How I Kicked My Coffee Habit

I've tried to kick my caffeine addiction several times. After more failed attempts than I can count, I almost completely gave up. But, I decided to take and easier and more gradual approach by slowly decreasing my caffeine intake each month. Six months ago, I would burn through 10 cups of coffee per day. Now, I no longer mainline coffee and am down to four cups each day. Want to know how I did it? Read below for my firsthand tips.

Slow and Steady

As mentioned above, my caffeine addiction was so bad that I was burning through 10 generously sized cups each day. Clearly, this was bad for my health. But I quickly learned that decreasing my caffeine intake from 10 cups to 1 cup each day overnight had a terrible effect on my health. When I tried my almost cold turkey method of kicking caffeine, I was cranky, paranoid, emotional and sleepless. Instead, I learned to take a slower approach to kicking my caffeine habit.

I simply decreased my intake by one cup each month. I've used this method to kick my caffeine addiction and I'm successfully down to four cups per day. This completely eliminates the symptoms of caffeine withdrawal because the change is so gradual your body won't miss that extra cup of coffee.

Don't make it an event

If you're like me, you probably like to catch up with friends over a cup of coffee. But, I learned to kick that habit because it was drastically contributing to my caffeine intake. When you constantly make coffee the center of your event, you'll end up guzzling down more cups than your originally intended.

When meeting with friends, make a conscious effort to order something on the menu aside from coffee. Consider asking the barista to mix you up a smoothie, tea or just pick up a bottle of water. If you're craving something a little more substantial order a fruit salad or yogurt. Just make a conscious effort to not center your events around coffee do, you'll make an excuse to indulge in coffee

No Frills

Limit your number of frilly drinks per week. This tip is a little more for your waistline than it is for your caffeine addiction. I love my caramel macchiato coffees from Starbucks. But, they're pretty high calorie drinks (over 400 calories for a venti). So, I limit my number of caramel Macchiatos (my version of a frilly drink) to two per month, or one per week. Now, my daily caffeine routine revolves around black coffee sweetened with splenda, or a light and sweet cup of coffee.