I Tried Coffee Again After a Break. Here's What Happened...

Photo by Emre on Unsplash

I recently decided to go a month without coffee. I learned a lot from this experience. After being dependent on it for years, I discovered that I felt better without it. I didn’t need it to feel awake and alert. If I focused on building better habits, I would have even more energy without coffee. But after nearly two months without it, I tried coffee again. 

I wanted to see what would happen after giving it up for a while. And the experience taught me an important lesson.

This blog post will give you this lesson I learned, and my experience of trying coffee again after a break from it.

Why did I give up coffee?

I decided to give up coffee because I felt dependent on it. I used it because I wanted a boost of energy on days that I worked out. And I also infrequently drank coffee on days that I wanted a boost of energy so that I could focus on my work.

But coffee had some side effects on me. These side effects weren’t worth the perceived benefit of increased energy.

Coffee made me feel jittery and anxious. I felt like I had a bundle of uncontrolled energy waiting to explode. I couldn’t focus this energy on my workouts or work. The energy “boost” was useless for me.

I would also have my energy crash in the afternoon. I’d become tired and lethargic in the middle of the afternoon. A wave of tiredness would hit me out of the blue. This tiredness would persist until it was bedtime. 

But the kicker here is that I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep. I’d lay awake for over an hour before finally drifting off to sleep. I’d then wake up multiple times throughout the night for restroom breaks. When I returned to bed, I’d struggle to get back to sleep. I would sometimes lay awake for hours before drifting off to sleep. Or I’d be awake for hours until my alarm clock would go off. 

Except for enjoying the smell and taste, the benefits of coffee were non-existent for me. Coffee only had negative consequences for me.

It was a no-brainer to try giving it up.

Why did I try coffee again?

I decided to try coffee again for three reasons. The first reason was that I have a bunch of coffee pods sitting in my apartment. They aren’t going to drink themselves. And I don’t want to throw them out. I don’t like wasting things. 

I also tried coffee again because I enjoy the smell and taste of coffee.

And finally, I decided to try coffee again because I woke up that morning tired. I wanted a boost, especially because I was preparing for a big workout later that morning.

After nearly two months, I decided to try it again to see what would happen.

When I tried coffee again, what did I experience?

Keep in mind that I only tried coffee again once. I had only one cup. 

This is my experience after trying coffee again. 

After drinking the cup of coffee, several things happened to me. First, I had to use the restroom more than normal. I made several more trips throughout that day than I usually do. 

During my workout, I felt jittery. I had trouble centering my body and feeling ready to lift. On my first exercise of the day, the dumbbell bench press, I struggled to get the dumbbells into position. My arms and hands shook, which made it difficult to pull the dumbbells towards my chest at the start of the lift. My arms kept wanting to pull the dumbbells out to my sides, which was destroying my form.

This jitteriness persisted through the rest of the workout. I felt unfocused. I struggled to get through each lift with proper form. My mind-muscle connection was ruined for that workout.

My energy levels crashed in the afternoon. I had felt full of energy in the morning, but by mid-afternoon, I was ready for sleep. My energy levels had spiked. 

That night, my sleep was rough. I stayed awake most of the night. I tossed and turned all night. And I got up for multiple restroom breaks throughout the night. 

It was no surprise that I woke up the next morning tired. I felt like I “needed” some coffee that morning. But I decided that I wasn’t going to drink coffee again. The cup from the previous morning had done enough damage. 

Will I go back to drinking coffee regularly?

After going without coffee for nearly two months, I learned a big lesson. I do not need to drink coffee regularly to feel awake and alert each day.

Instead, I need to focus on eating good quality foods and prioritizing my sleep. 

Trying coffee again only reinforced this lesson to me. 

I will not be going back to drinking coffee regularly. When I drink coffee in the future, I am lowering the amount and frequency that I drink. I’m not going to drink a full mug in one sitting anymore. And I’m not going to have coffee 4+ times per week, either.

Coffee promises the false illusion of boosted energy. But it only takes my energy away. It disrupts my focus. And it ruins my sleep, causing me to want to drink coffee the next morning to repeat the cycle.

Wrapping up

After trying coffee again for one morning, I learned a lot. The experience reinforced what I previously learned after giving it up for a month. 

I’m grateful that I tried coffee again, despite the negative experience I had from it. Perhaps I wouldn’t experience these things after getting back into routinely drinking coffee. But I’m not going to bring it back into my routine.  

I encourage you to try giving something up for a month. You’ll be well on your way to breaking your addiction to this thing. 

Being able to go without something builds your self-discipline. This is a crucial skill to have. Self-discipline helps you build the ideal life that you desire.

And you’ll learn a lot of valuable lessons along the way.