Cantr II Discussion Forum

I'm a coffee drinker and I guess I have fallen addicted of coffee. It is because yesterday when I didn't get coffee in the morning I started feeling lazy and my body started aching. What should I do? Should I stop drinking coffee for more days?

Just a reflection, might be useful.

I used to be a heavy coffee drinker. A large cup at home in the morning, then at the office I constantly had a cup at my desk and refilled it whenever it became empty. I drank 10-12 cups per day easily.

Then I was home with the flu for a week, and didn't drink coffee at all. And the first morning back at work (was late, so didn't make coffee at home) I'm standing by the machine with the cup in my hand and thought "What the hell...? I haven't had a cup for a week and I was "fine", why should I?". So I took some hot water and a teabag instead. Now I only drink coffee after better dinners, or with a scotch/rum/brandy/cognac and a nice cigar.

I should probably mention that I currently drink 8-10 large cups of tea per day though.

I kicked the caffeine habit once, takes about two weeks to feel free.

Hey EchoMan, it's so good to see your detailed reply. It seems you didn't get into caffeine habit that badly as I do. Everyone can't be as lucky as you. I feel very weak when I don't drink coffee. Perhaps, the reason why I drink coffee this much is because I once worked as a coffee dealer in Indonesia. Since then only I got addicted to coffee

There is more caffeine in tea than in coffee...

Sunni Daez wrote:There is more caffeine in tea than in coffee...

Not really. About half as much, but considering Echo's habbits that's still quite a substantial quantity


Coffee (caffeine) is a booster for the body. The problem is, it doesn't actually add something. Say, for example, you don't drink any caffeine ever at all. That will result in energy-level 5. When you drink coffee it may go up to 6 the first time, and the second, but it gradually decreases. Say you've eben drinking it for a year now, and it's been a standard 2 cups each morning. Your standard energy level will have declined a bit (maybe to 4 or 4,5) and will only move up to your former standard of 5... With the black gold.

Get rid of wheat products and caffeine. Replace wheat products with sweet potatoes and other vegetables and meats and see how long it takes you to bounce back.

Real energy comes from protein (except gluten and glyedin I think), not carbohydrates. Caffeine just blocks your sleep receptors.

If you are going to cut coffee consumption, you have to cut it slowly to avoid headaches. Try reducing intake by 1/2 cup every 3 days.

I used to be a real Diet Coke addict (I still drink things like Diet Coke, Diet Coke decaff and Coke Zero, just not anywhere near as much as I used to). I could buy up to 20 cans on Saturday, stay up all night drinking Diet Coke and spend all Sunday doing so as well.

I now drink more coffee than I used to, mainly in the morning when I'm at work, although I also drink various types of tea (black, green, camomile, peppermint etc). As a slow metaboliser of caffiene, I usually stop drinking hot caffienated drinks before 4pm, cold caffienated drinks before 7pm and I can usually eat food with caffiene in it at any time.

As for attempting to cut out caffiene, I tried going without it completely a few months ago. I ended up with the typical withdrawal symptoms and had to start drinking it again as my body just couldn't cope. My current intake of caffiene is usually something like 2-3 cups of coffee at work, 2-5 cups of tea (various kinds) most days and usually 1-2 cans of diet Coke/Coke Zero at work. At home I can often still drink a lot of Coke Zero and Diet Coke decaff, and I'm trying to cut down on both.

If you're going to cut down on caffiene, the process needs to be, in my opinion, slow and steady. It's a powerful drug that is used by the vast majority of adults worldwide, and I think society as a whole needs to look at caffiene intake in the same way we look at alcohol intake - it's fine in moderation (as most things are), but too much of it is bad for you.

However, I think green tea is one caffeinated drink that should be drunk more due to health benefits both known and alleged.

Sunni Daez wrote:There is more caffeine in tea than in coffee...

There are varying levels of caffeine depending on the type of tea. Green tea has no caffeine at all, while some black variants has lots of it.

We have regular coffee times in the office here (when coffee is brewed & available for free and people congregate for a chat / some downtime. We can of course just buy it any other time)

My familiarity with it got to the point that I would get a headache about 15 minutes after 'coffee time' if I wasn't at work.

I still drink a lot of coffee. I much prefer Espresso to anything else. I limit myself to no more than three double Espressos a day, usually just one or two.

It's much easier just to drink less than to stop. Just keep an eye on how much you are drinking and make sure you have a bottle of water you keep filled near you throughout the day if possible rather than using hot drinks to hydrate.

My partner drinks about 10 cups of tea a day though.

Re: Tea being higher in caffiene. It is by weight of tea leaf to un-brewed coffee. However the way they brew varies significantly and the amount of cafeine that is extracted does too. A cup of tea contains about 1/3 the caffeine of a cup of filter coffee.

When I was in graduate school I drank coffee about 20 hours a day until I was quite exhausted and sick. Eventually, I tapered off and went through withdrawal three times before it took. I had incapacitating headaches (basically migraines) for a week each time. I couldn't stand to read, use the computer, watch TV, listen to music or interact with anyone.

I still would have coffee sometimes, though, so I had to make a rule that I could never have coffee two days in a row then only every third day, etc. Also, I drank water-processed decaf whenever possible until, eventually, the craving diminished.

Now I drink one 16 oz cup of Tazo's Zen tea (green tea with lemongrass and peppermint) in the morning, which I like just as much as coffee. Sunday is my 'coffee day' when I have it with breakfast instead of the tea.

Instructions for surviving coffee withdrawal: Don't expect to be able to function. Do it while on vacation if you can. Go to bed, pull the duvet up over your head and whimper until you feel better.

Well, one thing I have learned from life so far, that excess of ANYTHING is bad. Whether it is coffee, cigarette, or chicken soup . You must not do excessive exercise also because it may damage your muscles permanently. Gosh, I learned it so late, I had to go to painful caffeine withdrawal symptoms!

I started to drink coffee when I was 8. First just in the weekends, a big cup of milk with a bit of coffee; because I wanted to be like the "big people" and in my family there always was some kind of "adoration" for the coffee.
So I remember the smell of the italian coffee maker at the morning in the weekends and now it's one of those stimuli that makes me wake up with a smile.

Of course, what started as just some coffee in the weekends, became into a couple of coffees per day when I was 14 (and four-five at the university). Of course I'm an addict! I -need- at least one coffee at the morning if I don't want to suffer an HORRIBLE headache all the day (even meds are useless) But I'm a happy addict! I love the coffee and I don't want to stop drink it.

But a couple of years ago, I had to make a very strict sports diet, no sugar (even from fruit), no carbos, no coffee. The worst, the first two weeks (because the headaches mainly), but after that I was full of energy.

So, if you want to get rid of caffeine adiction, my tip (as Snickie said) is: a breakfast full of protein, without carbos (they would put you to sleep again) or fats. Some egg whites, some turkey/chicken and vegetables if you can.
In a couple of weeks you will have no headaches (I don't know if your addiction makes you have headaches) and in a month you will be full of energy.
But don't expect to have a good mood the first month.

I got 99 problems but a caffeine addiction ain't one. xD