So this article goes out to all my coffee lovers of the world. I have a question for you... Do you ever start to get a major headache in the middle of the day? And you really don't know what set it off? But weeks later when it's 3 in the afternoon and you're sitting down to your fifth cup of coffee for the day and you come to this self-realization that "I'm addicted." This really isn't a laughing matter guys. Even though it is funny to talk about with people that you can't breathe without coffee, there are a lot of negative factors that come with coffee addictions.
Why?
Why I chose to give up coffee is for reasons a lot of people wish they would give up coffee. I had a high school job at a coffee shop and volunteered at another. I drank at least three cups of caffeine at the age of 12. I don't know if that's too young for coffee but that's not the point. My freshman year of high school was the worst effect of coffee on me. I was so stressed with life and school and grades I drank coffee to stay awake late to do my homework and life was stressing me out. Literally, I drank it like water! Towards the end of my year, I got these massive migraines that took me out of classes for days. My acne was out of control and my body's metabolism slowed down and I kept gaining weight no matter how hard I worked. And I couldn't ever fully concentrate. Up until Christmas break of my sophomore year, I realized it was when I didn't coffee for about two hours that was when the headaches started. So over the three weeks break I decided to take that time to limit myself only to ONE cup of coffee when I woke up.
I had to constantly push myself harder and harder. The headaches only lasted a week as my body started getting into its new routine but that one week sucked! But throughout the week I could notice my acne starting to clear up. And the weeks following I began feeling that natural energy your body already has without the caffeine. I began to lose weight and feel better about myself. I was less self-conscious and felt like I could focus better on my studies. After about a month almost all my acne had finally cleared up and I had gone down a pant size! Almost instantly after Christmas break I was happier, I felt healthy and more awake and alive.
How.
How I gave up coffee was simple and cheap but not at all easy. Starting of that week where I didn't have classes or really anything I limited my self to one cup of coffee when I woke up and left it at that.
When the moments came where I would normally want to drink coffee whether that be for stress or just because it felt good I would remind myself of what my ultimate goal was, which at the beginning was to lose weight and inches.
I would also take those moments and drink water. Which for some reason I used not really enjoy drinking before. Or I would drink Gatorade since this is high in electrolytes it helped with the migraines and also tasted sweet.
During the first week though most of the time I couldn't get out of bed I tried to spend time outside with fresh air, which sometimes helped with the head aches.
On my up days I would do some work outs. I would start with about 10 min of cardio to get my heart rate up and if I still felt good I would try first a 20 min workout or if the head ache pursued I stretched. This helped me distract myself from coffee and caffeine and also helped my body fight off the wants for coffee and the head aches. Also working out helps your body create its own source of energy and strengths your heart and kick starts your brain.
Experts don't call caffeine a serious addiction like that of drugs and alcohol because the effects of withdrawal will not cause serious health problems and the effects only last a very minimal amount of time. But I'm sure ya'll have felt the negative attributes that come from not drinking enough coffee as your body is used to. But let me tell ya guys, those withdrawals are so worth it when after a period of time, you wake up and maybe have one cup of coffee in the morning just to chill out and you're good through out the day. Or if you're like me now after almost 8 months of not leaning on coffee at all... OK maybe once every two or three weeks because some days guys it just sounds really good, like rainy days... But I have found that after these withdrawals lessened and even now have gone away, I have never had so much energy in my day. My concentration is so much stronger, my grades are improving and my social life is always a blast.
And little to no more acne!!
Coffee is yummy and relaxing at times, but at other times when coffee is you're only way of staying awake those moments can have some real negative impacts. Kicking the habit isn't easy, it takes time and commitment. But guys, if you can make it through this article, I KNOW you can kick coffee in the butt! So go for it guys! Enjoy your morning coffee you're probably drinking as you were reading this, you deserve that ONE cup, then get out there and GO GET THE WORLD!