A Life Without Coffee? Really?

[NatureRabbi]

I admit, I am a coffee junkie. When I started work as a trauma chaplain I wondered how I would keep my caffeine levels up and joked (not really) about those shirts that bike riders wear with the thermos on their back and straws to their lips (camel backs). But fortunately, one hospital has a Starbucks for my four shots of espresso on ice, and the other has hot water and I bring my Starbucks Via (instant).

Coffee is the only non-compliance issue I have so far (only day three), but it is also the only one I see in the future.

The rest of the eating/drinking plan seems great and makes sense to me.

Now --tell me about coffee.
Since I lost after day one, and gained after day two -- and coffee was my only non-compliance, that little voice appeared in my mind: could it be? was it the coffee? (as I brewed myself another pot)

I am almost out of my high test brand I drink and need to order more.............but I thought I would wait (weight) and see what you McD experts had to say before I placed my order.

I await your words as I savor my coffee (for the last time????) she says plaintiffly and question and hope in her mind.posting.php?mode=post&f=14#

[eaufraiche703]

would it be a longer life - or just seem that way....
(to paraphrase WC Fields)


Dr McD wouldn't approve of your consumption of those blessed beans in any guise, but i'm a half-caffer myself at this point and not sure total decaf is on the list of self help projects*. Noticed that Dr Barnard hasn't proscribed the eschewment of coffee in his 21 day kickstart at PCRM, unless i missed something (and that might have been a rather deliberate oversight)

you'll undoubtedly hear from others with either more discipline or less of a love for a great brew...

congrats on your great start for this project, tho, NatureRabbi. and don't weigh too often....Jeff Novick has some helpful posts on why this can become a mind-numbing and fruitless exercise (will get back on & send 'em later if you'd like)

* this would have been in a tiny font, but couldn't figure out how to do that. techno-incompetent!

[NatureRabbi]

Thanks for the reply
I wonder if it is just to de-tox the body, or if coffee itself has negative weight loss effects?

And if I give it up, the question is how? go to 1/2 caff, or green tea and wean from there......

And Oy!
My son is a pastry chef -- good thing he lives in D.C. and not in FL -- he just mailed me his homemade Stollen for the holidays. I am taking it right to the hospital and giving it to the nurses who will love it, thereby removing the temptation from me.

[eaufraiche703]

did you read this link (below) on hot topics, Ann?

http://www.drmcdougall.com/med_hot_coffeetea.html

but still, a few people on the board indulge in an AM cup. the link informs about Dr. M's opinion on the matter.

[TominTN]

Thanks for the reply
I wonder if it is just to de-tox the body, or if coffee itself has negative weight loss effects?

My understanding is that caffeine (from any source, not just coffee) has both negative effects of its own as well as fostering weight retention or gain. A good source is the book Caffeine Blues by Stephen Cherniske. (The title links to the book's page on Amazon.)

I've also seen information indicating that benefits of green tea outweigh the negatories of the (small amount of) caffeine it contains.

And if I give it up, the question is how? go to 1/2 caff, or green tea and wean from there......

Our family solution for going from several mugs of coffee a day to zero was to do 3/4 caf for a week, then 1/2, then 1/4, each a week at a time. Now I drink mostly green tea, with some sugar in it. And, about once a week, a small coffee.

I like what Jeff posted on Facebook earlier today: "inviting all of you to continue the New Year off right by again, joining me in another day of being active and eating right. This years motto is "Just One More"...... just one more step today and just one more serving of something healthy.... There is no "challenge", but a motto to do just a little more. Works perfectly with anything you are doing already. No one is 100% so whatever you are doing and wherever you are at in it, just keep going."

Aim for progress, not perfection!
Just keep moving in the right direction!

[brannach]

As a former coffee-aholic... I simply can't stand coffee without milk, so in giving up milk I had to give up coffee. Whatever you do - do it slowly.

I stopped cold turkey. Day 2 I had a headache that felt like it was going to explode I went to a training thing after work, headed straight to the coffee and made a cup with FOUR teaspoons of instant coffee. The headache was gone in 5 minutes. But it was a wakeup call that I truly was addicted to my 10 to 15 cup a day habit. I weaned myself in three days by just stretching out the time between 'hits'.

The good news - not only did I give up coffee but I found that lots of things tasted better. I now drink green tea by preference, and find it has quite a strong taste (most of my friends think it is just hot water), and I like the taste of herbal teas which I used to hate. I still have the very occasional cup of coffee when I go out, but always with soy milk.

I'd been drinking coffee since I was 15. When I stopped at 53 I never thought I would be able to. You can do it. I think you will be really surprised at the change it makes to how you feel. For me it was less anxiety, less of that dry mouth feeling, and everything tasted better, much better.

Good luck.

Roseanne

[Clary]

One point of view, from The Uchee Pines Lifestyle Center in Alabama re:effects of caffeine on the body and mind :
http://www.ucheepines.org/index.php?p=c ... g.caffeine

A few extracted points from their article:
~~Heart disease shows a stronger association with coffee drinking than with obesity
~~caffeine has many pharmacologic actions in the body, including excitation of the nerves followed by a sort of paralysis or depression.
~~The stomach and bladder are irritated by caffeine
~~Caffeinism-The disease related to caffeine intake involves every organ system, from the nervous system to the skin.
~~widespread interference in various enzyme systems,
~~damage to the chromosomes of the sex cells and other body cells,
~~Caffeine raises stress hormone levels in the blood,
~~Caffeine inhibits important enzyme systems having to do with house cleaning in the body,
~~Caffeine sensitizes nerve reception sites, and is associated with a sense of poor health, anxiety, and depression
~~Psychiatrists are now publishing articles indicating that there are numerous cases of depression and anxiety in mental institutions who need no other treatment than to be taken off caffeine

[janluvs2heel]

I have never been a huge coffee drinker but I always like my coffee in the am. I have lost weight while drinking what amounted to 2 c. in the am. So I continued to drink it. I also became quite addicted to the McDonald's iced coffee & was a regular during the work week. However, when I decided to quit & went cold turkey, I realized that I was addicted to it & got the usual withdrawl symptoms. I have quit several times in the past but it always called me back. In Dec. while being total compliant on McDougall, I checked my BP, noticed it was higher that I expected. I took it 3 times, each time it changed but the lowest reading I got was 130/something, I can't remember the bottom #, highest was 160/?. So although I ignored it at the time & figured it was stress as I was going thru a very stressful time, when I got into the new year, I decided to chuck the coffee habit once & for all. Yes, I suffered the cold turkey effects & I was also feeling the effects of getting back on McDougalling after a few weeks of feeding my emotions. It took about 10 days for my headaches to completely go away. I am no into 3 weeks with no coffee & do not miss it at all, except for the warm drink in the cold ams. Sometimes I have herbal teas or green tea, sans the caffeine. My BP is also back on track as well.

It is easier for me to go cold turkey, but I think it is whatever works for you. For the past few days, I have been feeling the effects of McDougalling & no coffee/caffeine. I feel amazing. I am 59, 60 in Sept. I do have some arthritis in my knees, particuliarly my left one. I have no pain/stiffness now, no headaches, am much calmer. I am back to losing weight as well, without obsessing about it.

I hope to be posting in my journal this weekend & will write about my last few weeks.