I would like to wean myself off coffee. Have to admit that I am a bit scared of the idea (headaches etc.), cause I just might been addicted to it and have been drinking a lot of it in the last couple of months.
Any advice on how to make weaning process bearable?
I have given up caffeine many times. It’s easy.
Get some Excedrin, which is aspirin + acetaminophen + caffeine.
Quit caffeine cold turkey. I suggest starting on a Friday (or the day before your weekend).
Wait until the headache starts, then take 1 Excedrin. Yes, it’s caffeine (65 mg per pill), but less than in a cup of coffee. It should take the edge off of the headache. Don’t take 2, just take 1.
When the headache comes back, take another one.
Each time, the wait between pills will be longer, until one day you don’t have the headaches.
Takes about 3-4 days.
Replace it with something else, even if it’s only a temporary something else.
Yes, you’ll probably have a headache for a day or two. A couple of Aleve would take care of that for me.
If you like some kind of hot tea, that might work. I’m sure there are other things. But the main thought is not to leave a big hole where coffee used to be.
Just a thought.
Just out of curiosity, is there a reason you feel like you have to give it up? I can’t drink as much of it as I might like. And I can’t handle a lot of caffeine. But there is decaf, and I use some of it. (I tend to blend the grounds of regular, half-caf, and decaf, depending upon what I have, what time of day it is, and how much I intend to drink. But that’s just me.)
3 reasons really.
Have been having splitting headaches lately just after falling to sleep, so now I have this theory that it is coffee related (have upped consumption lately and don’t drink it after 4 p.m. so it could be withdrawal after 10 pm)
Have gone ZC last 3 months so would like to cut out only plant food (drink) I am consuming
Would like to see how I function without it (feels to me almost like drug addiction so would like to not to have to have it)
You could try Teeccino - it is actually an herbal tea/chicory mixture that tastes somewhat like coffee. I buy it at Whole Foods.
I switched to decaf. No troubles. I was reading the caffeine was unhealthy. S Start by brewing your own and slowly shift the balance of caffeinated to decaffeinated. Take your time.
I love coffee, and people joke about my copious consumption therein. Since I love it so much, it is my yearly Lenten fast. On Ash Wednesday, my coffee consumption drops to zero and stays there until Sundays, and then, of course, Easter.
I’ve never had headaches or any of the withdraw symptoms others complain about. I drink the same amount of liquids, such as Chai tea. I know that’s not helpful, but it’s possible that you may not experience withdraw? Or I’ve simply beat my body up so much that I don’t know any better.
My advice… Don’t do it!!! Omg I love coffee and can’t imagine life without it LOL!!!
I’ve done this lots of times, both cold turkey and gradual reduction. I’ve got to say it’s way better to do it gradually. I’m currently on decaf only and the way I did it was to reduce down to one cup of regular coffee a day, then I mixed decaf in with regular coffee to reduce the caffeine content. Gradually I added more and more decaf and stuck with the one cup a day and got through it so easily without any withdrawals at all.
@Bozmond, I would vote for this ^ as well.
I know that there are some folks who can handle withdrawal with minimal effects but I had a very miserable week when I tried to go cold-turkey on caffeine: extreme exhaustion - as in, I walked into a workshop that I was attending and just lay down on the floor a few steps in from the door because I couldn’t deal with the idea of making it to a chair - then within a few days, leg cramps so bad that they kept me from sleeping… ugh, it was rough.
I ended up going back to caffeine and the next time I wanted to cut it down, I just used the gradual replacement of decaf for normal coffee. It was pretty much painless.
I don’t know, and it actually took me a lot of digging around at the time before I connected it.
I’ve done it cold turkey before and it’s not nice at all. The last time I tried it I almost had an accident in my car as my head was so fuzzy and that’s why I changed my tactic. I’ve used caffeine pills in the past too, to gradually reduce, but my most recent detox as described above has been the easiest of all. I still mostly limit to one coffee a day even though it’s decaf simply because I don’t want to risk getting back into it as I know coffee / caffeine isn’t good for me personally.
Yes, I think I will use the gradual replacement/reduction approach probably mixed with caffeine pills. I’ve taken caffeine pills for 3 nights in a row now and had no headaches so am feeling a bit optimistic. Thanks for all the input guys, will update in a couple of weeks time.
If you are concerned about the health aspects of coffee, you might like to read up on the decaffeination process… or, maybe not!
It is an interesting process. And there is more than one way that it gets done.
If you’re worried about the chemicals used to decaffeinate the beans, you can look for coffee that’s been processed by way of the Swisss Water Process. They don’t use some of the questionable chemical solutions with that process, pretty much just water.
Making it even more simple, almost all of decaf coffees that are certified organic use the Swiss Water Process.
Personally, I’m not up nights worried about it. But if it’s something that will worry you, there are options.
Giving up coffee is easy if you don’t give up caffeine 
I just did this a month or two ago - switched to Celestial Seasonings’ Morning Thunder tea (Black tea/Yerba Mate, which is a handy appetite supressant and makes a really tasty morning tea - I buy it on Amazon, but you can often find it at the Whole Foods and Natural Grocers stores). I use 2 tea bags and brew it strong in a tall latte mug, then add a tblsp of butter to emulsify it, and a tblp of coconut oil for my brainz, along with a splash of cream.
I’m experimenting with how eliminating coffee’s alkalanoids and mold toxins can help the body speed recomp. And I have to say it has sped things up, and I feel great! Some people recommend Green tea instead of Black, but I love the Black with Mate. 
Years and years ago, I gave up coffee & caffeine unexpectedly at a mountain retreat that served none and I’d brought none. Going through caffeine withdrawal at a high altitude was rather hellish - wouldn’t wish it on anyone. The slow caffeine reduction is much kinder, indeed.
I’m not going to tive up coffee yet, but may try to reduce it to one a day or even one per alternate day. I also have been drinking just instant coffee usually but will give the real ground one from mocha machine a go. I sort of started to dislike the instant one overnight - tastes like diluted water compared to the real thing.