GIVE UP CAFFEINE – WAKE UP EARLIER!
Every time I take the bold step to give up caffeine I wake up earlier and more effortlessly. Can’t be so you say. Yes folks..I can no longer deny it – when I stop drinking caffeine, I get up earlier! I believe it’s because caffeine interferes with my body’s natural biorhythms and without caffeine my body’s natural rhythm is to wake up early and go to bed earlier. Get caffeine out of my system allows my body to get back to its true body clock and I wake up 30 minutes earlier. OK, I must confess I do get tired about a half hour earlier at night which I don’t exactly love but this is MY BODY’S REAL RHYTHM.
This is the second time I have chosen to give up my best friend, caffeinated coffee. Truth is I LOVE my coffee and over time, like many great love affairs, this love turns into obsession. Slowly over a period of time I notice that I move from having coffee just in the morning to drinking it all day long. The pattern is the same, I start with a “normal” cup or two in the AM and before you know it, after a few months I need a pot to start my day. Then on days I need some “extra” energy I start with a cup or two in mid afternoon and before I know it, I am making pots all day long. 
I work from home so coffee almost seems like a necessity to work. I remember Julia Cameron in her bestselling book The Artist’s Way, articulating her fears after having to stop drinking. She was afraid it was the alcohol that actually helped her write creatively and she feared that giving up alcohol she might never again be creative. “Drinking and writing went together like, well, scotch and soda” she wrote. That’s how I feel about my coffee and my “work”. If I let it go will I have the energy to work during the day? If I don’t have caffeine in the afternoon, how will I have energy for homework, baths, and dinner at night?
The truth is I begin my journey into drinking excess caffeine by ignoring my body. I want to override the signs and signals my body is sending me to slow down, rest or god forbid – STOP. Don’t you know I have deadlines to meet, projects to complete, meals to prepare, games to play (mom’s have to be really creative with 8 year olds who aren’t allowed to watch TV during the school week!). I must accomplish and caffeine becomes my partner in crime. The crime of ignoring my body in pursuit of getting things done. Ah, but at what price? There is always a price. Today, I am grateful that it doesn’t take a call from the doctor saying I have an ulcer to get my attention. Having been through this once before, I just knew it was time – this time I heard the universe’s “whisper” instead of having to “wait for the brick on the head” – bottom line, my caffeine addiction must be addressed. WHAAA!!
I got the nudge (don’t you hate those nudges!!) that my coffee drinking was getting out of hand. I was actually finding myself late for appointments because I couldn’t go without a fresh cup of coffee in hand, fidgeting in places when I didn’t have my “fix” . So, I have decided to try and ween myself off of coffee again. I have been at this place before - flashback about 5 years ago and I was diagnosed with an ulcer and told to cut my coffee drinking down to a cup or two a day – don’t have to give it up mind you just cut back. A cup or two a day? I am at 2 pots plus per day….what is the saying “Some are sicker than others”.
But thankfully I know this can be done. I was off caffeine for a good 2-3 years. The truth is that once it is out of my system I really don’t “need” it. To my surprise, I did start to feel better, rise earlier and actually got the next “nudge” to start a daily exercise program. My experience is caffeine, like any other drug, blocks me from hearing what my my body really needs. Instead of honoring my body I use caffeine to override it. Tired throughout the day, get a cup of coffee. Bored at waiting for your kid to finish lessons, grab a cup of coffee to pass the time. I get this weird association thing like the commercials count on that my “Foldgers in my cup” (or in my case Starbucks) will actually give me that relaxed feeling and ability to be at peace with the world and definitely more creative. Oh and let’s not even talk about the money – they don’t call it StarBUCKS for no reason! When you are as deep into your habit as I am, it is a small fortune each month – I buy it out and buy it in bulk for my coffee maker at home. CHUH CHING!
So my journey to surrendering another, albeit minor, addiction really isn’t pretty. I will caution you to do it slow and gradually. Doctors recommend cutting out a cup a week to let your body adjust. Never a patient girl I usually do it in bigger clumps than that. This past Monday I stopped all coffee after my AM pot. I took Motrin for four days each afternoon but eventually my body got used to the loss of caffeine.
By the way folks I did say “after my AM POT”. 12 delicious cups that equate to four barrel size mugs - speaking of coffee mugs – that’s a whole other post – how important is the “right mug” for your coffee? My sister and I crack up at people’s love of their mugs – my dad (a chemist by profession) will tell you you need a totally clear mug to keep the coffee hot. It also can’t have writing on it cause that diffuses the heat somehow too. My dad has driven my mom crazy because he has used the same old scratched mug for over 10 years – she is dying to throw it out. Us kids have even given dad new all glass mugs to upgrade and update the old favorite – to no avail. He will not part with his beloved mug. Me – as I mentioned I love big, fat mugs that hold a lot of coffee – I don’t like to keep getting up to refill!
So, I digress – back to the giving up coffee journey – there is a point here I promise. I am an early riser. Been that way since a little girl but the truth is without caffeine I am an even earlier riser!! It never ceases to amaze me. Have you allowed your body to dictate its own natural rhythms? You might be as surprised as I am each time I realize I actually have more energy without caffeine and if not, my body let’s me know it’s usually exercise or rest that it wants NOT CAFFEINE. Have you had a similar experience? Would you like support as you try and learn your bodies real rhythm? Feel free to comment and let me know. I may be asleep when you respond but I will be resting comfortably knowing I am honoring my body and my wallet!!
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Comments
Giving up caffeine is brave! I think that so many of us BELIEVE we won\’t have the energy we need without our coffee, we are afraid to try. I believe you! I hope to have the willingness and courage someday to try this myself.
Random thought: caffeine violates the i before e rule. How annoying!
You’re doing great and I’m with you all the way.
Much like you I began with a cup or two in the morning and then I eventually needed more and more to function, especially at work.
I grew up in the 60’s with “diet pills” and although, thank You God, I don’t use them anymore my body still misses that high, false energy feeling and caffeine always filled the bill.
My body reacts to excessive caffeine as it does to any other drug I ingest which is to say it eventually brings me to my knees. Shaky hands,fast talking, nervousness and a fluttering irregular heartbeat at times are the telltale signs of excessive caffeine for me.
It’s been 11 days since by God’s Grace I made the decision to listen to my body regarding caffeine intake although I didn’t get the memo about weaning off of it so I went cold turkey. The first two days were bearable and then it hit me. No headaches, but extreme tiredness. This only lasted a few days and then it was everything you wrote in your blog….easier, earlier wake-ups, more energy, motivation to walk on the treadmill and increased focus at work. A true miracle…The downside..anger, resentment, jealousy and self-rightous judgment are popping up and I know I’ve got to continue working on those issues.
I have been going the decaf route and that may have to stop eventually but for now one thing at a time one day at a time.
Congratualtions Shelley! I myself am down to a four cup pot in AM which is about 2 mugs worth and it is now “half caffe”. Rest of day I am caffeine free! Yahoo! I gave myself til this Friday to surrender the final JOLT! We’ll see how it goes. I must admit the caffeine still calls me throughout the day when I feel like my energy is waning..God forbid I take a break, rest…loser my head says to that so there’s still more work to be done. Thanks for traveling this journey with me. You are a brave warrior! This is not easy!
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