Billions of people worldwide drink coffee or some form of caffeine every day. If coffee cups would talk then I wasn’t listening…
…As I used to be one of these people.
I didn’t realize it at the time but it was slowly damaging my health.
I’m fairly fit and active, I eat well 90% of the time but my energy levels were getting lower.
Until I took some action and did something about it.
To cut the long story short I took caffeine out of my day, I’ll be honest, it wasn’t easy at the beginning but I knew the benefits it could bring me.
Saying that though, my results were better than I had first anticipated.
Taking caffeine out of my daily routine was a huge contributor to me losing 18lbs and a 6% body fat reduction in 12 weeks.
In this blog I hope to help you raise your awareness around the effects of coffee and caffeine.
Now just so we are CLEAR, I’m not anti-caffeine, I just know now that people drinking too much of it, may not realize the ‘longer-term’ consequences.
Caffeine is generally accepted as safe for consumption in moderation, but there are some solid benefits of breaking the habit and quitting coffee, energy drinks, strong tea, energy drinks etc.
1. Creates Addiction
Most people are addicted to caffeine, it’s an addictive substance to some degree although most don’t have the awareness around this.
People often tell me they are not addicted. Well try and not drink it for a few days, let me know how that goes…
…If you cannot then you’re addicted. Sorry, but it’s true.
I was that person so I know EXACTLY how it feels.
But I broke free from the need and desire for coffee.
Having such a dependency on a substance to function normally or even stay awake, can become a vicious cycle. It changes your brain’s chemistry resulting in the need for more of the substance to achieve the desired results.
Quitting caffeine or coffee breaks the cycle and breaks us free from needing a daily drug to function normally.
2. Boosts Your Financial Savings
The cost of a caffeine addiction can add up to hundreds of £££’s a year. Imagine what you COULD have with the money saved, if you quit or at least reduced the intake.
Let’s say you are Costa’s favorite customer and a cup costs £2 and you were having two of these take-outs on your way to work and at lunch time, that’s £20 a week at least.
That’s about £900 a year on something that’s actually causing you potential harm and stealing your energy and vitality.
That’s the holiday you are missing out on.
And people say they cannot afford gym memberships!
3. Lowers Your Blood Pressure
Caffeine can raise your blood pressure a few points and even more in some people.
Quitting coffee or caffeine can lower your blood pressure and keep your heart from working as hard.
If you don’t give a monkeys about this, ask someone with high blood pressure what they’d wish for.
4. Improves Your Sleep
Caffeine can greatly reduce the amount and quality of sleep. Drinking coffee or energy drinks too late in the day can interfere with getting to sleep since the half-life of caffeine is 4-6 hours.
Coffee plays havoc with your blood glucose management, even if you get to sleep this will often lead you to broken sleep and poor energy levels.
I had my biggest breakthrough with this experience, I would often experience huge hunger cravings late in the evening and throughout the night, Once I controlled this with my coffee intake, my sleep and energy levels went through the roof.
I’m a true believer that if people improved their sleep then half of their stress, low energy and weight loss issues would subside.
5. Decreases Your Mood
Caffeine alters your mood. Many report feeling grumpy until they’ve had their morning coffee and others feel lethargic when the caffeine begins to wear off in the afternoon.
You’ll be forever up and down; you’ll never really be you.
I would often experience a big crash in mood during the day, this would lead to napping and having more coffee to keep my evening energy levels up.
6. Decreases Your Anxiety Levels
Many people report that caffeine increases their anxiety levels. This has to do with how caffeine stimulates the adrenal glands.
Quitting coffee or caffeine can make you feel less anxious, especially if you are prone to anxiety issues.
For those with these issues, you’ll know what this does to your heart rate so why give yourself an extra push in the wrong direction.
7. Improves Your Weight Loss
Unless you drink your coffee black. Caffeinated beverages generally add empty calories to your diet that you don’t really need.
I’m not putting coffee entirely down to my weight loss results but it certainly played a huge part to the overall success.
Imagine you had an energy drink habit, this could be to give you a boost to your training or to see you through the day. Quitting just one Monster Energy Drink per day would save you 200 calories, that’s 1,400 calories a week, or 73,000 calories a year!
And If you want another statistic then convert that to body weight and it equates to 21lbs.
Now there is more to it than that but a simple few unnecessary calories everyday is a contribution to people’s weight gain these days.
So Should You Quit?
That’s your decision.
My opinion is that people don’t need to, but If you are a slave to your coffee mug or energy drink, perhaps it’s time to assess just what caffeine is doing for you and whether or not it’s time to quit.
I’ll go back to the odd coffee now and again soon, but I’m in control now.
