Caffeine used to be my best friend. Our close relationship started when I was in college working the early morning shift at a drive-thru espresso stand. Not only did I have to get up at 5 AM to get to work, usually after a late night of hanging with friends or studying, I also got all the coffee I wanted for FREE! It’s like locking a sugar addict in a candy store.
After many years of addiction, my habit got up to 2-3 cups of coffee a day plus an additional soda or two during meals. When my body finally broke down and said “enough already” I was in bad shape – exhausted every morning, headaches every afternoon, and no real energy to speak of. I could barely make it through a day at work, let alone really go after my goals and dreams to build a career I truly felt passionate about.
Kicking the caffeine habit was one of the hardest things I ever did, but I am so much better of now. My energy levels are much more balanced and my body bounces back from injury and illness faster than before. I couldn’t do the work I do now if I was still a caffeine addict. Focusing on true growth requires a high level of natural energy that caffeine just doesn’t support.
There are many ways to get off caffeine. One of my favorite products is an herbal non-caffeinated beverage called Teeccino. Made from natural ingredients like carob, organic roasted barley, chicory root, organic dates, almonds, organic chicory, and organic figs this delicious beverage looks, smells and offers a great roasted taste like coffee without the negative effects. http://www.teeccino.com
Want to try some Teeccino? Write a comment about your personal caffeine experiences here on my blog, and you could win a fantastic sample pack of Teeccino’s most popular flavors!
Caffeine is so very addictive. I moved from regular soda to diet to cut out the sugar, and the regular soda I didn’t drink very often, but now I’m on diet it’s become like water to me. I drink it constantly. I’ve been trying to give it up, and I can for about a week, but then I’m on it again. It’s ridiculous.
I would love to see a resource for those of us who don’t drink coffee, but rely on soda for caffeine and who are looking to cut back or cut it out entirely.
I did not pick up the coffee habit until I left a career in Massage Therapy and took a job in radio 9 years ago. The coffee was free, I was working early and late hours, and loving coffee icecream made drinking hot “coffee icecream” an easy transition. Now I have moved on to cafe mochas. The combination coffee, chocolate and hot milk are a daily emotional and physical comfort while living/working in an corporate industrial machine. How do I get unhooked?
I am incredibly sensitive to caffeine, but, out of habit, I drink it. I managed to stop drinking it for awhile, but then my brother insisted on making coffee each morning and I started the habit again. It would be so wonderful to switch his non-eco friendly Folgers for something like Teeccino!
I have heard of and am really interested in trying Teecino. But you mention “many” ways to get off cafeeine. Perhaps you can suggest some, especially when you live with a caffeine addict husband who insists on making a large “share” pot every morning to keep you on the habit.
Thanks!
Boy, can I relate! Every morning the cafe downstairs sees me for my daily Grande Skinny Vanilla Latte (seems like a dichotomy of terms, doesn’t it?!?) Halfway through the day, a cup of black tea carries me along, and I often have another cup of tea (to settle my stomach, of course!) during the evening. I know I need to do it, but geez, it’s hard — HELP!
Tired of IBS and gastric reflux, I cut out all the caffeinated beverages in my life. I replaced them all with water and I feel great!
This stuff is great! You did a talk a few years ago at my grad school and mentioned it, so I gave it a try. It’s delish and gives you a great dose of inulin!
I use caffeine entirely too much–and made myself very sick last week with an energy drink. I’ve never heard of Teeccino before, but am interested in it!
I’m a caffeine addict who drinks coffee practically every day while I babysit two toddlers. While it gives me the energy I need, I feel it often makes me irritable to the children, which is something I hate to be towards them. Teeccino might be just the right alternative for me.
Years ago I bit the bullet and detoxed from caffeine cold turkey – I think the headache like no other lasted about 3 days – it was AWFUL – but I did it, maybe not wisely, but the deed was done…..
Stayed off caffeine for about 3 months and felt better – level, on an even keel.
I don’t recall the catalyst (it’s been years already) and whatever prompted me to return to drinking massive amounts of coffee daily, but would love to reclaim that level feeling again – although memories of the dreadful headache concern me.
Thanks for suggesting an alternative (and another great website!) – I may try it….
I have gone off and on again with coffee and tea. I would be most interested in trying out this product with my husband, who always seems to slip into the habit of increasing his coffee intake until like any drug, he decides he needs to cut back again.
Well, I’d like to cut coffee out, but I am also wondering what decaf will do to my body? Is that a smart alternative? Or should I just go without?
When I was working for a daily newspaper, if I didn’t have two or three cups of coffee before noon, it was a bad day. The caffeine helped me push through long nights and a stressful workplace. I’ve weaned myself way back since leaving that job, but still get bad headaches if I don’t have something with caffeine in it by 3 p.m. each day.
I’ve never been a coffee lover, but soda has been a dear friend for years (about 20 years to be exact)! I actually got to the point that drinking caffeine before bed had no noticable affect on me because my body was so use to having it…all day, everyday. I went cold turkey off of soft drinks in March. Headaches for a day or two were unreal, but totally worth it. I dropped about ten pounds almost immediately. I’m still working on a bit of baby weight, but I feel so much healthier! My energy is better and my mind clearer.
I drink coffee every day and am noticably different mood-wise when I haven’t had any. I try to limit myself to a cup a day, but often have two, and these aren’t you’re typical cup-size cups, but travel-mug type cups. I’ve cut back before, but always end up taking it up again.
Caffeine withdrawal is really unpleasant and can screw up your life for a while. Although I haven’t had sodas in more than a decade, I used to drink a lot of coffee and this worked well for me: I compared the caffeine levels of coffee and green tea, and figured out how much tea to drink daily until I eventually tapered off over a few weeks.
I don’t feel like I “need” caffeine anymore, although I will still have a cup of coffee now and then if I feel like it. In the morning I make a cuppa tea, and it doesn’t seem to matter whether it’s caffeinated or not.
I read Alex’s book two years ago and put all the principles to work and felt better than I ever had in my life. While a stressful time in my life has followed I have been able to maintain a caffiene free life and am working towards getting back to where I was.
I’m a medical student. Coffee is a big part of medical training culture. I find it gives me some energy if I drink it occasionally and can rest later in the day. But when occasional use morphs into daily consumption it leaves me feeling chronically exhausted. I’d love to try the Teeccino as a way to break the caffeine habit without breaking my delicious hot beverage habit.
I’m not too big into coffee – I drank it a few times out of desperation at work because I really needed an energy kick. Cappucinos, lattes, etc. are great but I only have them once in a while and it doesn’t bug me when I go without. My big weakness is soda – it’s a combination of the high fructose corn syrup and caffeine that does it for me, gives me the energy burst I think I need. Usually I can have 3-4 a day. I can go without it for about a week if I’m really focused and determined (I detox once or twice a year and can do it then, but what partly helps is the knowledge that I only have to make it a week, then I “can” drink it again). I’m so emotionally attached to drinking it that it’s very difficult to stop long-term.
I use to be an addict to caffeine. I loved it as I work for a bakery where I also can drink all the free coffees and espressos I want. My weakness were the vanilla or caramel lattes with extra caramel. I had to give up caffeine because I would feel my heart beat irregularly. I would drink up to 6 cups a day. Lattes do not count as it is a drink and not food I use to think. I would sit there feeling crashed and feeling how my heart was beating out of order. SCARY!!!!!!!
I grew concern about my heart. I replaced the lattes and cappuccinos with healthy foods. I drank decaffeinated teas. I would eat more fruits and vegetables. Thank god now I am free from that bad cycle. Coffee still smells good at times, but most of the time it smells really bad to me. I see how my coworkers struggle with their addiction to the caffeine. They drink more and more coffee drinks to keep themselves awake.
I am energized with my fruits and vegetables. Plus I discovered lemon with mineral water and that is my drink for now. I add some fresh fruits. They pick up on the carbonated water and its like biting into a carbonated fruit. Sooooo good.
There is one thing I do miss. Coffee crumb cake. Hahahahaha
I went vegan 2 years ago with great success, but caffeine…well, I’ve just never been able to kick that nasty habit! I recently realized that as a student, I’m literally mocha-ing away any savings I could be putting away, to the tune of $4+ a day on super-limited income. I’m going to try out the Teeccino!
Thanks Alex!
As a chef for 15 years,coffee in all it’s wonderful tasting forms, became my life blood. The long hours, the harsh work environment, the hours of “playing” after working… it all set the stage for needing the cafein push. And I loved the way it tasted.
In one restaurant, we had water pitchers filled with coffee on the line as we worked. The waiters knew to replenish the coffee pitchers all night. We drank directly from those pitchers, never bothering with cups.
Open the restaurant… the morning waiter knew to have a double espresso/cappuccino sent down to the kitchen as soon as he arrived lest he incur the rath of the uncafienated chef.
I started drinking coffee in high school. I stopped drinking coffee about six months ago. About 33 years later. I knew that the cafein roller coaster was part of my life but it wasn’t until one of my many conversations with Alex about my health that it finally sunk in.
Of course she recommended that I quite coffee, my cafein fix. I had tried other coffee substitutes in the past, but nothing had the richness and depth of coffee. Postom was OK, but not close enough.
When Alex recommended Teechino, I was sceptical. But now, it’s all I drink and I am cafein free! It is a very close substitute to coffee in that it has dimension. So I have the feeling of drinking coffee without the rollercoaster! The flavors are very good and the Original and Java are very close to coffee in terms of flavor.
Hell, I could be the poster boy for this product. ok… the poster 50 year old.
I have been getting hyped and then crashing for years. I love the flavor and concept of coffee, and I feel like I’m constantly surrounded by it. Starbucks here and there and everywhere, and tiny privately owned novelty coffee shops in every town and city I visit. I love the smell of coffee and the great feeling I have when I first drink it…until I crash. I hate that I end up worse off than before I had my first cup. I’m ready to build a healthier life and Teeccino may just be my answer!
I love this product – it’s a real treat for those who need something like a cross between coffee and hot chocolate. Add a bit of soy creamer and it’s perfect! Caffeine can really wipe you out, and I’ve found that real moderation is key. Green tea is wonderful, and Teeccino can help when you need something comforting during the cold months.
I was a total iced coffee addict until Alex told me to mix 1/2 coffee with 1/2 Teeccino, then slowly reduce the amount of coffee. That worked for about 6 months, then I got right back into coffee. And it made no sense, since I don’t like the taste of coffee nearly as much as Hazelnut or Mint Chocolate Teeccino, or any herbal teas. I finally went without any coffee last January for the entire month. I lost a little weight even, and I felt fantastic. I did drink green and white tea, along with herbal tea and Teeccino. It was like a cloud lifted out of my brain. Then I slipped right back into it due to stress, and it was my ‘cheat drink’. But I believe it’s the addiction. I just got the email about this contest today and I will start the cut down again in the morning.
I wonder if diet soda with caffine has other addictive ingrediants in it? I have tried and tried to get off it. I have a 12 oz. can first thing in the morn or I get an all-day headache. I drink about 32 oz. during my work day and even have it again before bed (although I try to drink the caffine free at bed time). I thought it was the bubbles that refreshed me so, but that awful headache tells me otherwise. Help!! I want to get off it, I really do.
Thanks for your great web sites and awsome articles/blogs.
Krista
The fact that my fiancee sent me the link to this webpage tells me that my caffeine addiction has not gone without notice. I currently drink 5 or 6 large mugs of strong black coffee per day along with a litre or 2 of diet coke.
I can’t function without coffee and if I go more than 4 hours without a mug then I get an incredibly painful headache – which pushes me to have another mug. Caffeine, quite simply, rules my life – and I’m not happy about it.
I have quit caffeine many, many times, going through pretty painful headaches in the process. After a while I tell myself that it’s OK to have a single mug per day and then wind up right back where I started from.
I would like to quit for good but even writing about coffee is sparking a desire to pour another mug.
This is the addiction that I am truly afraid to try to break. How will I get through my day? Because it is not the caffeine alone, but the “break” having a cup of coffee gives. Maybe a coffee substitute would help. When I lived in POland I used to drink Kawa Inka sometimes, I wonder if Teecino is kind of like that?
I used to drink coffee non-stop throughout the day! It was almost a food group for me-lol…I eventually transitioned to decaf (it was the taste I loved most) but knew that was just as bad (some say even worse because of the chemical processing) so I gave that up as well. Let me tell you, not easy! I feel so much better without it but I do still miss the taste (a lot!)….Would love to win the sample pack, sounds great
So many familiar stories! I was once a total mess…caffeine, diet sodas, a fat vegetarian. Yes, you certainly can be an unhealthy, fat vegetarian! I’ve been a vegetarian for about 18 years, but about 5 years ago I decided to make some serious changes. I’m a work in progress, but I’ve maintained a 140 pound weight reduction (I never say ‘weight loss,’ because it sounds like the weight might find you again!) for several years now, and I feel so much better. A recent change in schedules (I am a morning show host) has me up before 4 a.m., and there have been days I wanted/needed coffee, after years of rarely drinking it. Tulsi tea helps, and I do drink a lot of water, and I intend to rid myself of any remaining ‘coffee desire.’ I simply don’t like being addicted to anything…best wishes to you all.
I love coffee! Or do I love the caffeine? I have gone on and off the coffee for about 7 years now, and really I feel the best off, but the coffee is sneaky. I will have a cappuccino out at breakfast as a “treat”, and the next thing you know I can’t function without a 16 oz americano each morning. Sounds like I love the caffeine.
My name is Alice and I am a coffee addict. I work two jobs and have an 18 month old. Coffee gets me through my day – I love it – it is like a friend.
I’m still hooked, maybe you guys can help me quit! I am not so bad as to where I have headaches when I don’t drink caffeine but I certainly feel sluggish and can’t function as well.
Working in an office is the worst. Everyone is making it all day and craves it and suddenly, you find yourself falling into the same habit to get through the afternoon. It doesnt help that you’re locked inside all day under flourescent lights either! You crave a break and the closest thing is the coffee machine! Yikes!
For years in high school and college, I drank large cups of coffee and ended up having debilitating panic attacks. No doctor told me about the caffeine-panic disorder connection. I lived on combination of tranquilizers and of course several cups of coffee and tea a day. I lost 14 years of my life in that hell from age 18 to 32. Only, two years ago, I looked up on the caffeine-panic disorder connection and am now free of it and I have no more anxiety, let alone panic attacks. I am also able to lead a drug-free life finally.
This product really interests me because I love the taste of coffee with some nice creamy vanilla soy milk. I also enjoy the energy boost (not so much the crash) I get from coffee. The problem is it makes my intestines extremely irritated and I look bloated in my lower abdomen. Also, when I crash, I get ravenously hungry! Caffeine is for the birds.