Me & Coffee Are Finished

‘Seriously? Do you not miss Starbucks? What about the Pumpkin Spice Latte!?’

Those are some of the reactions I get when I say ‘No thanks, I don’t drink coffee’. I used to drink coffee, too much coffee, and that is exactly why I gave it up. I think I probably used to drink at least 6 cups a day and it felt like unless I had my caffeine fix first thing in the morning, the day couldn’t even start. After changing my eating habits and learning about the effects certain foods and drinks have on your body, I started to think about my coffee consumption…surely this sending this much caffeine to your brain couldn’t possibly be good for you?

It’s not.

I spend a lot of time researching and reading so many contrasting articles and studies, each exploring the different pros and cons of drinking coffee. For someone who drinks one humble cup of coffee a day, I don’t envisage there being any serious harm coming your way. However, if you are a serial caffeine junkie like I was, you might want to put the coffee down and keep reading.

Here are 4 reasons why I have given up coffee;
1. It makes you moody! Energy from caffeine is only short term, so although you think your first cup of the day wakens you up and puts you in a good mood, this is only short term and once this wears off, you’re going to feel even worse. Caffeine can make you extremely irritable and even angry… not good!
2. An overdose on coffee seriously dehydrates you. If you drink between 3 – 5 cups a day, the chances are you are probably pretty dehydrated which can affect your mood and make you feel weak and lethargic
3. Coffee is highly acidic and this comes with some pretty bad issues for your digestive system. The high levels of acid within coffee is known to cause indigestion, bloating and stomach cramps
4. It makes you a stress head. Coffee triggers your nervous system and increases anxiety and your blood pressure. No thanks!

You might be addicted to coffee without even realizing it. Did you know it only takes 1 – 2 cups of coffee a day for 1 – 14 days for your brain to become addicted? I wish I did!

Learning all of this was enough for me to decided I wanted to give up coffee. I didn’t think it was possible to actually be addicted to coffee, until I quit. I bravely (and maybe naively) went cold turkey, and really, really struggled. The entire first week was the WORST, to the point that I felt like I should start exploring options for rehab. I had a number of nasty withdrawal symptoms including;

• Exhaustion
• Migraines
• Laziness
• Mood swings
• Serious lack of concentration
• Stomach cramps

Bu don’t stop reading yet, you will be pleased to know that after the first week I was almost clean, and things got surprisingly better. Here is what I noticed;

1. The first thing I noticed is that my sleeping pattern improved drastically. Instead of tossing and turning at bed time, a coffee free day had me out cold as soon as the lights went off… bliss!
2. Secondly, as I had also given up drinking milk around this time, my skin became almost flawless. Milk has a horrible reputation for causing bad skin, and if your drinking 2 – 3 lattes a day, you’re not doing yourself any favours. ( I will write about the rest of my reasons for giving up the white stuff shortly)
3. Also, I was amazed at how much money I was saving by not buying a coffee from popular coffee houses every morning
4. I NEVER suffer from indigestion or stomach cramps
5. Ironically have even more energy than I did before! I am no longer relying on a number of short term caffeine bursts to keep me feeling energetic
6. My mood has changed dramatically, especially in the morning. Instead of constant highs and low depending on my coffee intake, my mood is much more consistent and I am a lot less irritable

So, there are your answers, these are the reasons I don’t drink coffee. This is a lifestyle change I definitely don’t regret and would encourage everyone to at least try and give up coffee and see if they notice a difference. You don’t have to cut the caffeine all together, I’ve switched my 6 – 8 coffees a day to 1 – 2 cups of green tea. This provides me with a lot more nutrition with a much lower amount of caffeine.

What do you think? Are you a caffeine junkie? Do you think you could give up coffee? Let me know!

Jess x