Anyone trying to break the morning coffee habit?

If I don't drink 3 or 4 cups in the morning, I'm useless. But, I'm worried about staining my teeth and hate having to depend on coffee in order to function. I also get horrible headaches if I'm running late and only get a portion of my regular dose. It's just a pain in the butt habit I'd like to ditch.

Any tips from experience?

In my experience, and I don't know if it's typical or not, I had two main problems.

The first is headache. You can try cutting back gradually. And be prepared with some Tylenol - nip them in the bud as much as you can. I've never been able to quit caffeine totally pain-free. I just accept that there will be some.

The second is sleepiness. It takes me a couple weeks for that to totally go away. Again, it helps to know what it is and that I just have to make it through, and then it really does get better. I don't know why it takes a couple weeks, seems longer than it should, but that's how it is for me. Maybe not for others.

My favorite thing about quitting caffeine is that I sleep better. Even if I *thought* I was sleeping fine. And once I'm past the first couple weeks, I have *more* energy. For me, even morning caffeine affects my sleep some. YMMV.

Thanks Julie! I'll keep that in mind.

I think the sleepiness will be the hardest part for me. I can handle the headaches for a week or so, but I hate feeling like I'm dragging the whole day!

Been there, done that way too many times. I still can't quit.

The trick is to gradually wean. Replace a half cup with decaf, and keep working the decaf. What worked for me last summer was making my iced coffee cubes out of decaf rather than my normal kona blend. I still got my volume and taste of 3 cups of iced coffee. But my body was weening at the same time.

When I was a Starbucks latte drinker, it was one less shot a week into my Caramel Macchiatos. I barely missed it.

It can be done--will power is the key. That and forewarning about the change in moods.

I'll make sure to let my DH know what to expect when I go for it!

I don't think it's something I'll do right off- I'd like to be in full swing on my weight loss/exercise plans before I add that in, too. Thanks for the input!

you could go cold turkey, but may experience headaches.

You could also slowly go down in your usage, until you are switching to caffeinated tea and then decaf tea. You might experience some headaches for a couple of days or so, but they do go away. Just take extra care of yourself during that time---get plenty of rest, take it easy, etc.

I dropped caffeine before Christmas because I was having seriously high anxiety levels and having sleep issues; it was one of the few changes I could feasibly make.

Seriously, it helped wonders.

I quit from a humongous caffeine habit cold turkey. I was incredibly lucky and had no headaches or withdrawal at all, but there was this slooooooowness that kept creeping in when you hit that time that makes you crave caffeine (for me it's about 10 am and then around 2pm).

I've found I made it by drinking a humongous cold cold glass of water first thing in the morning (literally get up, go pee, drink water). Then do the same thing when the drowsy hits.

I cut way back on my caffeine intake - from 8-10 cups during the day to 1-2 cups in the a.m., about 6 months ago because my heart rate was perpetually high and got even worse with exercise.

Now, if I do want coffee later in the day, I drink a cup of decaf. I really haven't noticed any side effects or withdrawal symptoms at all but these vary by individual so your milage may vary.

After your body & mind adjust to your new habits, you should be good to go .

- D

This is my experience as well. I thought I slept fine...until I quit coffee. Then I realized I'd probably been sleeping crappily for years. Even one cup of caffeinated coffee in the mornings messes with my sleep.

Caffeine also exacerbates my insulin resistance. And of course, insulin resistance can make weight loss even more difficult, as well as having other nasty effects.

I have personally never experienced any withdrawal effects from going off caffeine, and I've quit multiple times cold-turkey.

Because I do love the effect of caffeine, I now have just one cup of caffeinated coffee on Saturday mornings, because if I don't sleep well on Saturday night it's not really a big deal. So I have my homemade mocha, then I feel all jazzed up to get some housework done

That's a good idea! I'm hooked on the caffeine kick, too, and a once a week treat might be just the solution!