u/Massive_Pomelo7506

When I was drinking coffee every day, I thought it was the oxygen to my work. I couldn't get anything done without it, wouldn't even consider it. I had these work sessions built around caffeine, and I used to brag I was done by 9am.

But it was all peaks and valleys. I'd be crushing it, and it wouldn't last, and then I'd be tired, go home and rest, and couldn't really produce for a while. The energy was intense, but a lot of it was just forcing decisions and some of these decisions were bad ones.

Off caffeine now, my focus is actually improving. I can stay with something for a longer stretch and be consistent. I'm slowly getting back my own natural energy, the kind of sustained energy I had as a kid. It's smoother. And ideas are coming to me more instead of me forcing for them.

Anyone else find that what felt like productivity on caffeine was really just intensity? 

150+ days off caffeine after using it for 25 years.

I always said I was drinking 500–600 mg a day, but that was just an estimate so I got curious and tried to figure out what the number actually was.

My afternoon cold brew alone had more caffeine than all the coffee I drank in the morning. I was also eating dark chocolate at night without really counting it.

Anyway, I found this chart interesting. Especially the serving size only being 8 oz which is tiny. Thinking I was more like 7-800 mg or more a day.

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AVERAGE CAFFEINE BY SOURCE

Approximate amounts. Varies by brand and preparation.

COFFEE

- Brewed, 8 oz: 95–180 mg

- Instant, 8 oz: 60–105 mg

- Espresso, 1 oz shot: 60–65 mg

- Cold brew, 8 oz: 100–200 mg (café servings and concentrates often much higher)

- Decaf coffee, 8 oz: 2–15 mg

- Decaf espresso, 1 shot: ~1–5 mg

TEA

- Black, 8 oz: 30–50 mg

- Green, 8 oz: 25–45 mg

- Oolong, 8 oz: 30–50 mg

- White, 8 oz: 15–40 mg

- Matcha, 1 tsp powder: 40–70 mg

- Yerba mate, 8 oz: ~30–50 mg

- Decaf tea, 8 oz: 0–5 mg

- Herbal (caffeine-free): 0 mg

SODA + ENERGY

- Coca-Cola, 12 oz: 34 mg

- Diet Coke, 12 oz: 46 mg

- Pepsi, 12 oz: 38 mg

- Mountain Dew, 12 oz: 54 mg

- Energy drinks: 80–300 mg per container

- Energy shots: 150–230 mg per bottle

- Caffeinated sparkling water: 30–70 mg

CHOCOLATE + FOODS

- Milk chocolate, 1 oz: ~7 mg

- Dark chocolate, 1 oz: ~15–25 mg

- Baking chocolate, 1 oz: 25–58 mg

- Cocoa powder, 1 tbsp: ~12 mg

- Chocolate milk, 8 oz: ~8 mg

- Hot cocoa, 8 oz: ~5 mg

- Brownie: ~10 mg

- Chocolate cake, 1 slice: 5–35 mg

- Chocolate-covered espresso beans: ~5–12 mg each

- White chocolate: ~0 mg

- Coffee ice cream / tiramisu: varies widely

SUPPLEMENTS + MEDS

- Caffeine pill: 100 or 200 mg

- Pre-workout: 150–350 mg per serving

- Excedrin Extra Strength: 65 mg/tablet (130 mg for 2)

- Caffeinated gum: 40–100 mg per piece

- Energy bars/candy: varies

Note: a cup here is 8 oz. Most drinks are 12–20 oz, so double or triple these. Decaf means lower, not zero.

Over the years I've quit a bunch of bad habits. Nicotine, gambling, porn. All of them played a role in wrecking my life and it was 100% obvious they had to go.

I never really considered caffeine to be something that could be wrecking my life too.

I've sat in anonymous meetings for other addictions, and the first thing they do is put up a pot of coffee. I still remember the bumbling sounds of a cheap coffee maker going while we prayed the Serenity Prayer to start the meeting. It's the one vice allowed in the room where you go to quit vices. Nobody counts it.

When I finally quit caffeine, it became obvious how big a role it had been playing. Every day, for years, jacking up my nervous system, making me seek more and more. Never satisfied, always chasing the next high. No woman was hot enough and no amount of money was large enough.

The past few months have been eye opening to say the least. As my nervous system calms down, there's a lot less of an urge to gamble or lust. My sugar intake is up, and I'm working on that. But I'm a little more content and at peace each day.

These days, instead of slamming coffee at 5 AM, I start the morning by praying. God first, not coffee.

150 days off caffeine after 25 years on 500-600mg a day. Sharing what took me two decades to figure out.

I thought anxiety was just my personality. I was hyper from the moment I woke up. I'd reach for coffee and my laptop before I was fully conscious. At work I'd sometimes have to stop in the bathroom just to take a breath and compose myself before walking out to treat a patient. I was never fully present with anyone. Quick to react in ways I'd regret. And I looked the part too, bloodshot eyes, bags, always running.

Then I quit caffeine and about half of it left with the drug.

Caffeine blocks adenosine and spikes cortisol and adrenaline. A few cups a day means running a stimulant through an already anxious nervous system every few hours and wondering why the baseline never drops. About 30 percent of people metabolize caffeine slowly, so even one morning cup can keep stress hormones elevated most of the day.

I'm not saying anyone's anxiety is fake or that quitting coffee cures anxiety disorders. Mine didn't fully disappear. But the volume turned down further than anything I'd tried in 25 years.

If you've dealt with anxiety for years and never tested life without caffeine, it might be worth a try.

Anyone else notice their anxiety change after cutting caffeine?

140 days off caffeine after 25 years on 500-600mg. Sharing what took me a decade to figure out.

I thought I was a bad sleeper. Woke up at 2am every morning for years. Tried melatonin, magnesium, blackout curtains, cold room, meditation, sound device. Nothing worked consistently.

Then I quit caffeine. My sleep started transforming around day 30. Caffeine has a 5-7 hour half-life. Your 4pm coffee is still measurably in your body at midnight. And "morning only" isn't as safe as people think. That 7am cup can still be affecting your deep sleep at 11pm, especially if you're a slow metabolizer. About 30 percent of people are.

Every sleep hygiene protocol assumes you're starting from a chemically neutral baseline. If you're not, none of it works.

Not telling anyone to quit caffeine. Just saying if you've tried everything for your sleep and nothing helps, quitting caffeine could really help.

Anyone here noticed sleep transform after cutting caffeine?

140 days off caffeine after 25 years. Been thinking about the voice that kept me drinking. The one that sounded like reason but was really the addiction talking.

My Devil whispers:

- The money you spend on coffee helps you make more money

- You're not addicted, you just like it

- Every business you built happened on caffeine

- I'll quit one of these days

- I'm a coffee person, it's who I am

- Life would be boring without it

- At least it's not alcohol

- I don't drink it for fun, I drink it because I have to

- Real addicts drink way more than me

- It's cheaper than an office

- Coffee has antioxidants, even doctors say so

Every one of them sounded reasonable at the time. Every one of them kept me drinking for 25 years.

What does yours whisper?

140 days off caffeine after 25 years on 500-600mg a day. Backed up since about week 3 and still not back to baseline. Turns out my body was outsourcing peristalsis for 25 years. Now the stimulus is gone and my gut hasn't compensated on its own. 

Tried apples/carrots, magnesium glycinate, extra water. Helped some but not fully. Anyone here dealt with this specifically after quitting a stimulant? Curious what actually worked.

140 days off caffeine after 25 years on 500-600mg. Following up on my creatine thread with another weird one. Nails and hair are growing way faster. Used to cut my nails every 2 weeks. Now it's weekly. Got a haircut two weeks ago and it already looks wild.

Guessing circulation or lower cortisol. Anyone else noticed this?

140 days+ off caffeine after 25 years on 500-600mg. Energy is mostly back but still get rough days.

Was in a nootropics thread yesterday and multiple people mentioned tyrosine as something that helped them after quitting caffeine. One person said it "kept them alive" without the crash. First time I'd heard of it.

Anyone here run it? Curious about dose, timing, and whether it actually helped or if it's more hype than substance.

I'm 100+ days off caffeine after 25 years on it. Energy and focus are mostly back at baseline. But on days I sleep poorly, I've been running creatine at 20g and the cognitive difference is real.

Standard maintenance is 3-5g. Most cognitive research uses 5-10g. I've noticed the 20g dose gives me a much sharper mental floor on 5-hour sleep nights.

Anyone else running higher doses for cognitive effect specifically? Curious what's worked for you and whether the timing matters (AM vs. split doses vs. pre-work).

100 days+ off caffeine after 25 years on 500-600mg. Everywhere I look people say quitting caffeine is great for gut health. Been the opposite for me. Actually pretty backed up since about day 20 and it hasn't let up.

One thing I noticed is my sugar intake went way up when I quit. Never really craved sweets when I was drinking coffee but now I'm eating high sugar foods almost every day and reaching for other stuff too. Probably not helping.

Anyone else deal with this? Wondering if I just need more fiber or if I need to cut the sugar back. Or both. Curious what worked for others.

100 days+ off caffeine after 25 years. Energy and focus are mostly back at baseline now, but on days where I sleep poorly, I've been using creatine and it actually helps.

Standard dose is 3 to 5g a day. I've found I need closer to 20g on rough days to really feel a difference. It's not a caffeine replacement but it makes the bad sleep days less brutal without putting caffeine back in my body.

Anyone else using creatine post-caffeine? Curious what dose worked for you and whether you noticed the cognitive piece specifically.

Has anyone noticed a dramatic increase in fingernail and hair growth after quitting caffeine? I used to cut mine every 2 weeks. Now it's weekly or I start slicing my PT clients during manual therapy. Also got a haircut two weeks ago and it's grown a ton already.

Question for the truly caffeine free people here. Is there an actual difference between one decaf a day and zero?

Swiss Water decaf is 2-5mg per cup. That seems like nothing but I keep seeing people in this sub treat decaf like it counts.

Has anyone gone from a daily decaf to truly zero and noticed anything change? Or is it just easier to commit to zero mentally?

My parents divorced when I was 14 and that year fell apart in ways I didn't really understand at the time. I loved baseball and at some point that year I couldn't even catch one anymore. I stopped talking to girls, stopped making friends, kind of just shut down. There was a lot going on at home that I felt like I was carrying around and probably shouldn't have been at that age.

Looking back, that's probably around the time I started drinking a lot more coffee too. Never connected the two until honestly the last few weeks. Coffee was always around growing up. Family gatherings, mornings before school, sitting around talking. It felt familiar when other stuff didn't. This is going to sound weird but I think coffee kind of became my friend for a while.

Anyone else realize their caffeine habit started during a rough chapter?