This post is a followup of yesterday’s discussion of caffeine withdrawal symptoms. Today’s discussion is about my caffeine treatment plan, which reduced my morning coffee from 3 cups to 1 cup while minimizing my coffee withdrawal symptoms.

Create your caffeine withdrawal plan

Creating a caffeine withdrawal treatment plan is all about slowly getting rid of your reliance on caffeine without triggering severe caffeine withdrawal symptoms. Unfortunately, there is no way to completely get rid of the withdrawal symptoms until your body becomes accustom to waking up without coffee again. At 3 cups coffee a day (450 mg), if I quit drinking coffee cold turkey or even switching to decaf, I am going to suffer severe caffeine withdrawal symptoms.

Instead, I modeled my caffeine withdrawal treatment plan after the smoking cessation patch concept, where I give myself 3 steps to slowly wean myself off of coffee. In a smoking cessation patch program, it usually allows for nicotine chewing gum as needed when the cravings are overwhelming. In my caffeine reduction plan, black tea is my nicotine chewing gum. You need to drink 3 cups of black tea to get the same caffeine amount as one cup of brewed coffee.

Step 1: Replace 1st cup of brewed coffee with 1 cup of instant coffee.

Drink 1 cup of black tea as needed.

Coffee addicts know that instant coffee just do not taste as good as dripped coffee and it is not as strong either. However, since I still have 2 cups of brewed coffee, I do not feel as deprived of good coffee. 2 cups of brewed coffee and 1 cup of instant coffee gives me 360 mg of caffeine.

I reduced my caffeine intake by 90 mg a day. I kept this up for about 2 weeks. The caffeine withdrawal headaches were painful the first week and I didn’t feel completely awake during the first half of the week. I sometimes sip black tea to on those days when I need to be a little more alert for meetings.

Step 2: Replace 2nd cup of dripped coffee with 1 cup of instant coffee.

Once again, drink tea as needed.

1 cup of dripped coffee and 2 cups of instant coffee gives me 270 mg of caffeine. I kept this up for about 2 weeks. And yes, I did have an occasional cup of green tea. This step reduced my caffeine by another 90 mg.

At this point, my caffeine withdrawal symptoms are actually tolerable. I feel it, but it is make me return to my former coffee addiction.

Step 3: Eliminate the instant coffee, one cup at a time.

1 cup of dripped coffee and 1 cup of instant coffee gives me 210 mg of caffeine. It only took 1 week this time for me to get use this because Step 3 only requires a reduction of 60 mg of caffeine. I barely even have caffeine withdrawal headaches.

A week later, I drop the 2nd cup of instant coffee. So it took me 6 weeks to reduce my daily coffee from 3 cups to 1 cup with tolerable caffeine withdrawal symptoms.

At this point, I can at least wait until I get to work and have coffee at my desk. Prior to starting my caffeine reduction plan, I needed a cup of coffee in order to get my eyes open to apply my make-up in the morning. I don’t want to have that kind of dependency on any substance ever again.

I wish you better luck with your coffee reduction plan. I hope you are as success as me in trying to reduce your caffeine level.

Until next time and thanks for reading Small Steps to Health. If you like what you are reading please share this with your friends.

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Spoiler alert: I will be talking about the Hunger Games series and the Hunger Game movie. If you have not read the entire Hunger Game series or watch the movie, you might want to skip this post.

I eagerly waited in line Sunday morning for the Hunger Games movie. Rarely do I feel inspired by a movie to write about it on my health blog. One word: fantastic! Whatever theme in the Hunger Games series you want to find, it is there: government, love, sacrifice, tv reality, society and class differences, and yes, even health and fitness.

The theme in the Hunger Games series that I want to discuss in this post has to do with food and its relationship to the characters.

As an aside, the Hunger Games movie follows the book closely. The scenes and characters that are omitted are minor and these omissions do not interrupt the storyline in the move.

Food theme in District 12: Stop gathering, you stop eating

The setting for District 12 is a mining town, which in itself does not result in extreme poverty for its citizens. But as a satellite city that supplies the Capital with coal and where the workers are kept subservient by the lack of food, there is very little chance for anyone to achieve a healthy appearance.

Katniss Everdeen and Gale Hawthorne in the Hunger Game movie practically glowed with vibrant health (yes some of this is Hollywood because it is amazing how clean they look when coal dust covers everything else).

In the Hunger Games series, Katniss, Gale, and their families fare better than the rest of their neighbors because Katniss and Gale are desperate enough to brave the wrath of the Capital by hunting and gathering in the forest outside of the fence surrounding their District.

As a health blogger, the things I notice from the Hunger Games series are how much trampling about the forest they do to get food (exercise) and the diversity of their diet since they never know what they will find each time they enter the forest (which increases their chance of proper nutrition). These two components factor into making Katniss a strong competitor in the Hunger Games.

Now if we all have to revert back to a hunter and gather society, you and I will have a high chance of becoming a lean, mean, fat burning machine. Since this is probably not going to happen in my lifetime and for practical reasons (I think I will end up taking out my own foot in the first hunt), I will just have to settle for carrying some of my groceries home on foot.

There is a grocery store about a mile away from my house. I can do my mid-week grocery trip pushing the stroller to pick bread and fresh fruit. What can you do to turn a regular task into a chance to exercise?

Food theme in the Capital: Eat, purge, eat

The one scene that clearly highlights the different mentality of the District and the Capital is during one of the victory feast in Catching Fire. Peeta and Katniss were full from eating, but still haven’t been able to try all the various dishes laid out. The silly members of the prep team showed them a bowl of liquid that induce vomit at the corner of the feast. Apparently it was a common occurrence at the Capital to stuff themselves, then drink the vomit inducing liquid, and stuff themselves again several times a night during these feasts. My disgust was just as great as Katniss’ and Peeta’s over such gluttonous behavior.

It is one thing to have an eating disorder, but to encourage such mass gorging and purging just because there is an excess of food, well, I don’t understand it. But I guess that is the point Suzanne Collins is trying to make. If there is no side effects and not even a slight discomfort, would you want a magical potion that allow you to keep eating? To the citizens in the Capital, eating and purging is normal. What does it take to make an eating disorder normal?

Food theme in District 13: Eat for nutrition, not for joy

Since District 13 (which appears in Mockingjay) has to be self-sustaining, it monitors the food intake of all its citizens to the nith degree, allowing no room for emotional eating. When it is time to eat, you eat. You cannot save any food for later. The food is calibrate to sustain your body for the work assigned to you (ie. more calories if you are doing military training and less calories if you are a clerk). And the food itself seems to be bland and tasteless.

It seems like everyone in District 13 is on a diet! For their entire lives!

Throughout the ages, food has always had a place in any celebration and rituals. What is Thanksgiving without the turkey? Or birthday without the cake? Or wedding without the champagne? These events seem to be missing something without its celebratory food or a replacement (we been known to have a roast for Thanksgiving on occasion).

There is room in our lives for comfort eating, for celebratory eating, and just plain old taking pleasure in eating; as long as we eat in moderation. I cannot imagine counting calories like they do in District 13 for my entire life.

Sure I am willing to diet for a short duration to lose some weight, but not for my entire life. If I have find myself in a position to diet constantly, then it is a strong indication there is something wrong with my relationship to food. Either I have to learn to cook, select healthier food, or figure out why I cannot stop myself from emotionally eating.

Final thoughts on the food themes in the Hunger Games

Everyone can relate to the food themes in the Hunger Games series. It is amazing how something as simple as feeding our bodies can produce such strong emotions and different reactions. I look my little Hazelnut and I know food is important. Trying to feed and teaching a toddler to feed herself is tougher than exercising for an hour. Guess which one I rather do?

If you have not read the Hunger Games series or watch the Hunger Games movie, I highly recommend them. Trust me, once you finish the Hunger Games, you are going to want to finish the entire series. It is that good.

Until next time and thanks for stopping by Small Steps to Health. And may the odds ever be in your favor.

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This is a sponsored guest post. This post is in association with Holland and Barrett.

Glucosamine is a great health supplement to invest in if you suffer from unhealthy connective tissue and cartilage. Glucosamine is in fact produced by the body naturally, but there are certain times in our lives when we are unable to produce it as effectively as before. Reason being, as we get older our body starts to produce less and less glucosamine.

This is when the use of a health supplements such as glucosamine comes to play. There are a number of situations that may arise and in turn cause our bodies to lack in both glucosamine and the benefits it brings. These include the likes of an injury, age, chronic degeneration, burns and inflammatory diseases. All of the above sadly happen, but thankfully there is a way to restore our glucosamine levels.

Glucosamine is available as a health food supplement in three different forms. These include capsule, liquid and tablet and which form you choose will depend on your preference.

All of the above are available from health food stores. Simply pop into your local health food venue today and purchase any one of the above at ease.

Glucosamine should always be taken with precaution and only as prescribed. Overdosing could result in unwanted side effects. This is why it is always advised to read the label prior to taking any product. The side effects are unknown as of yet but too much of anything is never good thing.

Talk to your doctor or health food assistant prior to taking the product if you are a little unsure whether it is the one for you. This way you will be able to see if it is suited to your needs.

Glucosamine has been proven by many to really aid in both joint pain and various forms of joint discomfort. The supplement also is said to improve joint structure, which in turn helps promote a happy and healthy lifestyle.

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How much are you willing to pay for an effective weight loss program? Would you be willing to pay $25 to lose 1 pound? What about $100? People enrolled in a structured weight loss program such as Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig often end up losing more weight than people try to lose weight on their own. But these weight loss programs are going to cost you big time.

There’s an article in Money magazine this month breaking down the cost per pound of weight loss for the three top weight loss programs: Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and Nutrisystem. These top weight loss programs conduct rigorous studies confirming their effectiveness compared to trying to lose weight on your own.

Cost of Weight Watchers

For Weight Watchers, the article stated that you will spend $240 for the weekly weigh-in meetings over a six-month period. This does not include the cost of food. You are paying for the support from other fellow dieters and learning how to create meal plans to lose weight. After you factor in food, you will end up paying $97 for each pound you lose on the Weight Watchers program.

Cost of Jenny Craig

For Jenny Craig, the article stated that you will spend approximately $2,221 to $3,341 for 6 months on the premium plan. The cost includes some food. You end up paying $131 to $174 for each pound you lose on the Jenny Craig program. Like Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig includes weekly counseling to help you eventually wean off of their package meals.

Cost of Nutrisystem

For Nutrisystem, the article stated that you will spend approximately $2,380 for women and $2,590 for men for 6 months on the Select plan. The cost includes some meals. You end up paying $130 to $139 for each pound you lose on the Nutrisystem program.

The Nutrisystem program is the only one that relies on prepackaged meals for 60% of your meals and does not offer weekly counseling or meetings to help you create meal plans to lose weight once you’re off the weight loss program. So once you stop eating Nutrisystem food, you’re pretty much on your own in trying to create meal plans for weight loss or maintenance.

It is interesting that it costs about $97 – $174 to lose 1 pound when you join any of these three effective weight loss programs. This cost does not include all the food you will eat while you are in these weight loss programs. Being on the frugal side I am truly amaze how much people are willing to pay to lose weight.

However, I can see the appeal of joining a structured weight loss program because of the handholding and the support you get from weekly meetings. It does require more effort to research how to plan meals for weight loss on your own without guidance.

Though participants lose weight in all three weight loss programs, Weight Watchers is the only one that allows you to do so using food you would purchase from your grocery store. Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem require you to eat mostly from the pre-packaged meals they have available. It will be hard for you to maintain the weight loss in the long run if you do not know how to plan your own meals once you are not enrolled in a structured weight loss program.

Learning how to meal plan is more important than how much weight you lose while on the weight loss program. You are not going to be in a weight loss program for life. At some point you need to know how to incorporate healthy eating habits into your daily routine. If you cannot maintain your weight loss because you have not learned how to eat healthy while in a structured weight loss program, you will be joining one of these programs over and over again every few years with your yo-yoing weight.

How much are you willing to pay to lose 1 pound?

Until next time and thanks for stopping by Small Steps to Health.

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Sometimes when you are overexposed to TV commercials advertising food causes you to rummage through your refrigerator or pantry for something to eat. Apparently reading mystery books based on cooking causes me to develop the same habit.

Lately I’ve been reading two mystery series where the main characters are cooks. So throughout the multiple books they talk about whipping up these gourmet meals while pondering whodunit. And the recipes are interposed throughout the book. Every time I put one of these books down, I want eat chocolate.

If you ever try losing weight, then you know the first thing you do is get rid of temptations. It is a real test of my willpower sometimes to not eat when I’m reading these two cooking mystery book series. However, I believe that you cannot go through life avoiding every temptation. And sometimes it actually inspires me to think more about how food also nourishes the soul. These days I wolf down food like there’s no tomorrow in between feedings and diaper changes (and we all know this is the first step of disconnecting food from hunger).

So let’s take today as the day that we will slow down our eating. Let’s savor our food and actually take more than 15 minutes to finish a meal. After all food feeds more than just our hunger.

By the way the two cooking mystery books series are by Diane Mott Davison and JoAnne Fulk (in case you’re interested in salivating over what the main characters are eating).

Until next time and thanks for stopping by Small Steps to Health.

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