For the last week and a half I’ve been struggling with my coffee addiction. This is not the first time I tried quitting, but I hope this will be my last time. Each time I learn something new about my body’s reaction to caffeine and my self-discipline.
This post is discussion on what I learned about my coffee addiction.
I wake up more alert
Surprisingly after I got over the initial caffeine withdrawal, I wake up more alert even on less sleep. The foggy mornings disappeared after 5 days of no coffee. It is strange to suddenly realize that I slept 6 hours the night before, but feel just as mentally alert as after two cups of coffee and 8 hours of sleep. I don’t plan to make this a regular occurrence, but two weeks prior to quitting coffee I would still be dragging my butt after my 2nd cup.
When I was drinking coffee, I NEEDED to a cup to feel awake and alert each morning. The sugar and caffeine combination throws massive sparks on all my neurological pathways. Or at least that was what I kept telling other people and myself.
How you talk to yourself internally sets the tone for how you react externally. The fact that I tell myself I needed my morning coffee is setting myself up for long term coffee addiction.
My blood sugar is more stable
I cannot drink black coffee. By the time I am done adding milk, flavored shots, and sugar, there are as much fat and sugar as caffeine in the coffee. I am able to turn this zero calorie drink into a 200 calorie monster. This combination does crazy things to my blood sugar. For a couple of hours I am high as a kite and then I crash quickly. Sometimes I even start to shake like a drug addict looking for my next hit. At this point I would eat anything that will stop the crash from continuing — this often means more sugar (candy bars) or simple carbs (which your body essentially treat as sugar anyway).
Since I stopped drinking coffee, I am not experiencing this symptom anymore. I could have minimized this problem by balancing my morning meal with more protein and fiber or cut out all the “extras” in my coffee. Well… we don’t always do what we should sometimes. My defense is that everyone should be allowed a couple vices.
I’ve lost weight
Two pounds is not much in the grand scale of things, but any weight loss is still weight loss. And it is all that much sweeter because I did not have to do anything other than give my coffee addiction. My weight gain always stem from consuming too many high caloric drinks. It is my drug of choice for hurt feelings, boredom, physical pain, or a celebration.
My daily coffee was about 200 calories. By the end of the week, I consumed an extra 1,400 calories. Since I regular exercise for 4 days (but aim for 5 most weeks), I burn off roughly 1,200 calories each week. So each week an extra 200 calories get stored into my fat cells. By the end of the year, I would gain an extra 3 pounds from just drinking coffee!
In addition, since I stopped eating to stabilize my blood sugar, I am consuming fewer calories. So overall this decision to stop my coffee addiction is a good idea for my health. Let’s hope it last much longer than my last stint to stop drinking coffee.
Until next time and thanks for stopping by Small Steps to Health.
Photo by: Ballistik Coffee Boy.
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Good for you and thanks for updating us. I’ve been off caffeine for a while now and I find I am less tired. Strange but true!
.-= Diane Fit to the Finish´s last blog ..How Do You Define It? =-.
Interesting! I do have a little coffee. No more than a cup a day, but your results intrigue me. I have it plan so it’s not a calorie problem. Starbucks has turned coffee into Baskin Robbins
.-= Dr. J´s last blog ..Lab Notes: Mediterranean Diet Guru Drops Dead: Heart Attack; African Worm Grows in Human Eye =-.
Diane – Thanks for the encouragement.
Dr J – I can”t agree with you more. Starbucks” frappicianos are like an ice cream milkshake in disguise.
If you cannot drink black coffee then for sure it will be a fattening beverage, and one you could probably do without.
I love my coffee, but when I try to stop for a few days I get a terrible headache… Caffeine withdrawals are no fun.
As with anything…. moderation is the key. If you could see coffee as a treat on the weekends then maybe that is a way to not give it up all together.
@Kurt – That is what I am aiming for – coffee on the weekend as a treat. So far it looks like it might be working. Thanks for the comment.
Your doing better than me I try quitting but them headaches are bad. Did you get headaches when quitting? If so how did you stop the headaches.
Jay – I slowly cut out coffee by replacing it with several cups of tea. It takes 7-8 cups of tea to have the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee. Then, I eliminate tea one cup at a time. So I only deprive my body of 35-40 mg of caffeine each time I eliminate a cup of coffee instead of the full 300 mg of caffeine when you stop drinking coffee altogether. Even with this method, I still have a slight headache for a couple days because my body is used to getting its caffeine quickly with on cup of coffee instead of slowly with several cups of tea all morning. But one thing I notice is that even if you stop drinking coffee, because your body was once used to it, it is much easier to restart your coffee addiction again than the first time.
I never thought about substituting coffee with tea. I drink 2 to 3 cups of coffee in the morning so my body expect them cups. But I been trying to quit and every morning I try walking out the house with out it but by the time I get to my job I at Star Bucks.
I totally agree with you it is easy to jump back on the bandwagon. I’m going to try your method I hope it work for me as it worked for you.