Caffeine is my only vice (besides often gorging on food, but that's something else altogether), but I hardly even call it a vice because I don't consume that much of it (maybe 2 cups coffee and 2 soda/day, which by many standards is not much). It doesn't bother me or make me sick or anything but I feel that to be a better person I should stop drinking it. I know very few don't drink caffeine, though. Am I doomed? I wonder if it's harder to stop than smoking. I think part of the problem is not just its ubiquity in many food products but also that my desire to quit it is only moderate and not severe.

So, who here has quit it for an EXTENDED duration? I'm saying 6-12 months or more and how's it going? Why did you return to it? Did you find it took a while to get used to not using it as a crutch during the day? I get lots of sleep but still use it to perk me up. I wonder if I just have a psychological reliance on it, though.

Another problem is that apparently in limited doses it can be possibly helpful, so I don't even know if quitting is a good idea, even if I can be bothered to really do it.

i quit caffiene coldturkey and i felt no differences, had no cravings.
i think it depends on the person though.

and i was taking an ECA stack 3 times a day + 1 diet coke.
so that's 600 mg of caffeine pills + whatever the coke is, and then going to 0 caffeine the next day.
...no problem for me.

I quit for a few weeks once. It's kind of like alcohol, if you don't have any for a while, your tolerance goes down. Once I went back, I was bouncing off the walls, made for some fun workouts.

I quit pretty much cold turkey a while back and I was glad, I stayed off pretty much for a month or so at a time and whenever I would have any I'd really feel it's effects then. After a week or so I didn't really want any caffeine and it even helped me stay away from sodas so I wouldn't break my caffeine fast.

I would recommend it to anyone :tu:

in all seriousness - i dont see the point of quiting it.
as long as you keep it early in the day, it shouldnt affect your sleep that much.

do you have specific reasons for wanting to quit besides "just doesnt seem good"?

I'm in the same boat... I should really get off of caffeine. Coffee and tea have medicinal benefits in reasonable quantities, but I just like the taste of coffee. I've gotten down to 2 cups (REALLY BIG CUPS :D ) /day but some of my green teas are not decaf. The rest of my coffee is decaf. I gone off of it entirely before and did get the headache (so try doing it on a Friday so you don't impact work by Monday) mind you then I was almost at a whole pot /day + sodas (ah, the good ol days :p )

The half-life of caffeine in the blood is about 4 hours and withdrawl symptoms can go for 48...so like I said....Friday is the first day of the rest of your life, not Monday. ;)

I had to quite caffeine because of some medication that I'm taking. I've been off of it for about 6 months now. Before I was drinking about the same as you. I went coldturkey too. I had headaches for about 2-3 days.

I drink decaf green tea in the morning, which is 5mg of caffeine. My doc said that the amount is so small it has no effect on my system. So, there you go.

Sleep becomes alot more important, even an hour can make the difference between having a good day or draging your ass around all day long.

I quit pretty much cold turkey a while back and I was glad, I stayed off pretty much for a month or so at a time and whenever I would have any I'd really feel it's effects then. After a week or so I didn't really want any caffeine and it even helped me stay away from sodas so I wouldn't break my caffeine fast.

I would recommend it to anyone :tu:Why'd you end up going back to it?do you have specific reasons for wanting to quit besides "just doesnt seem good"?None besides when I'm old and weak I want to know I did what I reasonably could to extend longevity. My life style is already high 90th percentile, I'm sure, in terms of taking care of myself, but it's easy to be better than most others in our society from that standpoint, so it's not really worth much ;)

In truth, of greater importance would be confronting my sweet tooth. I eat a lot of crap. I eat a lot of good food, too, but if I could replace the crap with real nutrients I'd be better off.

According to whom is two coffees and two sodas a day not too much?

One cup of coffee is equivalent to two sodas. So technically, you are consumming six sodas a day. I was studying caffeine intake and addiction in my psychology class - six is when a person hits borderline to addiction. The daily limit of caffeine is about 200mg and one coffee alone contains about 50mg. You're edging towards borderline!

Start small if you want to change this. Instead of a whole cup of coffee in the morning, have 3/4 a cup or half and the same for the sodas and the other coffee during the day. Do this for a week, then decrease the amount even more the following week. Keep going until you can skip at least one of the four servings you have during the day, and after awhile, you'll be able to skip it all.

Good luck - it's not very difficult and you know you can do it. :tucool:

Quitting caffeine is easy. Make a conscious effort not to drink caffinated beverages. Personally, I haven't had anything caffinated in months. The last time I had Pepsi, I bought a caffine free one. I haven't had soda in months, but back then I would only buy Sprite for the same reason.

According to whom is two coffees and two sodas a day not too much?People I work with :o :D

i drink about 9 cans of diet caffienated soda a day and about 2 to 3 cups of coffee. im still doing okay with cutting.

Caffeine is good for you. And coffee is yummy.

Caffeine is good for you. And coffee is yummy.


this is true.

this is true.

Caffeine is good for you if you consume only below the daily limit each day. Excess caffeine intake can cause heart problems, amongst other serious issues.

It is yummy, yes, but it can be difficult to avoid caffeine once a person is addicted (although many don't seem to have any trouble at all).

I used to drink 2-3 Dr. Pepper's a day... probably a can of it for lunch, then a big 32 or 44 oz. for dinner, and another one later on at night. I stopped cold turkey. It was very difficult for the first week or so, but after that the cravings pretty much went away.

I do find myself extremely sleepy about 3:00 every day, because I have virtually no caffeine or sugar intake at all. Occassionally I will still crave one, but the craving isn't bad enough to cause me to drink one. I will occassionally drink a dr pepper every 2-3 weeks or so... which I feel is harmless.

Another thing to watch for in sodas is the phosphoric acid. Diet sodas are great, but I hear that the phosphoric acid in a soda (even a diet soda) is bad for the eyes and bones.

Caffeine is good for you if you consume only below the daily limit each day. Excess caffeine intake can cause heart problems, amongst other serious issues.

It is yummy, yes, but it can be difficult to avoid caffeine once a person is addicted (although many don't seem to have any trouble at all).


my daily limit is 200 cans of 12 fluid oz. im doing fine!

thats about 9120mg of caffiene. good stuff.

:lol:

Caffeine is good for you. And coffee is yummy.

Why is it good for you? I always thought that the increased blood pressure and heart rate couldn't be good in the long run...

Quitting it should be no problem. I never drank black coffee till 3 years ago (when I was in India). A winter here introduced me to it, and I started having a cup or two everyday. I am a PhD student, and spend many a weekend in the lab. Turns out that I liked the idea of sipping on it, so I get a coffee pot for me. My intake went to like 8-10 cups a day, and I didn't realize it. Worst was, I had a Starbucks double espresso just before hitting my bed, and I slept like normal. THAT was my wake-up or "reduction" call.

I just quit having coffee. I felt a bit weird initially, and also I got bored of sipping water. So, its possible to leave it but I picked it up again. However, I picked it up again after a month as I kind of need it to wake me up. It's also not as bad as smoking nor does it give you meaningless, harmful calories from soda.

However, now I am now dunking only two cups a day. If you really miss it, try replacing it with green tea. At times, I also let my coffee last longer than usual. That also has helped me.

Sorry for the long answer but if you need to quit it, you can. It's not impossible.

Hemang.

Caffeine is my only vice (besides often gorging on food, but that's something else altogether), but I hardly even call it a vice because I don't consume that much of it (maybe 2 cups coffee and 2 soda/day, which by many standards is not much). It doesn't bother me or make me sick or anything but I feel that to be a better person I should stop drinking it. I know very few don't drink caffeine, though. Am I doomed? I wonder if it's harder to stop than smoking. I think part of the problem is not just its ubiquity in many food products but also that my desire to quit it is only moderate and not severe.

So, who here has quit it for an EXTENDED duration? I'm saying 6-12 months or more and how's it going? Why did you return to it? Did you find it took a while to get used to not using it as a crutch during the day? I get lots of sleep but still use it to perk me up. I wonder if I just have a psychological reliance on it, though.

Another problem is that apparently in limited doses it can be possibly helpful, so I don't even know if quitting is a good idea, even if I can be bothered to really do it.

Why is it good for you? I always thought that the increased blood pressure and heart rate couldn't be good in the long run...
Because I'm sarcastic. :p

Really, it's not all that bad in small doses from what I've researched and read. You're right though; who knows about the long run?

For those who are not very sensitive to it's effects I do not think there would be a problem with a cup or two of coffee per day.

And it makes your skin look very nice in the morning (I WISH I looked all day long the way I look after a few cups of coffee - VEINEY as heck!)

When I got into the whole fitness thing, I stopped drinking soda which was the only way I really injested caffeine. This was about a year ago.
I do however still go out for some coffee about twice a month. That being said, I drink 4 shots of espresso at once. Since my tolerance is so low it gives me a huge energy boost. Also, it causes me to get slightly light-headed. :confused:
I wouldn't really consider this quitting cold turkey, but I'm definetly not using it as a crutch.
Getting a solid 8 hours of sleep has done more for me than any cup of coffee.

Because I'm sarcastic. :p

Really, it's not all that bad in small doses from what I've researched and read. You're right though; who knows about the long run?

For those who are not very sensitive to it's effects I do not think there would be a problem with a cup or two of coffee per day.

And it makes your skin look very nice in the morning (I WISH I looked all day long the way I look after a few cups of coffee - VEINEY as heck!)

All right, well, I typically don't take in any caffeine (most days, once in a while I will), so is it probably better not to start? I like the extra energy it gives me on days I have some, and at times I feel like I really need it, but I feel like it can't be good for you...

I used to drink maybe 4 cups a day, but very very strong coffee. I quit for about a year and didn't notice anything. I'm drinking it again, but not that much. Maybe a cup every other day.

I've read stuff that makes me want to increase my coffee intake, but haven't got around to it yet.

I take 10 Pro-Plus tablets (a total of 500mg caffeine) each morning before exercise (cardio or resistance). I don't often consume caffeine at other times.

It certainly seems to help the exercise.

I have somewhat got used to it, unfortunately. I might cut it out for a while, and then resume, and see what happens.

I'll say that i'm also somewhat hooked on caffeine. Only started when i got a job at a coffee shop (suprise). Coldpress with a shot of white chocolate and SF vanilla might be the greatest drink ever created. You know how i know it's a problem? I get really sick after i have it, yet i'm having one right now and i'll probably have one tomorrow. I swear that shit is like liquid laxative.

I pulled out an old email from my friend Eric in another fitness forum and thought it might be useful here:

Gang, the effects of caffeine (central nervous system stimulant) as a performance enhancer appear to benefit those seeking an enhanced state of mental arousal (alertness and focus) as well as helping to "free up" free fatty acids (bodyfat) as an energy substrate. In simpler terms, a better "psych" and focus with the added benefit as a potential aid to fat loss. Beware of hypersensitivy to this and all CNS stimulants. Caffeine is the world's most widely used drug!! By the way, caffeine consumption/acceptable levels for Olympic athletes cannot exceed 12 micrograms pr.milliliter. Normal ingestion of coffee, colas, tea, etc., will not come close to this level, however caffeine tablets seem pose a greater likelihood. All of my clients that can tolerate caffeine will incorporate it.

I quit caffeine very easily, you can too my friend! (op)

I also sleep alot better now.