Diario de writingwyo, 19 ene. 23

decaffeinating... that's not what I read. LOL. I stopped caffeine for about 4 days to see if I would sleep better. I saw zero positive effects. Good luck to you! Maybe it works more for people who have more than just 2 cups of coffee in the morning. My boss use to drink it all day and when he stopped- it helped in so many areas for him. 

Only dishonest if you didn't actually eat this. Are you giving up caffeine totally or just cutting back? 

I have been drinking abusive amounts. Like one mug shy of a full pot every morning, then switching to Diet Coke all day at the office. At home, I drink more coffee instead of soda. My husband has been gently nudging me to cut back. The deciding factor was a friend mentioning that I seem to have free floating anxiety that attaches itself to whatever stressor I have for the day. Coffee doesn't help with anxiety in the slightest for me. My husband and I sat down this weekend to discuss ways we could both make positive changes, and this was one of my steps  

How did you feel during those 4 days? You said brutal!! I quit caffeine for three weeks every year, when I do the Daniel Fast. I alway have withdrawal headaches during the first week; afterwards, I am fine. But I have not seen my sleep improve when I don't drink coffee or tea, so I finally revert to them, in moderate amounts. 

Good job on monitoring your caffeine. I'm a Diet Coke addict, and I incorporate it into my diet plan. Most days, I have 3 cans, but I sometimes go over (I drink more when I'm stressed). In addition, though, I also drink 8 cups of water or more. 

Hard to go cold turkey. Still, take my hat off to you for going for it. I’m going to take a note from you and cut back on tea today🇨🇦☀️ 

Have you been drinking all this coffee for long? I used to drink a bout a pot of coffee before going to work and then drink diet coke, usually 3 cans, at work. I gradually reduced the amount to avoid headaches. I remember going to work and pouring half the can of diet coke for a co worker. For coffee, I switched to decaf and thought it tasted the same. Right now, I'm not drinking coke but have 0-3 cups of coffee a day. I don't drink it after noon. Hope you can figure it out. My doctor telling me all the caffeine was the likely cause of rapid heartbeats is what made me give up coffee years ago.  

Great! 

Looks wonderful. I love my coffee. Big props to you going off it 

Last journal you wrote about doing intuitive eating rather than tracking, so I am curious as to how that worked with the caffeine cut. Twice in my life I’ve given it up, but it doesn’t impact my sleep and I don’t have anxiety; it’s back because I love the taste and morning ritual of it. Did give up soda though, and now drink herbal tea and water instead. 

I'm a "rip the bandaid off" type when it comes to cutting caffeine, because I have no ability whatsoever to moderate. None. If I try to allow myself just one cup of coffee in the morning, it will become a pot before you know it. Just as some people need the "psychological guardrails" of cutting out sugar or animal products or potatoes, I need that where caffeine is concerned. Right now, I'm sticking with decaf coffee and tea -- a cup of real tea maybe once a day to take the edge off. The first day I was truly sick. The second, I felt more human physically, but some of the depression and lethargy kicked in. Today, I'm doing CONSIDERABLY better. During the worst of the withdrawal, healthy eating went out the window, but even so, the scale was down this morning. I'm back on a better track today -- had this for breakfast and packed a bean and corn salad for lunch. No rapid heartbeats on caffeine and sleep just fine, but for me, it was the anxiety. I have been a serious caffeine addict since childhood with a few stretches where I gave it up completely. So I know from experience that once I get through this, I'll feel better than I did on all the caffeine. This withdrawal hasn't been as bad as some I've been through. Thanks all, for the comments! 

Good luck! You know yourself and what works 

The first time I gave it up was at University because the doctor found some lumps during a breast exam. I slept 12 hours a day and was cranky as all get out, and then it was like the sun came out and the storm cleared. I stayed off of it for 3 years that time. Turned out the lumps were fluid filled, a hereditary condition on my mother's side, and they shrank after 3 months off caffeine. Harmless, but now I know what they feel like so they don't scare me when I check myself. 

I ripped the caffeine bandaid off in 2020 by switching to decaf. I tried getting back to regular caffeinated drinks last year and promptly stopped getting any sleep. Decaf remains my friend and one day I’ll stop coffee entirely 😊