In November of 2022 my husband and I quit caffeine – all of it, including milk & dark chocolate 🍫.

Before I go any further I should probably explain to you that my daily fluid intake throughout most of my life consisted of hot coffee, iced coffee, Red bull, and sweet tea with little to no hydration in-between, with the exception of Gatorade.

Every morning began with 2-3 cups of hot coffee, then I’d switch to Red Bull for my day time drink. Anytime I had to leave my home, I stopped for an Iced Coffee as a “reward” for adulting. Anytime I ate out, I gulped down as much sweet tea as I could, bringing a to-go cup home with me. Trip to Panera? Super charged lemonade for there, Iced Caramel to go. Coffee ice cream, tiramisu desserts, coffee infused cheese. I could never have even caffeine, or so I thought.

The detox was miserable (and because of the extremely high levels of caffeine, probably dangerous). My head hurt so bad the first 3-4 days that I could barely get out of bed. I felt so uncomfortable and off balance. I was so grumpy. I missed the delicious smell of coffee brewing, filling up my entire home with the delicious aroma.

Then, slowly, I began noticing the changes in me. The first I noticed was how much energy I had. I would wake up, fully rested, clear-headed, ready to tackle the day immediately. I no longer had fatigue or grogginess or any sort of brain fog whatsoever. My energy lasted longer as well, no more mid day crash. I wake up with the energy of a small child which is really helpful when you have a ton of kids and a home & school to run.

The second thing I noticed was that my previously-diagnosed “anxiety disorder” completely disappeared. I was no longer living in literal fear. I was able to let little things go. I wasn’t completely overwhelmed by every aspect of life. I felt completely comfortable and content for the first time in my life.

When I drank caffeine I had so much anxiety there were times I mentally and physically couldn’t go into the grocery store because it was too overwhelming to me. I was having panic attacks constantly and living in paranoia. At the point of quitting in November 2022 my brain was SO overwhelmed at all times that a simple question was too much for me to handle. I’d either completely shut down unable to think or I’d have a meltdown over handling “too much.” It was horrible and absolutely not normal behavior even though social media has “normalized” it.

The third change I noticed was that I began sleeping deeply through the night again. Before I never felt like I was fully asleep. I’d immediately bounce out of bed with the slightest sound, which in an older, modest home you have a lot of unfortunately. I had believed it was a symptom of my PTSD and that I would always live with it, but as it turns out, it was actually my body being negatively affected by caffeine. Not getting any sleep was causing all kinds of other issues such as moodiness, acne, etc. Don’t get me wrong, because of my PTSD I do still have some sleeping issues, but I am experiencing less.

Getting sleep is SO important for your body and mental health and I am so grateful that my body has naturally healed by eliminating caffeine, allowing me to get proper sleep again. Sleep is something that I value very much now.

The fourth thing that I noticed was that my digestive system regulated on its own. Before quitting Caffeine, I dealt with a lot of stomach ulcers which I haven’t had any since. I don’t have nearly as many gastrointestinal issues. I’m eating more regularly- the Caffeine suppressed my appetite causing me to slip back into disordered eating, a lot of times going the entire day without consuming any food- living off the calories from the sugary beverages alone, which as a nursing mom isn’t good.

I did drank caffeine while nursing my children. I regret that a lot, knowing what I know now, however at the time I convinced myself that it was necessary to get through my days as a mom of many, especially the 3 under 3 days. Now I know that Caffeine gave me way less energy and way more stress trying to get through those days. It also cause my babies to be a lot more fussy & unable to sleep well- especially Moses.

This last winter we did, regretfully, introduce chocolate back into our lives. I’ll admit, the kids and I ate too much of it over the Christmas holiday. I noticed the kids behavior became very out of whack from that. They were fighting non-stop, way more emotional than normal, and not listening at all. Since limiting the chocolate again, the issues have gotten a lot better for the most part. I think sticking with the white chocolate is probably best for us, although I’m going to have a bit of a tough time re-giving up the chocolate chips in my ice cream again.

I have began drinking a lot more water. I like to drink water with lemon & cayenne pepper in the morning. I also enjoy a hot cup of caffeine-free tea on chilly mornings. Breakfast Essentials or other protein shakes have been a go to morning drink for me as well. I have been limiting my soda/pop intake for a long time already now, but I do occasionally drink a Sprite or Cream Soda when I’m craving one. I’ve replaced iced coffees with Smoothies or milkshakes. Definitely a lot more water though and my body feels so much better because of it.

Until next time ♡ Mama Morozov