5 Awesome Things That Happened When I Quit Coffee
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Almost two months ago, I decided to quit caffeine. To some, this might not seem like a big deal. But for all my jittery, six-cups-a-day friends out there, the idea of giving up that Venti double-shot cup of joy is about as pleasant as we are at 7 a.m.
I won’t lie, it wasn’t easy. Caffeine addiction is legit, and the withdrawal symptoms—including exhaustion, headaches, and the vague desire to yell at everyone who looked at me funny—caused me to cave in more than once.
But I am happy to announce that I am officially caffeine-free, and the results have been amazing.
Here are five awesome things that happened when I kicked my coffee habit:
1. I get real sleep.
It may sound totally obvious, but I didn’t realize how much damage coffee was actually doing to my sleep schedule.
It used to take me ages to fall asleep, because even though my body was exhausted my brain was still operating at hyper-speed. And after I finally fell asleep, I often had strange, vivid dreams or woke up several times during the night.
But those days are no more. Even though I still sleep the same number of hours per night, I am able to fall asleep almost instantly, and I wake up feeling more human than zombie.
2. I lost weight.
Yep, you heard me right. I dropped five pounds in three weeks by doing nothing other than drinking less coffee and more water. I have no idea if it was the decrease in sugar or simply the fact that I was hydrating properly, but the point is I lost five pounds. By. Doing. Nothing.
3. I haven’t had a headache since.
I used to get massive headaches every week or two, and sometimes they were so bad that I would have to skip class or work.
My doctor attributed them to stress, but it seems like caffeine was the real culprit. I got these same headaches more frequently in the first two weeks of quitting, but I haven’t had another one since.
4. I’m more relaxed.
You know that jittery feeling normal people get after one cup too many? That was me—all the time. I was crazy-eyed, restless, and talked faster than I could think. Now, I’m cool as a cucumber, and people can actually understand what I’m saying. Double win.
5. I have more energy.
It seems completely counterintuitive, but in the past month, I’ve had more energy than ever from normal stuff, like sleep, water and exercise. The best part? No 3 p.m. crash.
Bottom Line
We’ve all heard before that too much caffeine is bad, and it was affecting me more than I realized. Kicking the habit wasn’t easy, but with results are this good, it’s worth it.
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