Or, how to quit drinking coffee without making yourself miserable!

I have actually quit drinking coffee a few times, and this method is the one where I didn’t feel completely miserable. In the past, I would decide I was going to quit drinking coffee, and immediately go cold turkey. That resulted in either failure – I felt so crappy I just gave in and drank a cup – or complete misery for about 3 days. Think fatigue, brain fog, headaches.

What I highly recommend is weaning yourself off very slowly using the 33% per week method. Let’s say you drink 3 cups of coffee a day. On week one you go down to 2 cups. Week 2, 1 cup. Then from one cup, the next week you would drink 2/3 a cup of coffee, then 1/3 a cup the next week, then you quit completely. This process is very slow, but is a lot gentler on your body. I just quit this way and I maybe noticed I felt a little tired the first week. Easy enough, right?

As you wean off coffee, there are a few other tips that will make you feel comfortable:

• Replace your morning cup of coffee with a large glass of hot or lukewarm lemon water.
• Incorporate some maca root powder – which will give you energy naturally – into a smoothie or try this maca latte
• Consider taking Ashwagandha – an adaptogen. Adaptogens help your body respond to stress and “normalizes” your bodies processes (if you’re tired, they will provide energy, if you are anxious, they are calming). I take it as a supplement daily.
• Get as much sleep as possible – you might notice you are sleeping more – this is normal.
• Make hydration a priority. Drink a lot of water, infused water, herbal teas and coconut water.
• If you do feel headachy, applying peppermint essential oil to your temples can help.
• Add some Magnesium to your routine in the form of an Epsom salt bath, or using a Magnesium oil spray.

Ok, hopefully you will find this helpful in your journey to be caffeine free. Good luck!