PREV
I haven’t had coffee in over a year and I’m breaking down all the benefits I’ve seen.
I’ve always had a love hate relationship with coffee. I remember being 10 years old choosing coffee ice cream over any other flavor because of how much I loved the taste. However, I’ve also been a very anxious person since I was a teenager and it took me a long time to realize how much coffee worsened my anxiety.
It’s funny how little we check in with our bodies as we grow older, busier and more stuck in our habits. I would wake up every single morning and drink an iced almond milk latte. It tasted great and of course I needed that caffeine to get me through the day. One Saturday Corey and I were meeting friends for coffee around 11 am so I skipped my morning latte. I noticed I felt more clear headed and just overall more calm. When we showed up at the coffee shop I ordered an iced tea and have never looked back. Realistically I should have slowly weaned off because I did experience some withdrawal symptoms, but I like to just rip the band aid off.
It’s a bit silly it took me that long to realize something I was consuming every day was making me feel horrible, but I always believed the good outweighed the bad. It was a great reminder to really stop and look at my habits and think hard on if they were serving me or not.
The major benefits of losing coffee
Keep in mind, this is my personal experience. I know people who can drink 3 shots of espresso then take a nap. Everyone is different!
- More energy! Sounds contradictory, but coffee never really gave me energy. I would just feel jittery then crash hard in the late afternoon. Now I feel a calm energy all day long.
- Sharper focus. It’s hard to think when your insides are buzzing and you’re having a mild panic attack. Being able to focus on tasks and work throughout the day without a crash has been life changing.
- Less anxiety. Coffee heightened my anxiety 10 fold. Even just a few sips of a coffee makes my palms sweaty now!
- Migraine relief. I went through a stint of severe migraines around the same time I started drinking my morning coffee first thing on an empty stomach. Since eliminating coffee, I rarely get migraines. You will have to stick it out through the withdrawal headaches though…
- Better sleep. Even an afternoon coffee would cause me to stay up way later than I wanted to. The quality of my sleep feels better too!
You don’t always need to give up caffeine completely. I have swapped my coffee for a matcha and not only does it give me energy without the crash, it has tons of health benefits. Since matcha is made from whole ground tea leaves, one cup is like drinking 10 cups of regular green tea! It also has 30x the antioxidant activity of blueberries.
How to make the perfect matcha latte
Ingredients
- 1 tsp ceremonial grade matcha
- 1/4 cup warm water, do not use boiling water!
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 tsp honey or maple syrup, or more depending on how sweet you like your tea
- Ice
Instructions
- Whisk or use an electric frother to combine the matcha, hot water, and honey until fully combined and foamy.
- Fill a tall glass with ice and pour in the almond milk then the matcha.
- Stir to combine, sweeten to taste and enjoy!
Find what I use to make my morning matcha, here!
