Hi, my name is Lacey. I’m a coffee-holic. I’m not being sarcastic. I’m serious. It’s gotten to the point where even on the days I try to quit, I sabotage myself. The health repercussions are more obvious than ever too. I sleep rigid and wake up tense and tired which drives me to get my first cup of coffee. My face breaks out more often than it did in high school. I’m moody and my menstrual cycles are getting more severe. I don’t even get a latte, or even an americano. I get 2 shots over ice. It gets in my system quickly. By the time that wears off around 4PM, I’m back at the local coffee shop to get a second. Thankfully all their coffee is organic fair trade. At least I feel good about supporting that. But yesterday was the last straw. I had 2 shots of espresso in the morning, 2 at noon and a breve mocha at 5 PM. I felt sick and jittery. And VERY cranky.
Here’s the other problem, I’ve been stuck at 18% body fat for almost a year. I train hard. 5 times a week. I’ve switched up my routines several times. I do power yoga 2x a week. I take breaks every couple months to allow my muscles a chance to rest and recover. I know 18% is low for most females, but I’ve been lower and healthier not long ago. I don’t feel healthy right now. And I know I still have more fat on my body than it needs. There was a point a couple years ago in which I felt agile and mobile, strong and balanced. And I was caffeine free. It’s effecting my metabolism and my diet is suffering because of it! It kick starts my craving for sugar and starch, I swear coffee is a gateway drug. The rest of my diet would be great if not for the sweet sin of espresso. So if I can get that back on track, I will hopefully be able to continue my journey to peak health. We’re hoping to get pregnant again in the next year or so, and I’m determined to have conquered this!
So here’s what I need to do. I need help. And who better than my Nourishing Community? If anyone would like to join me in my quest, or at least encourage or scold me (I may need that too), please speak up! I’m determined to go 30 days without coffee, and from there I’ll try to keep it to just a few a month! I will check in every week to give updates and also to journal how my mind, body and soul recover from the hold of Espresso!!
About the Author...
I'm an incredibly blessed wife and mother of one. I live out in the great state of Oregon where it's okay to recycle and hug trees (if I were so inclined). I'm newly beginning my search to find better health and thus live life more abunduntly! I am a personal trainer and I love sharing my new found knowledge amoung my clients. I also enjoy gardening, cooking, painting, surfing, yoga, hiking, and I am always looking for new ways to connect with nature and simplify my life!
Jul 24th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
YAY another coffee addict! I’ve been off coffee totally for two weeks now (snaps for me). Herbal substitutes are great when you get cravings. I cut my coffee down slowly by half cups for a week or two until I was down to half a cup a day. It was easier to stop that way, I’d tried going cold turkey before without much success! As you’ve been reading, my goals are similar to yours, I want to get lean. I’ll try to encourage you along the way, if I find that something I’m doing is really working, I’ll let you know! It’s good to know there’s someone like me facing a dreaded plateau.
Jul 24th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Wow! That sounds like a pretty severe addiction Lacey! Good luck with it! Have you tried dandelion coffee? Bonvit makes a blend of dandelion and chicory which is really nice. You can get it in bags or granules. It would probably taste like a poor substitute for coffee to start with but after a few days to a week without a coffee you might appreciate it. It has the bonus of being good for the liver too. There’s a dandelion coffee you can get that’s instant and it has lactose in it but I don’t think it’s as good and you don’t need the sugar (lactose).
I remember when I gave up smoking (about 25 years ago) I thought I’d be able to just smoke socially and I ended up back on it and had to give up all over again! It might be the same for you with the coffee.
Jul 24th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
well reading your cry for help is so familiar, you need to tell coffee to go away, I don’t want you in my life anymore, tell it to pack its bags and go. So many people except it as part of lifee cause its so common. Not me, I tortured my body with caffine till I got sick with colitis, now I am happily caffeine free (except for a little fair trade choccy now and then…yum) My life is very nourished and with all the good food I have all the energy I need, go to gym, work, ride bike, travel, make films, study, very busy-no caffeine-nourishing food= feel great
Perhaps for the 30 days you could give yourself a massage each day, I did that once and it was lovely
Jul 24th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Hey Lacey,
Go for it!!! During abstract research on my own health found out one of the best sources of vitamin b3, or niacin is decaffinated espresso. Good for energy.
At least it would be a good start, or a lesser evil when the cravings get intense.
Molasses as well. Good with my raw milk in the mornings.
Good luck!
Karen.
Jul 25th, 2008 at 9:28 am
Hey Lacey,
I feel you! Giving up coffee is easy i’ve done it a hundred times!- sorry old joke. But seriously coffee is one of those things that has as much negative press as it does positive. I know Sally Fallon mentions the stress it puts on the bodies functions but I can’t stay away. I believe my one good strong cup in the morning (never anymore) is not doing any harm.
One more thing is the quality of the coffee along with the practices that get it to your kitchen. I’ve been using an organic fair trade coffee for a few years now and I can honestly say the taste and feeling is much more “clean”. Especially stacked up against a generic blend or shock instant!
But in saying all that, good luck. Discipline when it comes to addiction is always a good thing.
Anyways I for one ain’t giving up my java, ever.
Peace,
Dan
Jul 25th, 2008 at 11:31 am
or maybe try a strong organic cocoa powder. The theobromine in it has a mild stimulant effect, but isnt as intense as coffee, plus you get all the antioxidants, and you get that nice warm hot cuppa feeling still.
Jul 25th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Hi Lacey
Have you ever thought that your coffee addiction is a form of self medication? You’ve gotta find and fix whatever is behind the need for “medication”. I’ve found that willpower alone is never enough for coffee and sugar addictions - you just end up in cycle of guilt. It might be a problem with your metabolism that’s causing the coffee cravings? My clients are always surprised when they first see me that I never (well almost never) tell them to stop the coffee. I normally find that once they’re feeling better that most people naturally reduce and often eventually stop their coffee. They just reach a point where they don’t need it any more. Most people seem to respond well to coconut oil in hot water at breakfast and lunch to keep the need for an energy fix from coffee at bay. You could try switching to green tea or regular tea which still has the caffeine but is not quite as potent and slowly wean yourself onto low caffeine or caffeine free tea. Extra B6 can often help too, especially in the activated/coenzyme form of pyridoxal-5-phosphate.
Also, if you’re wanting to have a baby, I probably wouldn’t go much lower with your body fat. PMS, skin breakouts and changes to your menstrual cycle may not all be the fault of your coffee - they’re common hormonal responses to a low fat diet.
A great book you might want to check out is The Schwarzbein Principle by Diana Schwarzbein.
Good luck on your journey.
Jul 25th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Thanks all for the support and feedback! Dan, I agree Organic is best. My hubby and I only support the coffee house that sells organic fair trade. Jad, I’ll have to give some good cocoa powder a shot. However, strong chocolate tends to give me a head ache. Really, I think that my body just needs a bit of a break from all stimulants. I actually took a nap this afternoon. Something I haven’t been able to do in months since I’ve been so jacked up on caffeine and chocolate. I will most likely return to the occasional cup of good quality espresso after these 30 days, but I just need a vacation from it. It feels good to have my wits about me today and feel calm. Even if I do have a withdrawal headache! I’m sure that when I have an intense craving I’ll head to the local shop for some decaf. They use a non-chemically treated decaf which I like. They also have really great whole leaf tea. Maybe I should just substitute a good herbal tea for my usual fix!
Jul 25th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
I have had to give up coffee, as I suffer from headaches. However I do drink coffee alternatives that you can find at healthfood stores, such as rich roast, which is basically just grains of rye, barley, with malt. The taste is fine once you get used to it. You can make it into a cappucino too, following the directions on the side
However a good cup of organic hot chocolate does me better. I love the Green and Black one, as it is really dark and bitter sweet and made with hot milk, it is luxurious. Add in some raw honey or raw sugar and I am good to go.
Jul 26th, 2008 at 1:29 am
Sarah,
I’m sure that the coffee is not the root cause of many of my issues, like you stated. It’s simply encouraging them. I find that if I drink too much coffee, then I end up having too much sugar…. or too many starches. I usually don’t feel hungry for several hours and then hit a low and I’m starving and graze way too much. I am absolutely positive that I don’t have a low fat diet. I drink lots of raw milk and cream, coconut milk and oil, butter and cheese and chicken, fish or beef each day. I follow the Nourishing Traditions cookbook almost exclusively, and have found my body responds well. I truly feel that my diet would just do much better if I could get a better grip on my caffeine intake. As far as my body fat percentage, most women don’t do well to be under. However I was at 13% when I conceived my son and I was the healthiest I’d ever been. I don’t intend on going that low, as the body fat percentage is merely a guage of fat and not health. I’ll know when I get there, even without knowing my body composition. Mostly I’m striving to be in optimum health in my mind, body and spirit. And as far as I can tell, I’m not there, and coffee was one of the culprits!!
I’ll have to look into B6, and I might nab my mother’s copy of the book you mentioned. You can never have too much information right! Thanks for your post!
Jul 26th, 2008 at 1:31 am
Oh as a side note, I’ve found that by drinking a full glass of my homemade Kombucha each time I craved coffee yesterday, the craving went away! Yay!
Jul 26th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Kombucha seriously, is the best thing ever.
Jul 27th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Ditto Sarah about The Schwarzbein Principle (except her ideas about soy). It was one of the books that helped me get over an eating disorder. Great stuff on womens’ health.
Jul 30th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
I’m with you Lacey. Caffeine is hard for me also. It’s like I’m addicted to feeling panic or something. I’m not alive unless I’m hopped up on worry juice. Weird. Have you noticed how many people are addicted to caffeine? I don’t remember everyone lining up outside coffee shops in the morning when I was a kid.
Sarah, I tried the coconut drink and it really helped. A teaspoon of coconut oil with 1/2 teaspoon honey, hot water and some raw milk. mmmm. The kids gave it a try and said they preferred ‘warm honey milka’ without the coconut. pity.
I also tried grapefruit juice in warm water upon rising and broth. Only thing, these things reduce my appetite in the morning so I’m unable to eat much protein and fat for breakfast. Maybe I need to get up even earlier and wait to get hungry.
Do you think raw liver will be enough for B6 or do we need supplementation?
I’ll keep you posted Lacey on my addiction. Blessings, Joanne
Jul 31st, 2008 at 7:57 am
So the first week was… tough. I ended up giving in and having decaf one day and the next day they accidentally made me regular and I didn’t even try to stop them. However the other days were great. I’ve been sleeping soundly, except when the neighbors cats have a spat outside my window. I did break down and get the Green and Black cocoa powder that Mum suggested. I really like mixed with my raw cream! I’m starting to feel better already though. I’m drinking more water and Kombucha and eating less sweets and starches. Just 3 more weeks to go! I suspect that after this month I wont have much of a taste for strong espresso and I’ll only have it as a treat here and there. Thanks again for the feedback!
Jul 31st, 2008 at 12:19 pm
You can do it! :)
Jul 31st, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Lacey, so proud of you! Keep it up!
Aug 12th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Joanne
Raw liver and egg yolks are a great food sources of vitamin B6 - you shouldn’t need extra supplementation (anyone on the contraceptive pill or who smokes cigarettes (or cannabis) or drinks alcohol daily probably won’t be able to obtain enough from diet alone). The B6 was reccomended for Lacey’s hormonal havoc, PMS and skin breakouts. Coffee also increases requirements for B6.