You finish off two cups of black coffee before you rush off to work as part of your morning routine. By midday, you devour a slice of coffee crumble cake for dessert, and in between finishing reports and rushing projects, you gulp down several more mugs of hot coffee. On your way home, you stop by Starbucks to get a mocha frappucino. Before you go to sleep you STILL find yourself craving another coffee fix.

You're a certified coffee addict.

Coffee is popular and delicious, so it's not surprising that many people become addicted to it, including you. There's nothing wrong with drinking this beverage, but if you go overboard there are many negative effects it can bring you.

Before you grab another cup, why don't you evaluate yourself first? How much coffee have you consumed lately? Maybe you need to slow down and get rid of your coffee habit. There are some effective ways how you can do it.

Why Give It Up?

The first step to kick that coffee addiction is knowing why you should do it. Some coffee addicts question the need to give up their favorite beverage. Why give it up? It does the body good! Research shows that coffee is good for the health. Not only does it give the much needed energy and adrenaline rush during slow days, it also contains antioxidants that protect against cancer. It also improves short term recall and lowers the risk of various diseases, like liver cancer, Alzheimer's disease, skin cancer, diabetes and Parkinson's disease.

Even so, coffee and the caffeine it contains have numerous negative effects for the body. Nervousness, anxiety, insomnia, irritability, and irregular heartbeat are a few common examples. Other effects include gastrointestinal irritation, fatigue, poor concentration, diarrhea and nutritional deficiencies. If not solved, it can lead to depression, vomiting and high blood pressure.

If you experience these coffee effects, you really have to quit your coffee addiction.

Slow And Easy Does It

Some people who are desperate to cure their coffee addiction decide to use the “cold turkey” method. They totally remove the coffee from their system. The result? They crack, and gulp gallons of coffee. Their addiction worsens.

The best way to curb coffee cravings is to slowly, but gradually decrease your coffee intake. This gives your body ample time to adjust to the low caffeine levels you're consuming. For example, if you drink three cups a day, lower it to just one. Then, try to just drink one cup every three days, then four days, until you're having just one cup for a whole week. Eventually, your body won't feel the need to drink coffee, and you can completely avoid the beverage.

De-Coffee Your Home

When you get home, gather all the coffee products you have and get rid of them. That includes coffee-flavored items and food with coffee mixed in it, like coffeecake. Got a stash of coffee-flavored candy on your desk? Do away with them. Don't leave anything that might tempt you to go back to your habit. If there's no coffee near you, then you won't be provoked.

You should not just de-coffee your home, but also your workspace. Stop yourself from rushing to the coffee machine during break time. If you have a coffee mug on your desk, hide it somewhere else, so you won't be tempted. Another option is to fill it up with a healthy drink alternative, like fruit juice: anything except coffee.

One more tip: say no to decaf. Despite the name, this coffee still has a little caffeine mixed in it. Chances are your cravings will not subside and your coffee habit will continue.

Say Goodbye To Coffeehouses

Now that you've gotten rid of the coffee at home and at work, you have to control the temptations you get outside, like your usual routine to stop by Starbucks for your afternoon coffee fix.

Remember how you love the smell of freshly-brewed coffee in a coffee shop? Forget about it. Stop going to coffee shops, cafes or any place where you can be tempted to buy delicious coffee. If you're meeting someone for a nice chit-chat or for a business meeting, suggest another venue. The more you stay away from these coffee joints, the easier it'll be for you to curb your craving.

If you really can't avoid going to these places, order something instead of coffee. Most cafes offer treats for non-coffee drinkers. Get a nice soothing cup of tea or a delicious milk shake. They're just as delicious, but they're not loaded with caffeine.

Read Anti-Coffee Lit

Still not convinced about the negative effects of coffee or caffeine? Maybe you need more assurance and persuasion. Here's one way: find some anti-coffee literature and reading resources and study them carefully. These will give you enough information about the pros and cons of drinking coffee, like how it helps you gain weight and makes you feel lethargic and bloated. This anti-coffee literature will help convince you that quitting is a very good choice. These materials are very believable because they come from credible experts.

Try Coffee Alternatives

When you're trying to control your coffee addiction, you'll feel that you're constantly craving coffee and caffeine. It's either you miss the taste, or your body has already become too caffeine-dependent. You need to find non-coffee alternatives that can substitute and satiate your cravings. There are many healthier choices you can opt for. Here are several suggestions.

Drink Healthy Tea

Tea, just like coffee, is good for the body although it has less caffeine in it. One cup of tea has less than half of the caffeine in a cup of coffee. If you switch to tea, you'll be able to halve your caffeine consumption, although the amount of cups you drink everyday remains the same.

Tea is also healthy because it has antioxidants and it prevents high blood pressure and cholesterol. It's also delicious and refreshing, and you can have it hot or cold, in different flavors and kinds, like jasmine tea, green tea or black tea.

When you become used to drinking tea, you can try making the switch from the regular kind to the caffeine-free type, like herbal tea. It's just as tasty, but it gives you the assurance that you're not ingesting any caffeine at all. Now you're not only coffee-free, but caffeine-free too.

Switch To Grain Coffee

If you find the taste of coffee irresistible, then you can try this beverage. Grain coffee isn't real coffee, but rather a ground mixture of different food products like dried fruit, nuts, grains and natural products. When you put it in a regular drip coffee maker, it produces something that looks and tastes like coffee. It's caffeine-free.

Grain coffee is not as delicious as real coffee. There are also many brands that sell bitter, unpleasant-tasting kinds, but if you're lucky you can find one that suits you best. Sometimes, they even come in different flavors, like hazelnut, mocha and vanilla nut.

If you really find grain coffee unsatisfying, here's what you can do: mix it with a bit of real coffee when you prepare it. This will give you a better-tasting brew without too much caffeine.

Try Water Therapy

Water is not as tasty or flavorful as other drinks, but it's just as good for the body, cleansing it and gives back lost fluids. While coffee dehydrates the body, water replenishes it. They say a normal and healthy person needs at least eight glasses of water a day, so instead of getting a cup of coffee, drink some ice-cold water instead. Flavored water is also a great choice, since it's got a yummy flavor you'll enjoy.

More Food Than Coffee

Why drink coffee when you can gobble down yummy food? Good food is a great alternative to coffee and caffeine. For example, if you drink it because of the energy you get from the sugar rush, opt for a cereal bar instead. A piece of fruit is also a good choice, like an orange or an apple.

A cup of coffee during a cold day sounds tempting, but instead of this, you can get a warm bowl of porridge or an oatmeal cereal instead. A cup of hot chocolate or a glass of warm milk are also hearty and healthy choices.

Trying to diet? Some people drink coffee because it removes the edge from their appetite. It does work, but it's very unhealthy. Instead of doing this, you can just opt for healthy food choices, like vegetables, cottage cheese or low-fat biscuits.

Exercise

When you decide to stay away from coffee, you might feel drowsy and tired because your body lacks the amount of caffeine you usually give to it. There's no adrenaline rush anymore and no increase in metabolic rate. Soon you find yourself craving another cup of coffee.

The best solution to this problem is to get some exercise. Strenuous activity helps increase your adrenaline level, making you feel more physically energetic. Try to maintain an exercise routine, even if it's just for ten minutes every day. Some simple stretching will do. If you're feeling more active, you can try jogging or biking. As long as you have proper exercise, there's no need to get caffeine.

Coffee isn't bad, but remember that too much of something, no matter how good or delicious it is, can be bad for you. If you find yourself constantly craving coffee, turn to these tips, and hopefully, you can control that addiction of yours.