Why I Stopped Drinking Coffee
Hey guys!
As some of you may know I stopped drinking coffee. Yup, for real. If you would have told me to quit cold turkey 7 months ago I would have looked at you like you were insane, said no, and walked away. I would have thought about all the coffee rituals I thoroughly enjoyed like my morning iced brew, afternoon pick me ups and coffee dates with friends and how there was NO WAY I could give it up. Like when I’m traveling, coffee is literally the answer to getting a second wind....or so I thought.
For those of you that knew me and my love for coffee, it sounds crazy- but I've come a LONG way. My cravings for coffee are now completely NON EXISTENT and it just proves to me that I'm totally OK to function without caffeine and I’m actually feeling BETTER than before. If you’re reading this and thinking “okay, Remi did it but there’s no way I would do that” I GET YOU. TRUST ME.
Why did I quit?
To make it short, it’s individually dependant but here’s my story. I used to wake up and head to the fridge before my brain even turned on to pour myself a cup of iced coffee with almond milk. Omg yummm right?! That was my go-to and as soon as I had that cup, my brain and body felt wired and I was ready to work. It did the trick but something about the habit felt addictive and I didn’t like the dependence, could I even work without caffeine?
Now, 6 months later, I wake up less zombie-headed. I feel less anxiety in the morning and overall more calm. I replaced drinking coffee with a tasty iced matcha lattes with adaptogens. I used to drink matcha lattes while I was still drinking coffee, but it was more of a yummy treat because I rarely felt any energy boost from it.
Matcha has about a quarter of the caffeine as coffee so it took about a full 2 months (of being clean off coffee) to really start feeling the effects. I love that it doesn't cause me to crash or make me feel jittery, rather the energy comes and goes much more gently. Sometimes I don't even need a matcha latte or any caffeine in the morning- I just sit down and go straight to work. I LOVE that I'm not dependent on coffee to boost my productivity or feel energized.
Another reason I quit was because it has always given me stomach and digestive issues. Coffee never sat well in my body but I would just ignore it because the benefits outweighed the cons. However, once I stopped drinking coffee, my digestion went back to normal and no longer are the uncomfortable toilet days. TMI maybe, but it's true!
The morning brain fog, afternoon crash and indigestion were my three main reasons to quit! But before you get all excited about how great quitting coffee sounds I should mention that the first couple weeks were TOUGH. I had pretty bad headaches at 3 pm for 3 days straight. It eased up towards the end of the week but came on again the second week. After passing the 3rd week mark, I felt MUCH better. To ease the headaches I made sure to stay extra hydrated and tried breathing in some peppermint essential oil (you can also rub it on your temples if it’s diluted). But tbh I still dealt through the pain, it was worth it!
This is all to say that each body is different and the effects coffee has on me may be different from you. But I just wanted to share my experience with quitting coffee since a lot of you asked if there were any benefits to it. So for me it improved my productivity because I no longer have an afternoon crash or fatigue and my stomach is muchhh happier.
Sometimes I crave an iced coffee but more for the flavor and refreshing feeling. I haven’t given in yet but I’m not scared to try it again, I just don’t think it will be a daily ritual!
I hope you guys found this post helpful!
Have you guys ever considered quitting coffee for a bit? Or is a Hell noooo? You might surprise yourself if you try. Tell me in the comments below!
