Dry January Success (Coffee, not Alcohol)

​So, how many people succeeded in their attempts at “Dry January?” I was one of the many individuals that took part in Dry January, but not for alcohol. Honestly, I only drink about two nights a month, so I felt no need to address my infrequent boozing habits!

I did, however, have aspirations to address my coffee-drinking habits. My Dry January goal was to quit coffee for a month! This was going to be a tough task, as I had been drinking approximately 6+ cups a day for the past 3 or 4 years. Normally, I would drink 2-4 cups in the morning, 1-3 cups in the middle of the day, and then another 2-4 cups at night time. There were some days in which I drank up to 10 cups, but the average was around 6 cups per day. 

I felt as if I was drinking coffee out of habit more than anything else. I honestly do not feel that it had any effect on me being able to stay awake. Coffee simply became my “vice” that I could not go a day without. It reminded me of my younger days when I was addicted to smoking cigarettes. There were always 3 or 4 specific times of the day where my brain was telling me that I needed a smoke. I eventually was able to quit after 10 years of smoking, but that habit eventually was replaced by coffee. Obviously, coffee is a much safer option than smoking, but I still wanted to see if I could change things!

Here are my results:

January 2024
Week 1:
rank ZERO cups of coffee. To replace my cravings, I drank about 2 cups of ginger tea each day.
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Week 2:
Same as Week One. Drank ZERO cups of coffee and had 2+ cups of ginger tea daily.

Week 3:
Again, the same as before. ZEO cups of coffee and 2+ cups of ginger tea daily.
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Week 4:
Drank ZERO cups of coffee. I reduced my daily tea intake from 2 cups to 1 cup.

MISSION SUCCESSFUL!!

It was difficult and weird to not have coffee during the first two weeks of January, but after a while, I found myself getting used to it. I have been drinking more ice water in the mornings. To this day (February 17, 2024), I have yet to have a cup of coffee. I am truly amazed how easily I was able to quit coffee cold turkey after drinking 6+ cups daily for so many years!  

How am I doing it, you ask? There are some key factors that have enabled me to keep this streak going. Here are the main ones:

-GUT / STOMACH: My gut and stomach feel MUCH better nowadays. I am less gassy and bloated these days. Keep in mind that I drank much of my coffee on an empty stomach in the morning and daytime. When you drink coffee on an empty stomach, it reduces your hydrochloric acid, which makes it much more difficult for your body to break down protein. This protein then starts to eat all the gut bacteria that produces hydrogen sulfide. I eat a lot of protein every day (in addition to taking protein powder), so you can imagine the troubles I had when drinking coffee. And, gosh, don’t even get me started about flatulence. The farts weren’t just frequent, but they were LETHAL! They did not even smell like regular farts. They smelled like pure sulfur and would linger much longer than should be humanly possible!  I am happy to say that the lethal flatulence is a thing of the past since quitting coffee!

-ACID REFLUX: For over 30 years, I have suffered from severe acid reflux and GERD. I have been taking medication for my reflux for what seems like my entire life. My doctors always advised me to quit the coffee to help relieve my condition, but I always refused. Well, now that I have finally stopped drinking coffee, I can say that my acid reflux has not been as frequent as it was in the past! Have mercy!

-JITTERS: I no longer have to worry about the “jitters.” I did not suffer from the jitters very often, but when I did, it was extremely hard to focus on anything, especially work!

-MONEY: You can imagine the money I am saving! Every month, I would usually buy one container of regular ground coffee ($20) in addition to a 100-pack of K-cups ($40). So, yes, I was spending approximately $60 a month on coffee! Now, I am spending about $7 a month on ginger tea.


How long can I keep this going? Time will tell, but I’m feeling better, no doubt!