vision "problems" are tension/anxiety/psychologically related...took me a long time to learn that.

Simple office experiment, consciously note which work e-mails are "easy to see", versus those that are "hard to see". If you see a sender/title, and subconsciously are saying "I don't want to see/read this", it will be more difficult to see/read.

As to caffeine, there's other than caffeine in the beverages.

I respond very differently to multiple cups of strong tea than I do to a single cup of coffee. At 44, I could never go back to my University days of washing No-Doze down with coffee and a coke chaser to keep the books open to 2AM.

No question in my mind that what I was doing was absolutely unhealthy, going the No-Doz way. Thanks for the post. I generally also find that I don't care to read most any work e-mails, they're usually cc'ed messages that I get blindsided with
lol.gif
- Again, may be a placebo effect, may not be, but I noticed it and am very happy with the effect. It may be because of a reduction in blood pressure due to the lack of stimulant in my body. I noticed, for example, when lifting heavy weights in the gym, my vision would be quite blurry towards the end of the session - probably something wrong with me that others don't necessarily have an issue with. Thanks for the post.
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted By: stro_cruiser


Like I said, we, like it or not, are very deeply conditioned and a huge part of that conditioning is about food, what we eat and when we should eat it, moving away from that was one of the best things I have ever done.


Very intriguing post, I've read about the alkaline diet before and would love to give it a try, if only just to see how it makes me feel. I have a lot to learn about it - one thing for sure is that there are a lot of interests entrenched against it for whatever reason - which makes it that much more interesting to me, because what's mainstream isn't working for me.
 
I often have a cup of coffee in the morning, but sometimes go a couple days without one and have never felt any withdrawal symptoms.

I think the problem is, like with so many other things, many people don't practice moderation. American diets and lifestyles are often filled with extremes, and that's where so many people get into trouble.

Just eat a common sense, balanced diet free from fast and processed foods. Don't drink soda pop or stuff your face with chips and junk foods. Keep lots of fresh fish, fruits, vegetables and grains in your diet, don't smoke, and get loads of exercise each day. Don't do anything to an excess, stay away from the latest supplement fad, and you'll be much healthier than you are now.

Originally Posted By: stro_cruiser
it may sound crazy to many of you but when i eat this way and stick with it, im smarted, sharper,


Your diet makes you "smarted"? As in the past tense of "smart"?
 
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