Caffeine Detox: Learn to Live Without Coffee

Gina M. Florio shares an article on Bustle.com about her experience of giving up coffee for two weeks. Learn about the impact of a caffeine detox on your health, and why you should try your own caffeine detox. Gina’s decision was inspired by a passage in Tiffany Cruikshank’s Meditate your Weight. 

I Gave Up Coffee For 2 Weeks & Here’s What Happened

Ever since graduate school, drinking coffee has been the only task I manage to accomplish every single day without fail. It’s what gets me going every morning, and it’s responsible for some of my fondest memories with my friends. So when I used to meet people who didn’t drink coffee, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for them. Like they were missing out on life in technicolor. Even though they seemed fine without it, I was convinced that without coffee I would be a tired, boring wreck who wasn’t able to accomplish anything of value.

Within the last few months, though, I’ve been forced to confront my one-cup-a-day coffee addiction. Like any big epiphany, it all started with some innocent Googling. Then I started reading a book called Meditate Your Weight, written by Tiffany Cruikshank, an internationally renowned health and wellness expert I trust. One of the first things she recommends giving up when you’re trying to live a healthy, balanced life is caffeine — particularly coffee. She writes, “Caffeine is the great pretender — it masks our true energy levels… Caffeine also excites the adrenals, the glands that regulate stress, which are already overused and overstimulated due to our hectic lifestyles.”

How does Coffee Impact Me?

I felt compelled for the first time to take a look at how coffee truly affects me. Here’s what I knew for sure: I can’t properly wake up in the morning until I’m caffeinated. I get a rush of energy from coffee.  But then, I feel like I’m on edge for a few hours after, and it leaves me feeling dehydrated. I also get the late afternoon crash from my coffee, which leaves me feeling so exhausted I can barely get anything useful done after 3 p.m. Finally, I’m a person who has struggled with anxiety for years, and I have to admit I get quite anxious after a cup of joe.

Clearly, none of these side effects are good, but maybe life without coffee was even worse. I was suddenly desperate to find out what would happen if I kicked my coffee habit.

Click here to read about Gloria’s journey through a week without coffee.