Why the heck would you want to quit drinking coffee?!?
I loooooove coffee, but I decided to stop drinking my daily espresso over a month ago because every cup just made me feel bad. After I drank coffee, my anxiety would spike, and it felt like doom was descending. Coffee made the emotional waves of PMS feel worse, and I wasn’t even more productive with it.
Since this was how I felt with coffee, quitting was really easy. Even though I felt more tired on some days, I still felt better without the anxiety and doom.
Do you relate? Here are our tips:
How do I know if quitting coffee will help me feel better?
It might be helpful for you to eliminate coffee if you are experiencing:
- Anxiety after your coffee
- Irritability
- Crazy PMS
- Painful or Irregular Periods
- Hot Flashes
- Trouble Sleeping
- No Energy Without Coffee
Why would I want to stop drinking coffee?
Coffee messes with your hormones!
- Spikes cortisol, your stress hormone.
- Leaves you feeling exhausted without coffee, and still having trouble sleeping at night. In the end, coffee takes more energy than it gives.
- Increases estrogen and lowers your thyroid hormones. (We encourage you to ask your doctor/practitioner about what these may look like over time.)
- Increases inflammation. Hello, painful periods.
How do I stop drinking coffee?
First step: Eliminate your afternoon cup of caffeine and adjust to that feeling of finding energy elsewhere.
Popular method for elimination: Cut down amount of caffeine in morning by 75%, then 50%, etc. till you are at zero.
My method: Go cold turkey on a Saturday. Let myself take a nap when I want to. Drink cacao when I need an extra boost in front of my computer screen. Feel really proud of myself the whole time.
Hint: Drinking alcohol, or having other substances, at night can make it more difficult to feel awake the next day.
What else can I drink?
- Mushrooms. Yes, they are all the rage right now, but they are really amazing for boosting energy and focus. Mushroom Harvest offers affordable, organic mushroom powder blends. I’ve learned to like that muddy herbal taste, so I drink these straight every morning.
- An herbal coffee-substitute blend that will be stimulating. I love Rasa Koffee.
- Water!
- Whatever helps you feel good.
Is this forever?
We do not believe in rules!
While I intentionally did not drink any caffeine for a couple weeks, I am not 100% caffeine-free. I love tea, chai, and cacao, and they don’t make me feel bad.
If you stop drinking coffee, feel amazing, then want to drink it again after a while, you can. Now you know the difference, and you can give it up again.
Photo: Kal Visuals via Unsplash
