How to quit coffee?

[Allagash]

I personally do not believe the hype that coffee is healthy. I do not think it is from my own personal experience of being a heavy coffee drinker at one point. Watch closely who funds the health studies on coffee, it can be tricky to see who is behind the studies and influences them (a multi-billion dollar powerful industry has a LOT to lose if studies came out saying coffee was not healthy).

I feel it dehydrates me and makes me feel overall less healthy. It is very acidic. It affects the quality of my sleep A LOT. I sleep much deeper when I do not drink coffee. I feel it also can make you more tense, jittery, and uptight overall. Takes away from a bit of my peace of mind and calmness.

But it gives you a jolt in the morning and wakes you up and can help me focus better. Especially if you have a desk job and stare at a computer all day.

I switched to high quality loose leaf green and oolong tea about 15 years ago and felt much healthier overall. But even with that I try to take breaks from it (drink for a few days, take a few days off, etc..). As it still has a lot of caffeine, I feel it still deydrates me (but less so than coffee), affects the quality of my sleep, and makes me a bit jittery if I drink a lot of it.

I really feel best and healthiest BY FAR when I drink NO caffeine at all, and I did a year without it one year. But it takes longer to wake up in the morning without caffeine, and sometimes I get tired reading after lunch or dinner on no caffeine days . When I don't drink caffeine in AM I try to drink a ton of cold water to help me wake up. I sleep awesome with NO caffeine, much deeper sleeps.

I still drink coffee and espresso, but usually only on occasion while traveling, I don't make it at home.

[Stahlmann]

Try this [in terms of behaviour change]:
http://www.behaviorwizard.org/wp/

I think the best way to quit coffee is to substitute it with morning exercises [the same rush, but better in terms of web of goals]. I know that not everybody can allow yourself this 1h of 'being unproductive' in the morning, but... life is about choices.

Up to this point I was able to do pushups, pullups during my spare time of learning [to get the rusg], but I was not part of "real world TM".

[Allagash]

Starbucks is the biggest drug dealer in the world (espresso=liquid cocaine). Thus their mega success. But yes I do partake sometimes.

It's amazing to me the rise of popularity of coffee. When I was a kid in the 70's and 80's there were not a lot of coffee shops in the U.S. My mom made Maxwell house which is very weak and dad didn't even drink coffee. Now freaking everyone is addicted to caffeine. Heck I see high school kids in Starbucks all the time buying their $5 double mocha's. The world is getting addicted (if it isn't already) to caffeine. It is an over-caffeinated world!

[bryan]

Starbucks is more of a sugar addiction (and social addiction) than caffeine addiction afaict.

[stand@desk]

If you are looking to quit coffee (disclosure, I am a two cupper per day and I have no intentions to quit atm) just do it the ERE way! (Is there any other way for ERErs?)

GO FULL CROWBAR!

Quit Ice Cold turkey and sweat it out and after a few days you should be on track.

I love my coffee and it is probably my favorite luxury item to enjoy so I don't currently intend to quit, plus it gets me going for my 5am runs.

GL!

[fiby41]

[fiby41]

To put this in purely materialist terms that may resonate more with folks here : lifted from the Coffee thread in these forums : You get value by buying overpriced coffee in cafes. You can go ERE by substituting expensive coffee-shop coffee with coffee brewed at home. You may further economize by finding ways to prepare the stuff cheap, or perhaps source the coffee wholesale or whatever. But if you’re able to do away with the stuff altogether, then surely that’s even more ERE, even more effective?

Of course, this works only if not drinking coffee does not affect your quality of life. Else it's plain dysfunctional stinginess. But we can say the same about not living in mansions with grounds and pool, or about not going fine-dining every weekend, or just about anything.

Forum user Devil's advocate wrote