I've quit caffeine on a few occasions for long stretches. Most recently I just reduced consumption to a couple of cups of coffee in the mornings and that was it (a little creamer, no sugar/honey). That worked really well for 2 years. Then we got a puppy and I haven't slept well in 4 weeks. Typing this as I consume a Diet Dr. Pepper.
Quitting Caffeine
81–90 of 363 posts
Re: Quitting Caffeine
#82One of the more interesting comments in the article is in regards to the social stigma of only consuming water during meals - people who have quit alcohol for various reasons have faced the same stigma when going out with friends. I've found that ordering something that has little to no calories or substance goes a long way to alleviate these fears (like tonic or sparkling water). Because something like this still co…
> One of the more interesting comments in the article is in regards to the social stigma of only consuming water during meals - people who have quit alcohol for various reasons have faced the same stigma when going out with friends. That stigma is entirely self-perception. No one cares or even notices what anyone else drinking.
Re: Quitting Caffeine
#83Earlier quoted context omitted.
Isn't that caffeine, too (actually we have a name for caffeine found in tea vs. coffee called "teina" vs. "caffeina" in Italian, but not in English I believe)? Sounds like quitting drinking by switching from wine to lots and lots of beer...
Black and green tea do contain caffeine, but quite a bit less: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-he... It depends a bit on the specific preparation but black tea contains at most half as much caffeine as brewed coffee (per liter) and green tea is again half as much. Thus an easy way to reduce your caffeine intake is to replace a cup coffee by a cup of the same size of black tea and maybe later…
Re: Quitting Caffeine
#84One of the more interesting comments in the article is in regards to the social stigma of only consuming water during meals - people who have quit alcohol for various reasons have faced the same stigma when going out with friends. I've found that ordering something that has little to no calories or substance goes a long way to alleviate these fears (like tonic or sparkling water). Because something like this still co…
Wow this is insane. The culture I grew up in is famously health-friendly, so I've never come across this, but it sounds horrible.
I started drinking only water around high school, and the only reaction I ever got was "good for you, I wish I had that habit".
> Because something like this still costs money, it helps convince the purchaser that they aren't appearing to be "cheap" by only ordering water.
Interesting, you think that appearing cheap is behind the stigma? I would've guessed it would be something along the lines of anticipated reproach.
Re: Quitting Caffeine
#85I personally never drink coffee. I do however drink tea and other drinks with caffeine in them (mostly Coca Cola). But I do wonder how much of a perceptible difference drinking coffee makes. I'm also curious whether you get a tolerance, so that heavy drinkers need to drink more to recover the same amount of energy. Can anyone give their experience?
You don't have to go by anecdotes: caffeine is the most popular drug in the world and has been studied fairly heavily. It improves focus and some other cognitive metrics for a short period of regular use, and then your daily hit of caffeine just brings you up to what your baseline used to be.
Re: Quitting Caffeine
#86Re: Quitting Caffeine
#87The good thing about going off caffeine is that it works well when you have some from time. For example, when I have a long drive ahead of me I get some Starbucks. I am so sensitive to caffeine now that it keeps me awake the whole drive (and a few hours more unfortunately).
For staying awake I can also recommend ice cream OR chewing gum. edit: not at the same time
Re: Quitting Caffeine
#88One of the more interesting comments in the article is in regards to the social stigma of only consuming water during meals - people who have quit alcohol for various reasons have faced the same stigma when going out with friends. I've found that ordering something that has little to no calories or substance goes a long way to alleviate these fears (like tonic or sparkling water). Because something like this still co…
Re: Quitting Caffeine
#89Re: Quitting Caffeine
#90I drink coffee because I enjoy it, not to give me a "boost" in the morning. I limit myself to 1 large mug per day, with the (very) occasional afternoon cup. I don't notice any difference between my energy levels before / after my morning coffee, nor on days I skip it. I get a headache in the early afternoon when I skip it, though, so I'm definitely addicted. I wonder if the author's energy level issues were due to hi…
For the life of me at around 4pm I start to feel snoozy if I had one in the morning.