Having trouble cutting back on my best friend......COFFEE!!! Any suggestions?

Hey all,

I don't do drugs, don't smoke, rarely drink.......but I do down coffee likes its going out of fashion, so I'm finding it reeeaallllyyyy hard to give it up since I've been PG.
I've tried decaf, but it's not the same and my brain knows it! I've also bought myself some nice hot chocolate but again... not the same:shakehead: . Normally I'd roll out of bed and make a coffee, make another before I head off to work, another at MT time, maybe one when I go home for lunch...than another one or two mid afternoon at work. When I meet friends we meet for a coffee.

Besides the fact that my bladder can't handle that much coffee now:p my mind keeps screaming at me for coffee....all the time 'sigh'

I wish I had the magic answer for you, but I don't :( I was only ever a 1 a day coffee person, got pregnant, and seriously craved it my whole pregnancy, and still do now - I could drink it all day long and still want more! I don't though, and just had to use control. And I got used to decaf too ;)

first of all plan to cut down, how many coffees a day are you willing to have? cause from my calculations you are having 5+ coffees a day?

some substitutes, say if you substitute every 2nd coffee with one of these options but different one each time...
Dandeline tea, make it just like coffee but you might have to adjust the sugar as it seems pretty sweet.
Flavoured teas... peppermint is great for digestion.
Something like Horlicks/ovaltine/caramel-hotchoc, mint-hotchoc just to mix it up a bit.

Try them a couple of times before deciding it's not for you so that you can acquire the taste cause your tastebuds and body is use to coffee.


Goodluck

On my phone so I can't see how far along you are but if it's any consolation, my obs told me I could drink it again in the 3rd tri... Only one a day though!

Can you just go cold turkey - cut it out completely???

Good luck!!!

In both my pregnancies I have totally gone off coffee at around 6 weeks (morning sickness and I just found the taste and smell too strong). Perhaps you may also find it less appealing as you progress? Initially though, I loved my coffee. What has helped me is thinking "if my new born baby was lying next to me now, would I be giving them a flat white?". That thought usually deters me during my moments of weakness. It is hard and I wish you strength - it is only 9 months of perseverance and I think it is worth it. Having said that, one a day is just fine :)

I feel your pain! Coffee is my one vice in life. It is so so so so so so so incredibly hard.

In the first tri, I just went cold turkey. Decaf or nothing, and decaf is so fricken awful that I would have preferred to rmove my tastebuds with sandpaper.
In the second tri, I went back to it, one every 48 hours at most, and I had the absolute best coffee I could find to make it truly worthwhile. It was blissful.
In the third tri, I thought I'd have a go at one a day, but again, only really good stuff IF the opportunity came about. Just this week though, I've found that it really affects my sleep, so coffee is gone again :(

In between, I swore like a wharfie at my DH every time he had one. So he started having his elsewhere - and that was the key. Avoid situations where you would normally have a coffee. So if you're meeting friends, try and meet them for a walk, or an icy pole or something. Pretend for a while that coffee doesn't even exist. See if that helps.

I'm here for you, mate. It's the hardest thing in the world.Edit: OK, maybe that's not true. I'm sure giving up heroin is harder. But I really really love coffee.

Many years ago we were told to cut down the amount of coffee we drank not give it up.

If it's to hard, try and cut out a cup every few days so it's not such a shock to the system. I'm not a fan of decaf as there are alot of things added to change it. Have you tried iced tea, I like the peach & raspberry ones.

Ever since i had DD2, over 20 years ago, I cannot drink strong coffee as it makes me feek sick.

i found those lipton chai latte things that come in little packets worked for me, coz even tho they're not coffee they're still hot, sweet and milky so it was still satisfying.

carry a water bottle with you EVERYWHERE! you'll find that you'll drink from it just coz it's in your hand. thats how i quit smoking a couple of years ago and started drinking at least 3L of water a day, and i'm so so so much healthier for it today. Becuase your full of water, you wont want your coffee so much.

I found a good way to cut down when you're making instant is half regular half decaf...get used to the lesser amount and then gradually increase the amount of decaf vs "leaded"...over a period of several weeks you can get down to quite a small amount.

HTH

I have gone off hot coffee but I drnk a glass of Ice break (iced coffee) evey morning - its the only think that makes me feel ok to start the day (after my morning spew session!) my OB said one or 2 coffees a day is fine - If I have a hot coffee I will only have decaffe - it takes a while to change but now I cant drink "leaded" coffee any more - I also drink decaffe tea as well... you get used to it pretty fast.
Maccona decaffe is awesome!

I'm still having one a day. I too struggled, but manage ok with one. So no tips here, sorry!

I went back to good old Milo when I was pg. Nothing can really compare to a good coffee though :(

I love coffee and tea but thankfully when I'm UTD I can't stand drinking anything hot. It is weird, it makes me want to vomit even thinking about it when I'm pregnant.

Perhaps try cutting back one a day over the space of a few weeks.

oh my poor lissy, I feel your pain!!

while we were TTC, the final thing I tried before we succeeded in getting UTD was to cut back my coffee ... I normally have between 7 and 12 coffees per day, and I'd cut down to 3 (with a lot of will power) when we started TTC, but after appointments with Drs etc when we weren't getting pg, they told me to get down to just 1 little lost and lonely coffee per day.

My best friend and I missed each other something fierce, but when I got pg I first knew I was UTD when the very thought of coffee (hearing the espresso machine, seeing an advertisement for Vittoria, *anything*) made me spew like Vesuvias ...

Missing coffee was a non issue until my m/s calmed down (circa 33 weeks pg!) and then I went back to missing coffee something rotten, as I was only allowed have 1 cup of "proper coffee" or 2 cups of instant per day ...

I tried about 12 different types of decaf until I found one which I think tastes like real coffee (and a darn bit better than some brands!) and now (as I'm still b/f) I have one real coffee mid morning (when I'm awake enough to appreciate it properly) and I have decaf the rest of the day.

It's not the same, but it's totally fine, and I'm actually used to it and enjoy it :D

It's all about trying until you find a brand you like. I've been able to find fair trade decaf in both instant and plunger varieties which is actually quite nice.

I found however that tea, chai, hot choc etc all didn't hit the spot at all for me, because I have my coffee strong and black.

I agree with little_mrs' comment about upping water intake - and if plain water makes you feel sloshed, I found a glass of mineral water with a splash of lime or cranberry juice was easier to drink ... and because it wasn't "competing" with my coffee obsession, it was also better than trying to have other hot drinks.

Good luck!!

I was only drinking 2 cafe coffees a day whilst TTC. I didn't think I was going to be able to give it up as I loved the taste, the break it gave me and the extra burst of energy whilst doing mundane tasks. I'm not sure that there is any easy answer to giving it up. I went to hot chocolates, although it never really hit the spot it was a good habit replacement and gave me a cup to hold when I was craving coffee. I also ate a little snack, sometimes something sweet. I had headaches for about 3 days when I went cold turkey. After that the headaches went away. I still think about coffee, particularly when I want a break at home or when I read a book.

yeh coffee is a hard one. i used to drink quite a few coffee's a day as well, then when i was pg with DS1 i cut down to 1 or 2. with DD after a few weeks of being pregnant, i couldn't stomach it at all for the rest of the pregnancy. with this one, i'm managing one, sometimes 2 a day.

some of the idea's the other posters have said are good, like substituting half coffee half decaf. drinking more water is a good idea. and then maybe every 2nd or 3rd craving, have a herbal tea like chamomile or something.

it is hard, but i think the medical recommendations are no more than 3 coffees a day when you're pregnant. so if you could manage to cut just a few of your cups out that will make a difference. all the best! :p

An apple. Sounds strange, but some say it does the same job as caffeine. Maybe have a decaf and then an apple or vise versa.. youll still get the taste for it and also the effects.

hmm seems i missed the coffee is a no-no memo! lmao, given im onto my third bub you'd think this is something i would have heard!!
i still drink coffee like i always have, by the sounds of things this might not be good! i have about 4 coffees a day if i dont go visiting! u must be getting headaches? i always get headaches if i dont have my first coffee for the day until later

I never stopped drinking it but made sure I only had one good real coffee a day. First thing in the morning I swapped to tea and then had my coffee when I got to work. Morning tea I would do a Green tea with Jasmine and then in the afternoon a hot chocolate. I hate decaf but I like the idea of half normal/half decaf to get used to the idea if you are finding cutting down difficult.

As others have mentioned at around 6 weeks you might find that you lose the taste for coffee anyway.

Hi Ladies

Thanks for all the support & ideas. I've gone the hard road so far and gone cold turkey as I think I would talk myslef into having more than just one coffee.
So I've been having moccona decaf & some hot chocolate most days, and I have to say after having the hot chocolate..........the decaf keeps looking better and better :rofl:

Life is good - thanks for that its a good point and one that I've remembered every time I think about it.

Well a friend that I normally have a coffee with has just started TTC again and is finding it hard to cut back on her coffee too, so we have been meeting for a walk and now a Moccona Decaf :)

or start up a group ... caffination ananomous ...

the caffinations unite ...

something ...

thinking too hard ... need more coffee ... excuse me :hide:

Hehe I've come in late and what i was going to say has already been said :)

Moccona decaf is by FAR the nicest decaf coffee, glad you've found it :P

I was going to suggest getting some of that and your regular instant, getting a small jar (like a little vegemite one) and mixing the two together with progressively more decaf in each one.

Also it is easier to get decaf in grinds than in instant. I gave up coffee too, but I really like the taste so ... decaf it is. And it sucks when our local supermarket has half an aisle for coffee but only two brands of decaf, and those are NEVER, ever EVER on special :angry:

bahahahaha peanutter you crack me up :rofl: :rofl:

I broke my coffee ban today under exceptional circumstances though... I had a blind fool of a lady come inches away from collecting me on a roundabout on my way back to work. She just stopped and then kept driving she ended up right beside me as I took the turn. I was shaking when I got back to work so had a coffee to calm myself and stew over 'ancient' drivers who can barely see over their own bloomin steering wheels :angry:

So far the Moccona hasn't been too bad, RumpledElf I hear ya, not much choice when it comes to Decaf on the shelves, very annoying!

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