Some people don't believe me when I tell them I'm going on about four years of not having any caffeine in my life. They look at me wide-eyed and say "How do you get up in the morning?!" or something like, "You can't drink soda?!"

Yes it's true. I don't eat/drink any caffeine. No chocolate, soda, tea, coffee, excedrin, ibuprofen (yay migraines) and anything else that contains caffeine or a stimulant similar to caffeine. It's a long story, so to put it shortly, I am allergic to it. I've been caffeine free since 2013.

According to a study by Harvard, 53% of individuals over the age of 18 drink coffee everyday. When students don't get enough sleep, coffee is a way to get through the day. When one is cursed with a period, chocolate is a girl's comfort food. When you've got a migraine, ibuprofen or excedrin are the go-to. My lifestyle doesn't allow this, so these aren't solutions to daily problems. I have had to find alternatives, and honestly... it really isn't that bad.

My Mornings without Coffee

Because I don't depend on morning caffeine to start my day, I have found natural alternatives that have me feeling more refreshed and less jittery. Orange juice is something I drink daily, and enjoy very much. Fruit that's high in sugar is great if I need a quick burst of energy. But my overall diet consists of high-protein foods.

Nuts, peanut butter, eggs and others with protein are a great way for me to not only liven up my breakfasts but to increase my overall production during my entire day. Brain activity increases and I feel like I could make leaps and bounds to work. It's all a matter of eating or drinking enough protein in increments to keep the fresh feeling to fool myself that I've had enough sleep the night before.

Headaches are For the Weak

Being that I have very poor posture (due to an unnatural curvature of the spine) and stress often, I tend to obtain a handful of headaches throughout the week. These aren't you typical headaches either; these are the sinus pounding, "Why do I feel this is in my neck, ears and eyes?!" kind of migraines. They are heavy, they aren't fun and they kill me a little every time.

Aleve used to do the trick but I'm under the impression that once you have taken medicine long enough, you tend to become immune. Since I am unable to have ibuprofen and excedrin - very common pain reliever pills - I have resorted to all-natural alternatives.

Herbal tea is a big thing. As long as it has no additional ingredients, I am able to drink it. Also hot and cold compresses, power naps, and tall glasses of water usually do the trick. It doesn't resolve and numb the headache like Aleve or acetaminophen used to do for me, but I feel as though I'm training my body and my mind to heal itself without help from science. Woohoo to YOGA too. I can only manage to do the very basic poses but it makes a difference overall!

(This isn't one of the basic poses)

Ahem... "That Time of Month"

I will admit, chocolate used to be the only sense of relief for me when all hell broke loose and my cramps were like the pain of 2016 crushing my abdomen. When first started out, the first couple of months of having chocolate shakes and cookies all the time to none at all were really difficult, but I learned to work around it. Drinking more water and sleeping on my stomach helped, as well as eating food high in carbs or sugar (like who doesn't want to do that!) worked really great. I found over time that my cramps had subsided to an extent and I wasn't experiencing them as intensely as I had been in the past. So honestly it proved helpful in the long run.

Eating Out w/ Diet Restrictions

Two years ago, for my birthday, my mom decided to buy a cake for me instead of making one, which she figured she would drop it off at my work to surprise me. I was kind of excited; I loved her cakes and all but I just kept dreaming about an ice cream cake that year. Turned out she got me an ice cream cake... BUT IT WAS CHOCOLATE. How thoughtful. Needless to say, I haven't let her forget about it since.

Eating out can be hard, especially with friends. I've had it happen several times where someone will try to force feed me a chocolate treat, only to gasp suddenly and get red in the face when they remember I don't eat those wonderfully delicious things. I can't imagine how it must be to be on the other side of it - having a friend with such strange diet restrictions. But people don't seem to mind as long as I don't which makes it all the easier. Also, my friends tend to remember better than my family does... I don't know if that's a good thing or not.

My Wallet Thanks Me Everyday

I've found that I save a lot of money when I got out to eat because I only ever get water to drink and of course, I never buy coffee or chocolate. Of course, that money sometimes goes towards a Dairy Queen blizzard or a Jimmy John's sandwich, but other days, I save it and have more fun-money for adventures with friends, gas in my car, or my weakness... makeup. All in all, it works out.

I'll say that I do miss some things about having caffeine in the my life that alternatives just won't replace. Like chocolate shakes. And brownies. Oh and fudge. And kitkats, butterfingers, reeses and M&Ms. But in reality, I've found ways to 'cope'. It really isn't THAT bad. I've found healthy and natural products and processes that have the same effects of relief. They don't get as close in deliciousness, but I've learned to love vanilla ice cream and sugar cookies. A caffeine free world in a lot of ways is a good thing, and has helped me explore other options and saves me money too!