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Could You Go A Month Without Coffee?

Could You Go A Month Without Coffee?
Carly Jacobs
A

ddictions are fascinating. Some people can smoke two cigarettes a week without a problem and other people need to chain smoke from the moment they wake up in the morning. Some people can eat just the right amount of food they require and other people feel the urge to eat to the point of discomfort. It’s one thing to be addicted to something that’s bad for you – like alcohol or marijuana – but what if you’re addicted to something that’s not necessarily bad for you? Like coffee.

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There are thousands of studies on coffee but there’s very little solid proof that coffee is bad for you. There’s also very little solid proof that coffee is good for you and that’s the dilemma. Is addiction always bad even if the subject of the addiction isn’t? This week on Straight and Curly, we’re discussing coffee addiction and a few things you might not know about the caffeine bean.

– There’s no real reason to give up coffee unless you’re consuming lots of additional calories with your coffee in the form of milk and sugar.

– If you’re particularly sensitive to coffee and you experience jittery cortisol highs, you might want to avoid it.

– There’s little point in having a coffee first thing in the morning because your cortisol levels are already high. You’re best to wait until mid-morning or mid-afternoon when your cortisol levels drop and you can use the coffee to top you up.

– There have been a few studies that support the theory that if you have a few extra kilos of belly fat, ditching coffee may help you shift it. This isn’t a hard and fast rule but it can’t hurt to try!

– Everyone metabolises caffeine differently so listen to your body and figure out what works for you.

This week on Straight and Curly, Kelly and I are talking about giving up coffee. It’s a really interesting episode actually because even though I drink coffee, I only drink it if other people are. Kelly is a full blown addict and gave it up for a full month just for this podcast. It’s definitely worth a listen.

Oh and this week on Sweet Teen Club, Stacey and I are talking about The Wrong Kind of Girl from Sweet Valley High. It’s just about the weirdest book in the world and the first time SVH really deals with ‘that’ kind of girl. You know, girls with ‘reputations’. We actually have no idea what they mean because they never specify but it’s endlessly hilarious.

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So where do you sit on the whole coffee thing? Are you addicted? Take it or leave it? Or don’t like it at all?

 

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P.S Oh hey you should totally sign up for my newsletter. It’s full of cool shit.

19 Comments

  1. Cassie 8 years ago

    I recently gave up coffee as part of a 30 day detox: caffeine, alcohol, dairy, refined sugar. I can’t say I noticed a whole lot- so I picked up dairy and caffeine early (after 3 weeks). I’ve lost a couple of KGs but I’d attribute that to the alcohol and refined sugar. I say to hell with ditching coffee!

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 8 years ago

      Exactly that’s the trouble with giving up coffee is that people often give up other stuff at the same time so it’s difficult to figure out what the effects of just giving up coffee are. Also if you’re not sensitive to caffeine there’s really not much point.

  2. Anglicare SA are running a Coffee Break challenge next month for people to give up coffee and donate what they’d spend on it a week to Anglicare, supporting the homeless. I’m actually coordinating the fundraising in our office. I used to buy a cup every morning out of habit but on my return from maternity leave, I went right off it for about a year. I will usually have one in the morning but can take or leave it.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 8 years ago

      That’s actually a really cute idea. I do think lots of money and cups are wasted in the coffee industry. I do support keep cups and all that jazz!

  3. ^^^ a made one from the kitchen, not a bought one.

  4. Laura van Laeren 8 years ago

    I was drinking ~6 cups of coffee a day in my last year of studies. I slowly cut that down to only 1 or 2 a day but then I was diagnosed with anxiety and my Dr recommended cutting out the caffeine. I’m now 18 months without a cup of coffee and haven’t had a panic attack in over a year (with no anti anxiety meds in that time). The first month or so was hard but I don’t miss it at all now.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 8 years ago

      Wow that’s pretty much exactly what Kelly said! There didn’t seem to be a whole lot of available research on that but lots of people have reported huge declines in anxious feelings when giving up caffeine.

  5. niki 8 years ago

    I’m sensitive to caffeine, so despite loving the taste and rush of energy coffee provides, I try and go regular stretches without it. Over Christmas that was a month, and then I went to 4 a month, then 6 a month, then 10, etc. Even though a 10am coffee should be out of my system by bedtime, when I’m off coffee I sleep like a baby, and when I’m on it I take ages to fall asleep and don’t sleep as soundly. It’s the blissful sleep that keeps me coming back to stints off coffee, and the deliciousness that keeps me drinking it again!

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 8 years ago

      I should actually try that – I’ve never had sleep problems before but I have in the past few years. Maybe should go for a month without coffee – you’ve tempted me!

  6. Hannah 8 years ago

    I was addicted when I was in grade school (not sure what I was doing drinking coffee at 13), but quit altogether when I realized I was getting atrocious headaches if I didn’t have it. Drank coffee socially in college, and now I can take it or leave it. I don’t particularly like it, and neither does my husband so we don’t even keep any in the house. I’m a tea drinker all the way.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 8 years ago

      I agree! I have coffee but I’m never really sure why and I only ever have one day and only if someone else is having it. I adore tea. I feel like there are very few problems that can’t be fixed with a little bit of tea.

  7. Harlow 8 years ago

    How I react to coffee is how I imagine other people react to meth. I LOVE IT though. I try to limit myself to no more than two lattes a week, which is piss weak and lame anyway but is enough to make me have a panic attack and stay awake until 3am. Unfortunately I need it to work on days when there is a lot to get through, so I don’t think I could give it up. I would have to take up doing lines of coke instead to get that energy/productivity buzz, so I’ll take the coffee.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 8 years ago

      I’m the same – I’m quite caffeine sensitive but then I sometimes just really freaking need to get into to me!

  8. careeragogo 8 years ago

    I think I am like your father in law who can take a espresso to bed as a night cap – it has absolutely no effect on me. However if you give me that crap they serve at weddings and conferences, brewed coffee, I roam around the halls ringing my hands and wailing like Lady Macbeth – the stuff sends me nuts. Why espressos are findeand brewed coffee sends me loopy – no idea!

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 8 years ago

      That’s so interesting! Did you listen to the podcast? There’s a whole section on caffeine levels and how they vary even from the same brew and the same beans so you can never really know how much caffeine is a cup ever. Which explains you going a bit loopy!

  9. Kate 8 years ago

    I really enjoy having my morning coffee. It’s part of my morning ‘get into work’ routine which I love and gets me pepped up for the day.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 8 years ago

      I think I’m the same with coffee – it’s more of a ritual than anything else for me. I like going for a walk to get my coffee and the break associated with it more than the actual coffee.

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