Like any other
drug addiction, caffeine addiction is not easy to overcome. This is
because caffeine affects our emotions and behaviors, impairing our
judgement and wit and consequently making the struggle against it even
more difficult.
Decaffeinated coffee does contain caffeine. I have switched to it and ended using large quantity of decaffeinated coffee powder in my kettle to have the same hit. I was just ingesting the same amount caffeine plus the unwanted effect of coffee acidity.
So what is the easiest method?
As I have explained, the “cold turkey” method's problems are the withdrawal symptoms while the “Cut back gradually” culprit is the craving and the impossibility of following the plan rigorously.
The easiest method that has worked for me is this:
For a lot of people the word caffeine
means literally coffee, while in fact, caffeine does not occur solely
in coffee beans but in a wide array of both natural and human made
foods and beverages.
Caffeine is
present in coffee beans, tea leaves, kola nuts, yerba maté, guarana
berries, cola drinks, energy drinks and to a much lesser extent in
chocolate. Caffeine effects may differ slightly depending on its
source, and whether it is natural or synthetic. I have personally
noticed that Caffeine
found in some coffee beans such as Robusta, is much more potent than
caffeine from Arabica beans while the effect of the synthetic caffeine
normally added in cola soda drinks, was the softer form I have
encountered, which may be because of its synthetic nature.
Caffeine addiction
Caffeine
is an addictive drug, more addictive than marijuana, even close to
nicotine and cocaine's addiction level. That means cutting caffeine cold
turkey will triggers several withdrawal symptoms ranging from severe
headache or back pain to serious depression-like symptoms.
Personally,
I have quitted caffeine consumption several times during a 10 year
period, but never succeed to stick with my abstinence plan more than two
months. I obviously tried all methods before finding the right
solution.
Cutting caffeine methods:
1- Cold turkey:
This
method consists of stopping caffeine abruptly; it works like a charm
but gives you the strongest withdrawal symptoms. Mine was so severe
that I stayed on my bed one week, back pain, depression, annoying
tingling sensations in my legs and flu-like symptoms to name but a few.
You can try this way if you don’t have a job, attend a school, or you
have any social duties that may be ruined by your sudden anger.
2- Cutting back gradually:
By
cutting back caffeine gradually, you will let your body to accommodate
itself to the absence of caffeine gradually. As appealing as it may
seem to be, this method has its own downside too, it requires a strict
discipline, if you are a real caffeine freak then you will not be able
to cut caffeine intake steadily and smoothly. As with cocaine or
nicotine, once your body tastes its first matutinal dose of its
cherished drug, it starts claiming more of it; the craving that follows
the first caffeine ingestion is the biggest problem. It is preferable
to take your first coffee hit later rather than taking it in the early
minutes of your day.
3- Switching to decaffeinated coffee:Decaffeinated coffee does contain caffeine. I have switched to it and ended using large quantity of decaffeinated coffee powder in my kettle to have the same hit. I was just ingesting the same amount caffeine plus the unwanted effect of coffee acidity.
So what is the easiest method?
As I have explained, the “cold turkey” method's problems are the withdrawal symptoms while the “Cut back gradually” culprit is the craving and the impossibility of following the plan rigorously.
The easiest method that has worked for me is this:
- Switch to green tea or black tea as a primary source of caffeine in the morning, avoid coffee in the morning.
- Decrease your amount of coffee during the day, until you stop it. But meanwhile, keep increasing tea intake during the day. At this stage, green tea has to replace coffee.
- Remove from your home and environment if possible any trace of coffee. Your cabinet must contain only tea.
- Commence exercising and start also decreasing your tea intake as well. Sport helps regulate body hormones levels. This would assist your body to overcome withdrawal symptoms.
- Continue exercising and decreasing tea consumption, at this moment your breakfast should be 100% free of caffeine, opt for healthy breakfast such oatmeal, fried eggs, bacon, barley soup, fruit juice. If you like to drink something hot, try Rooibos tea.
- Stick with your caffeine-free plan tightly for at least for 6 months in order to allow your body to forget caffeine.
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