I used to be a coffee addict. Every morning I would stumble to the kitchen and get myself a warm mug of fragrant, black coffee. Like many people– over fifty percent of Americans reportedly drink coffee every day– I needed that caffeine fix to get myself going in the mornings. (And those of you who know me well, know that mornings aren’t exactly my best time of day…)
These days, however, I am caffeine-free. Yup. I have’t needed coffee or caffeine since last October. And guess what? I don’t miss it, and I actually feel more awake and energized in the mornings than I used to. Crazy right?
I found that I didn’t like being dependent on a substance, even something as seemingly innocent as coffee, which actually does have some negative side effects.
It can cause energy fluctuations, sugar cravings, and contribute to sleeping problems. It can also strip the body of calcium and prevent iron absorption.
Coffee stimulates cortisol production in the adrenal glands, which is responsible for your flight or fight response, increasing your blood pressure. Plus cortisol can affect your skin, making you more prone to breakouts. Since coffee is a diuretic, it also makes your kidneys work overtime, getting rid of all that urine, which just adds stress to the kidneys over time. Enough to make you start to think, huh?
Caffeine is also very acidic, which can be hard on your stomach and digestion. In addition, you want your overall diet to be more alkaline, which means that if you are eating lots of other acidic things (meat, dairy, refined grains, sugar, alcohol), and not so many veggies, coffee is just one more cause of stress on your body.
That’s not to say that coffee is all bad: it does have lots of antioxidants in it, and there are studies that suggest it helps prevent cognitive problems later in life. But you have to look at your life and health as a whole, and see how coffee plays a role, and what your body needs.
If you don’t have the best diet, and already have a lot of stress in your life, maybe coffee isn’t the best thing to be guzzling all day long. Just think moderation, and examine your lifestyle. Maybe it’s time to at least think about cutting back.
There is nothing wrong with drinking coffee, but do you NEED it to get through every single day?
This doesn’t mean I don’t still love coffee. I do. Most definitely. But I don’t have it every day, and when I do have a late morning taste for some espresso, I keep it decaf. I’m not depriving myself, but the coffeemaker is not my first destination when I get out of bed in the morning.
Basically I drink coffee when I WANT it, and not because I need it.
It’s a big difference, and it is actually pretty liberating.
So how did I do it? It actually wasn’t that hard in the end, but if you had asked me a while back, I would have said no way!
There was a time not so long ago when my partner and I were drinking a full 12-cup pot of coffee between the two of us every morning. Talk about a huge jolt in the morning!Then, about a year ago, we both got sick, and only drank herbal tea for a week. When we recovered, we realized that this had pretty much weaned us off of the caf, and we decided to take our blend down to about 25% caffeine and 75% decaf, and cut our consumption in half. We started making just 6 cups in the morning!
A few months later, I decided to do an Ayurvedic cleanse which involved giving up caffeine, sugar, and lots of other things for a whole week. I missed my coffee at first, but by the end of the week realized that I didn’t need it. I had more energy without it, and my energy levels were definitely more consistent throughout the day. And since then, no caffeine!
I do like having something warm in the mornings though, and instead I drink warm water with lemon. It satisfies that desire for a warm beverage in hand, and is also really great for the lymphatic system, which helps cleanse the body of toxins. It helps flush things out, and stimulates your digestion, which gets things moving, if you know what I mean…
So if you want to think about cutting back on coffee (or your caffeine source of choice), here are some tips for cutting the caf:
1. Start by decreasing your daily dose. Set a target date for when you would like to be off caffeine, and plan out how you will get there. Cut back to 75%, then 50% and then 25%. Don’t try to go cold turkey, but commit to your plan and don’t let yourself fudge it.
2. Drink green tea. It has small amounts of caffeine to help you combat those caffeine withdrawal headaches, but doesn’t contain nearly as much as most other caffeinated beverages. Start by substituting for the coffee, and eventually start to cut back on the green tea as well.
3. Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of water throughout the day to prevent headaches and help keep all those body systems lubricated. Try to drink half of your body weight in ounces each day (example: if you are 130 lbs, try to drink 65 oz of water each day).
4. Drink warm water with lemon in the mornings. It will start your day off well hydrated and satisfy that warm drink craving.
5. Get plenty of sleep, and take care of your body. If you aren’t sleep deprived, you won’t feel like you have to use caffeine to function. And managing stress and eating a good diet will also keep those energy levels consistent, and your body feeling good.
Consistent energy levels, better skin, and a happier body– what could be better?
xo Kate
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