Non-coffee Drinkers: How Do You Wake up in the Morning?

Eggs keep me going in the morning. And bacon, too. :) I don't eat breakfast til about 9:30 after getting up about 7, so I have had time to wake up. I can't eat right after getting up in the morning.

Eat breakfast.
Have a diet coke :)

I've moved on to coffee now - but from high school through my 20's and early 30's that's how I stared my day.

If you ate breakfast you would feel SO much better!
Pop an apple and a banana in your blender with some plain greek yogurt and a little milk and ice, sprinkle with ground flax or hemp seeds. That healthy high is worth so much more than a caffeinated drink.
You will pay dearly for not having breakfast in the morning, your body needs real fuel.... think logically about that.

You need protein instead of sugar. You crash at 9 because you've only had sugar. A scrambled egg with your tea will take you right up to lunch time no problem.
LBC

I do drink coffee, and I don't feel awake without it. Not helpful to you, I know.. :)

But magic food - oatmeal. Warm, gooey, with brown sugar, and a tall glass of lightly chilled milk. My best b'fast when I need to feel immediately recharged! I wake up at abt 7.30, and have b'fast at abt 9.30.

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Agree with most people - you'd feel a lot more energized and awake if you eat sensible breakfast. Caffeine is not what you need. Food is.. :)
Eat something like eggs (protein), or whole grain cereals, protein shakes, toast, oatmeal, or some such. It'll make you feel a lot better, and does wonder for your body metabolism too, in the long run!

I have never been a coffee drinker - but I ALWAYS eat breakfast! I suggest you eat something with protien for breakfast. You are crashing at 9 because all you've had is sugar. You need food. I also second the suggestion to exercise. Even just a short walk, or some jumping jacks in the morning. Just to get your blood flowing. It will make a huge difference.

Try a smoothie filled with fruits and/or veggies. When I can't drink coffee in the morning, I reach for a Naked smoothie. You can find them in your grocer's produce section.

I drink ice water and hot tea in the morning. Not at the same time normally :). Or iced tea. Unsweet.

If I'm in the mood to pay $5, I'll grab myself a caramel latte from Panera, but that's out of the way and I'm trying to save $.

I do eat a healthy breakfast most days around 730. I either do a Smart Ones breakfast sandwich or a Jimmy Dean's Delight bowl, with either strawberries, grapes, or a banana. I also have a snack around 10 (either friut or a veggie) and then lunch around 1230.

your problem isn't lack of caffeine, it's lack of breakfast. of course you get shaky if you drink a redbull with no food!
drink at LEAST one glass of water as soon as you get up. follow that with your cold tea or a cup of hot tea. BEFORE 9 (you want to beat the energy crash) get some dang protein into your belly. ideally that would be an egg or some oatmeal, but if you can't stomach that, throw some frozen fruit and yogurt and silk dark chocolate almond milk (yumyumyum) into the blender with a scoop of protein powder.
you MUST fuel your system.
khairete
S.

I do love my coffee, but have found that exercise is more effective in waking me up and keeping me going all day. If I go for a jog or do yoga in the morning, I often will not even have coffee because I already am energized. Otherwise, I have my coffee and some breakfast. I like oatmeal with fruit in it, smoothies, (I have a ton of frozen fruit in my freezer so I just throw in some fruit and water, or my favorite is blending cooked oatmeal, a banana, some berries and some milk, it is a really yummy smoothie that keeps you full for hours and gives ya lots of energy) I also like greens with eggs (I will saute some spinach, kale, cabbage or other veggies and throw an egg on top, or make an omelet) cut up some cabbage wedges, wrap each wedge in a slice of bacon and bake at 400 for 30 min (heaven!) or I will eat dinner leftovers since they are generally a protein and some veggies. Protein is key!

You are crashing from your sugar high at 9am. Drink a full glass of water as soon as you wake up and try moving, a brisk walk, or job, or any form of exercise. Jumping jacks, etc. You also need to eat something that is what will give you energy. Even if it is an apple, but you have to eat something.

It will take about 3-4 weeks for you to see results, but if you can stick to it for about a month, you will definitely see a difference.

I don't drink coffee, soda and very rarely cold tea. I do drink herbal teas sometimes. The first thing I have is a big glass of water, but I love water. It helps to flush ya out. I don't like breakfast as soon as I get up either, so I have an orange or grapes or some fruit like that or a big glass of orange juice or pomegranet juice. It helps get me going. For the kids, I always make up a fruit dish/salad, just cut up fruit really. They love it and it helps to get them going too and it's a good way to start the day and clean out the system. Then have breakfast about a 1/2 hour later. You really do need breakfast. I've had to force myself to eat it, but it's better with it. If you don't want to do something heavy just have a boiled egg or two or yougurt or even just toast. But you've got to have something. It really is important enough to change your habit. The tea is really just a sugar rush and then a slam down, probably.

Also, if I'm especially tired on certain days, like especially around 3:00 on some days I just could go to sleep, but it really isn't an option. So on those days I'll take Gotu Kola tincture/herbal extract in a little water like a shot glass size and just down it. This helps pick me up. And/or I'll take some ginseng or ginseng formula with other herbs or Cordyceps or Codonopsis - a chinese herbal. I usually have something on hand. Find a quality brand at the herb shop or some health food store.

But I don't take them every day only when I really think I need it. I think if you take them all the time they loose their effectiveness (just MO). Also, I don't want a sense of feeling hooked on it.

Sometimes getting outside makes a big difference, just for a short walk or doing some work. Even with the little ones you can do something like this or have everyone do some excerises at a certain point of day. You may need to have a quiet time when everyone rests for 15 minutes, if you can get them to do it all at the same time. Don't know how many you have. But you make up a silent time, "lets see how silent we can be, that way we can hear things we've never heard before" etc. We usually have a silent time and rest a bit for 15 min and it makes me more energized.

Tazo Green Tea is great or a Green Tea Latte from Starbucks. Also Teajava is AMAZING but all take a little getting used to because they can be abit bitter, non-sweetened.

Diet Coke. I have a Sonic right next to my house and their huge 44oz pops are $.99 until 11am, so I usually go through there several times a week.

I wake up hungry but I have to wait 30 minutes after taking a med to eat breakfast. Then I'm always hungry again around 9 or 10am no matter what or when I eat breakfast. I have been using the Arbonne Fit Kit for a little over 2 months and I like how my mornings go now: an energy fizz drink 1/2 hour after waking, protein shake a little while later, appetite suppressing taffy-like Fit Chew for times when I feel hungry about an hour after the shake, mid-morning herbal detox tea and small snack if I need it. I like the taste of all of it and it gives me energy.

I have a cup of hot tea and then a Diet pepsi. I then have another cup of tea after lunch.

I actually am a coffe drinker, but don't have it in the morning, it doesn't keep me awake at all. I use it as an appetite suppressant in the afternoon.
I find that a quick morning workout does the trick for me--much harder to do with kids now, but when I can fit in a walk, exercise video or weights, it wakes me up. Occasionally I've done it with my giant one year old on my hip, talk about a workout!

I third the eggs. I haven't had coffee or (much) sugar since last summer. I do miss sweet tea, coffee and sodas a lot. Anyway, I find that a couple of eggs in the morning help my energy level a bit. I'm pretty much tired all the time, but those do help.

I was under the impression that there is more caffeine in tea than in coffee. If that's the case, I'm not sure there's anything extra that you can drink that wouldn't make you shaky.

As far as a light breakfast, sometimes I eat a SlimFast meal bar (very small & filling) or drink a Carnation Breakfast Essentials. These were both lifesavers when I was pregnant and quite nauseous.

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Cranky!

Seriously though, I don't crave caffiene as much as the carbonation. I love the bubbly feeling tickling my throat. I stumble to the kitchen and down a glass of homeade soda water or a diet pepsi and go from there.

I'm a hot tea drinker.
I usually have about 3 cups of Earl Grey in the a.m. before 10.