Coffee detox plan

Not a cup of coffee.

I love coffee.

I grew up in Italy, a country where a coffee grinder and espresso machine is as popular in the kitchen as a kettle is in Britain.

Over the years I've learnt to love the different varieties and flavours.

And as cyclists, it becomes part of our lifestyle.

But there's a point where too much coffee is bad for you.

If you, like me, think you have hit that point (6 espresso's a day?) then I'll share the ingredients to my detox cure for coffee addiction.

Ingredient one: water.

Water, the single most important ingredient for a successful detox.

Plenty of it. So much that for the first few days you will be urinating a lot and feel bloated perhaps.

You don't need to drink so much as to be ill but for a couple of days at the start of your detox programme, you need to be fully hydrated to cope with the withdrawal symptoms of not drinking coffee.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention this: while detoxing you must not drink coffee.

You will have bad headaches, probably in the middle of the day, when your focus is most needed. And when the temptation to reach for the espresso machine is the strongest.

Drinking a lot of water at this critical stage will help your body recover quicker from the headaches.

The second ingredient: will power.

Spice up that glass of water with your favourite power snack.

That's not to say you are not allowed any coffee at all. But you must have a plan and stick to it.

My plan when weaning off an addictive substance or activity (bike maintenance can be very addictive), is to half it every day.

When I recently detoxed from 6 espresso's a day, this was my plan:

Day 1) Drink plenty of water but still have up to 6 espresso's.

Day 2) While drinking more water still, now only allow up to 3 espresso's.

Day 3) Only have 2 espresso's.

Day 4) 1 espresso and we call it a day

Day 5) What's espresso

Visualisation

If it helps you, when you need that extra cup, close your eyes, and imagine you make yourself a virtual espresso, sip it, taste it, and recall the sensation of coffee on your tongue and your throat.

For advanced detox

Apply the virtual coffee making exercise as above, but instead of drinking the coffee, throw it away. This will reinforce the message in your mind that coffee is bad for you.

Meditation

In order to get a good night sleep while detoxing, and even afterwards, why not try my suggested meditation for cyclists?