Today was my fisrt day in like 10 years that I haven't had a cup of coffee (minus you know, having the flu or something like that!) and I feel terrible. I have a headache and my head is stuffed up and I am sleepy. It probably doesn't help that in my quest to be coffee free, I have faultered and let myself eat a slice of cake last night and a doughnut this afternoon. My husband graduated college today and I told myself that it was ok to eat those because it was a celebration but I am wondering if my mind is trying to compensate my lack of caffeine with sugar now! I know tomorrow is a new day and I will just have to take it at that, but I was wondering if you wonderful people had any advice or suggestions to curb the cravings for both sugar and coffee? Thanks guys!
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I have been having the exact same problem. I don't crave coffee, I don't want it...but for some reason my body will not let go of the addiction. I'm a complete mess in the morning and my head feels like a total foggy mess. It's been the hardest part of my transition.
The only thing that has eliminated that foggy head feeling and given me the amount of zing I need to get going in the morning is a green shake. I've tried everything else, but this is the only thing that works for me personally.
In fact, I have found this product to be a lifesaver in the morning...http://www.amazinggrass.com/amazing-meal-original.html
it's wierd because I actually drink a green smoothie every morning. . . but somehow I still feel terrible. I plan on doing the master cleanse when I get out of school in a few weeks and hopefully that will get rid of the addiction. I would also like to try matcha and see if that works. thanks so much for the advice!
I'm in the exact same situation! I've been eating 99.9% raw for a few months, however I just can't get rid of my caffeine addiction. I tried going without coffee yesterday and I had a massive headache. It was so bad I had to leave school early. I also really need some advice on how to get rid of this addiction.
Yea today I had a cup of coffee... but I waited until the afternoon which is a huge step for me. I gave in because my mother-in-law asked me to drive her around ( she doesn't drive) and it can be very diffucult dealing with her. She kept asking me why I was tired and not chatty and then insisted I get a cup of coffee so that I had the "energy" to drive her places. So I gave in. Tomorrow is a new day though. I would like to try the master cleanse as well... I am nervous about doing it over the weekend though because we have plans throughout the summer. I guess there will always be an excuse though right?!
Troubles- it is crazy that you mention a green smoothie because right after i posted this I decided to take a hot shower because that's helped with my migraines in the past. I had a green smoothie in a container and I brought it into the shower with me and I couldn't believe it but my headache went away! It came back an hour later but it was crazy!
Vegan- I haven't tried matcha but I do know it has caffeine in it. I am trying to shy away from the caffeine for awhile. I read that a good thing to have is maca afterwards because it helps your adrenal glands get back to normal after the caffeine. You can get it in pill form, the brand I know of is macasure by sequel naturals. I have a smoothie mix with it in it.
hey if you want to detox off it completely just do the master cleanse. I hadn't taken a day off coffee forever as well. I dreaded it, but i didn't have withdrawal or headaches! i know it's hard to believe but its actaully true. I was totally weaned off. but dammit, i ENJOY the act of coffee drinking too much to give it up yet. lol. so I drink it still, but if i ever wanna quit, i'll just do the master cleanse.
I have the same problem- coffee is just so hard to give up!
I used to make a pot in the morning and would drink the whole thing by noon or one!!( I work at home). Now I have cut WAY back but have not eliminated it. Here's what has worked for me:
1) Switching to decaf. I know that, with all of the raw food I'm eating, my body does not need the caffeine. It's just the taste I crave.
2) Having NO coffee in the house (may be tough if you live with other coffee drinkers....have them hide it or lock it away??haha). Honestly, it helps so much. Having to walk to the nearest place to get coffee, 10-15 minutes away, really makes me stop and think about how bad I want it.
Caffeine withdrawal is really unpleasant and can screw up your life for a while. If you can switch to green tea you might find that's enough to get you through the next few weeks. Check the comparative caffeine levels and figure out how much to drink so you eventually taper off to none.
I used to drink a lot of coffee and this worked well for me. I like to make a cuppa tea in the morning now, either with or without caffeine, it doesn't seem to matter. Sometimes I have a coffee if I go out to brunch with friends or if I'm sitting around shooting the breeze with my mother-in-law, but at this point I can take it or leave it -- I don't feel like I NEED caffeine, and I don't miss it if I don't have any.
If I do drink coffee these days, I try to make up for it by drinking a lot more water since I feel it dehydrating me.
I hate how coffee/espresso makes your pee stink. That's enough to deter me (along with the headaches, bad breath, dehydration).
I have done so many coffee withdrawal exercises over the years, I'm now well practiced. I used to go cold turkey but as I got older it made me nauseous, so here is an example of how I do it painlessly. The example starts with 4 cups, but if you drink less, then you wll get the general idea:
Day 1
Switch from coffee to black tea in the same quantities. So, if you have 4 coffees, switch to 4 teas
Day 2
3 black teas
Day 3
2 black teas
Day 4
Switch from black tea to green or white tea in the same quantity, ie 2 green teas. If you crave hot liquids, drink hot water or herb tea.
Day 5
2 green teas
Day 6
1 green tea
Day 7
1 green tea
Day 8 and to day 12. 1 green tea every other day and then stop.
You can go faster if you feel your body can do this easily.
Green smoothies! They help so much! That's how I got off coffee among other things! It keeps sugar cravings down too. Plus they taste amazing and make your hair soft and beautiful.......
You're doing the right thing by weening yourself! You're addicted and that's never a good thing. Now about every month or so I'll have a cup of coffee. Since I've been off it the benefits are amazing and drinking a cup reminds me why I quit. I get BO when I drink it and my body gets all shakey not to mention that no matter how early I drink it I seriously can't sleep the next night.
So green smoothie it up and get off that coffee! Good luck! I know it's hard!
You're going to have to endure the headaches. It's part of your body "cleaning up."
Has anyone here tried MATCHA it is awesome and I think its raw I will have to check for sure. It is the top three leaved of the green tea plant while young dried and stone ground the buddhist monks drank it during 12 hour meditations for the last like thousand years. It does contain the same caffeine as green tea but released over 6-8hours and you whisk up the green powder with h2o or nit milk etc you are ingesting the whole leaf since it is ground up and you are not supposed to heat the water to a boil to preserve the plant properties and it has to be refigerated so I think it is raw.
check out zenmatcha.com or google for info. we love it obviously but do not have any form of caffeine daily its a treat but to be honest it seriously helped my partner quit coffee.
RawKaren- Thanks for the advice with the tea. I unfortunately fell victim to the coffee over the weekend but I am starting a new tomorrow. I have some roobios tea that I am going to try. I think what draws me is the hot beverage in the morning, like you said.
And thanks to everyone else for advice! I am thinking of starting a master cleanse as well... haven't decided on when but I think this week.