Yesterday was day 1 of my How to Quit Caffeine challenge. I’ll totally admit, if it wasn’t for my upcoming dental surgery and the part about tea being a natural blood thinner, I would probably just keep on trucking along drinking my 20 cups of tea a day without blinking an eye.
But the way I see it, teeth are more important than tea so I better listen to the doctor’s orders.
Here is how the first day went:
Yesterday I woke up and immediately drank an 8 ounce glass of water {to try and fool myself}. Then while searching for deals for my Mornings with Mavis post, I downed 2 large cups of tea.
Around 9 am I made a strawberry and peach smoothie. I could feel a headache creeping up so I took 2 ibuprofen and then waited as long as I could before making more tea. But of course I could only hold off until around 10 am before I had another 2 cups of tea.
Basically the whole days was spent thinking about tea. At one point I even took a nap so I wouldn’t have to think about it. How weird is that? Even though I pretty much had a headache all day {not a major one though} and woke up with a headache this morning, I was able to plow through the day pretty well.
Here are the beverages I consumed yesterday:
Tea Count – 8 {and these cups hold about 14 ounces of liquid}
Water Count – 2 – {I need to drink more water!}
Smoothie Count – 1
Ibuprofen Count – 4 {I took 2 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon}
Overall Mood – Tired. Slightly Cranky. Thirsty. Thirsty. Thirsty.
Naps – 1
Here’s hoping today will be better. And who knows, maybe when I stop consuming so much caffeine, I’ll be able to sleep more than my usual 5-6 hours a night. That would be nice. 🙂
~Mavis
Ashley says
Ugh. I like to tell myself that my Diet Coke thing is a habit and I can quit caffeine anytime I want, but it’s such a lie. I cut down when I’m pregnant and the headaches are killer! I especially love waking up feeling like I’m hungover only to realize I just need a caffeine fix.
I’m sure once you get through a couple more days you’ll feel much better!
Brandie H. says
Have you tried hot water w/a slice of lemon and, if you want it a little sweet, honey? It suppose to be really good for you and being warm might be a good trick 🙂
DON says
HAVE YOU EVER HEARD THE WORD “DE-CAFFINATED” 😉
Kim says
That’s a lot of tea!
Susan says
Have you tried Rooibos (red tea)? It’s caffeine free and better tasting than green tea.
Kate says
Have you ever tried juicing? Green juice will give you a lot of energy. There are a lot of variations on the recipe, but the best part is that it’s a great way to use up all that kale you seem to like to grow 🙂
5-6 leaves of kale
1 fugi apple (fuji because it’s sweet)
1 lemon (i prefer the meyer myself)
2-3 stalks of celery
tasty options to add: ginger, carrots, red or yellow bell peppers, cucumber
Sabrina says
Aleve works so much better for me with headaches than ibuprofen
Cheryl says
Mavis, since I started following your blog I have come to believe you are a pretty amazing lady. I know you can kick this habit and I think Day 1 was pretty much successful. Keep going girl!
Kristin says
Instead of ibuprofren, go straight for the Excedrin. It has caffeine in it but absolutely helps with the headaches for me when I quit caffeine a couple times a year ;). I agree with Kate, the green smoothie first thing, helps too. Good luck girl!
Judy says
Mavis I am looking at your fluid intake..and thinking that you have cut your intake to half of what your body is use to. Dehydration is a big factor in headaches also fatigue, not just caffeine withdrawal. Try drinking gatorade or powerade to make up some of your fluids lost. It works wonders for headaches. Remember you were drinking 20 cups a day and your body is use to that, and now its only 10 cups. Bodies not going to like that. Good Luck . I know its not easy.
Susie in DeLand says
I agree with Judy ~ you probably need to drink more fluids. And I would make your tea weaker & weaker. I kicked both Diet Dr. Pepper (all soda, actually) and coffee at the first of the year. You’re so amazing & strong, I know you can do it. 🙂
cristinasorina says
Hi Mavis,
I happened to notice that ibuprofen was also on your list of things to cut out before surgery 🙁 I can completely relate to what you are going through.
Preppy Pink Crocodile says
What about approaching this differently. I think part of the problem is thinking water will be a good replacement for tea. I’ve given up caffeine in the past (and now I drink very very little) and for me the key was to replace it with something I enjoyed drinking. For me, that means flavor.
I did a post a while back on spa water recipes that lists tons of great options. I bet you have some of these ingredients at home already, too. It’s not tea. But a fun spa water is way more exciting to drink than plain water. Which might make you feel like drinking more. Which would really really help with both the headaches and cravings.
I hope this helps! Good luck!
http://www.preppypinkcrocodile.com/2011/07/spa-water-recipes.html
KK
Preppy Pink Crocodile says
Oh and I know this is the wrong post but peanut butter, in moderation, is fine for dogs. If you ever go into the fancy dog bakeries, that’s a key ingredient for their cute treats. When I use it, my Sadie comes running too. I just dab a little on my finger and place it in her dish for her. She loves it. She also LOVES unsweetened pumpkin puree (actually the vet recommended it- good fiber) and LOVE LOVE LOVES yogurt. She can be sleeping three rooms away and hear the lid of a yogurt being taken off and she will come running.
KK
Preppy Pink Crocodile says
Hey there- I just left you a comment that I thought (totally intended to be) nice. But I don’t see it. Do you only publish some comments? This seems to happen to my comments a lot. Sad sad face!
Anyway, I was suggesting you try to replace the tea with something other than water. For me, I need drinks with flavor to get my mind off the caffeine (usually Diet Coke in my case) cravings. Eons ago I wrote a blog post (this is not me trying to get readers- is that why it wasn’t published- I promise I trying to be kind and helpful) on spa waters. Lots of options listed. Just thought it might be helpful to you this week during your detox from tea. Recipes listed here: http://www.preppypinkcrocodile.com/2011/07/spa-water-recipes.html
Sending you warm wishes and lots of luck!
KK
Mavis Butterfield says
Hey Preppy, anytime there is a link in a comment it has to be manually approved. Sadly sometimes comments with links get tossed into the spam filter without me even seeing them though. I just walked in the door and spotted yours {and 13 others} so I just approved them. I’ve had problems with spam comments in the past so my spam filter is set pretty high. 🙂 No worries. And I just read your post. The Girl is in love with vitamin waters and I’m getting ready to do a post in them in fact. Delicious stuff!
Renee Einhauser says
Hey Mavis, over here in Germany we make our on syrup to add taste to water. This way the water actually has a taste and since we make it ourselves, we can determine how much sugar we want in the syrup. Plus you can dose the syrup in the water to your own taste. Maybe this way you can drink more water and won’t get too dehydrated.
Gruss, Renee
Susan Baker says
Never give up Mavis! You can DO TI! I too broke the habit of caffeine, and endured the headaches until the cravings were gone and it took a month. May I suggest two things: Amazon sells Pollen Bust and Tangy Tangerine powered formulas to add to water for a complete multi-vitamin, mineral complex drink which will help with the cravings and headaches. Plus Take 10MG of Melatonin nightly to help your body and get great sleep! Melatonin is anti-cancer, anti-aging and sleep inducing properties. Plus free radical suppressing benefits.
Veronica says
What about replacing your tea with herbal infusions (herbal teas that don’t have leaves from the tea plant in them)? Some options are camomile, raspberry leaf, blackberry, etc. I kicked the tea/caffeine habit when I was 14 and managed to make it through high school, college, and grad school just fine. Haven’t had a cup since then (14 years later). I’m sure you can do it!