Giving up tea and caffine

Options
clarewellfair29
clarewellfair29 Posts: 13 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi guys,

I thought I would just see what you thought about some info that I was given at the health MOT I had at the gym last week.

The main thing that has come out of it from the Health Advisor is that I need to seriously cut cups of tea and caffine out of my diet. He said a couple a day is fine but I was drinking about 7 a day and he said this is really bad for weight loss. I asked if de-caf tea is ok and he said no because it's still full of toxins.

I've been on the herbal teas and water for a week now which has been really hard, but has anyoen else been told this? Most people I know seem to be quite surprised by it. I'm still in the early stages and I have defintely noticed some benefites such as being able to get up much easier and earlier in the morning but I haven't noticed much in the weight loss department.
«1

Replies

  • iuew
    iuew Posts: 624 Member
    Options
    decaf tea is full of toxins? first i've heard of that.

    anytime you hear something like this, i would confirm it by looking at real, peer-reviewed studies. you can find the database of them here : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed

    there is a lot of unscientific woo out there.

    as for giving up caffeine, i did so in 2010. it wasn't too bad; had a low grade headache for a week or so, but it didn't bother me much. i'm probably less tired now than when i was drinking a ton of regular coffee. i currently drink decaf coffee and tea.
  • kme2011
    kme2011 Posts: 100 Member
    Options
    my thing was sweet tea and sodas. we ( my husband and I) gave them up about 6 months ago. I've noticed i'm no where near as sluggish as i used to be. I feel better in general. Aside from the headaches at first. They weren't too bad though.

    as for the tea being full of toxins i'm with iuew, i've never heard of that. But then again i'm not an expert. lol.

    give it time and you will feel better. I now "crave" water like i did the tea. And it is better for me. it takes some adjustments but it will be worth it.

    good luck
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
    Options
    It does not have toxins. Period.

    The issue with caffeine is that if taken within a few hours before bed, it can affect the quality or length or your sleep. Adequate sleep in both time and quality is essential for weight loss.

    Otherwise, a morning cup or two or three is not going to hurt.
  • MdmAcolyte
    MdmAcolyte Posts: 382 Member
    Options
    I can understand giving up sodas and sweet tea and such, but plain old unsweet tea? That's crazy! That's about all I drink unless Im treating myself to a beer nowadays ~ I hate plain water and cannot use "enhancers" because they make me sick. Definitely do a double take on that.

    In weightloss, everyone has an opinion. I dont buy it though.
  • Shua89
    Shua89 Posts: 144 Member
    Options
    I cut out caffeine months ago and it's amazing how much MORE energy I have now. It took about two weeks for my body to adjust to no caffeine but then my energy levels just shot up immensely. I even needed less sleep at night and started to wake up long before my alarm went off. Now I run on about 6 hours of sleep and that's all I need.

    I now have ONE cup of coffee in the morning but not because I need the caffeine but because I enjoy it. For the rest of the day it's water.

    I have heard from several sources that decaf is not really good for you. It's better than the caffeine but "better than" does not mean healthy.

    My only real advise is to cut it out slowly in order to avoid the caffeine withdrawal headaches, they can get pretty bad if you're used to drinking a lot of the stuff.
  • Kimaw65
    Kimaw65 Posts: 74 Member
    Options
    I drink a glass of green tea with breakfast, lunch, and dinner (unsweetened, of course)
  • tuckerrj
    tuckerrj Posts: 1,453 Member
    Options
    The decaffeination process usually involves the use of solvents like benzene, dichloromethane or ethyl acetate. Some nutritionists are concerned residues of these solvents can remain with decaffeinated product. But when I researched it, I couldn't find any authoritative research labeling decaf tea/coffee as unsafe.
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
    Options
    The decaffeination process usually involves the use of solvents like benzene, dichloromethane or ethyl acetate. Some nutritionists are concerned residues of these solvents can remain with decaffeinated product. But when I researched it, I couldn't find any authoritative research labeling decaf tea/coffee as unsafe.

    Oh. My. God. Research? Authoritative sources? GET OUT OF HERE HERETIC!!!!
  • clarewellfair29
    clarewellfair29 Posts: 13 Member
    Options
    Hmmm quite mixed information but thank you for helping out. I've been sticking to the no tea cafinated or decaf and I am absolutely shocked at how much energy I have, I used to come home from work, have tea and start thinking about going to bed but lately its 11pm and 12pm and I'm still awake (which is good and bad) and I am energised all through the day. I don't know whether it helps with weight loss but it's defintely been good for me so I'm going to keep with it :drinker: :smile:
  • WinnerVictorious
    WinnerVictorious Posts: 4,735 Member
    Options
    Hmmm quite mixed information but thank you for helping out. I've been sticking to the no tea cafinated or decaf and I am absolutely shocked at how much energy I have, I used to come home from work, have tea and start thinking about going to bed but lately its 11pm and 12pm and I'm still awake (which is good and bad) and I am energised all through the day. I don't know whether it helps with weight loss but it's defintely been good for me so I'm going to keep with it :drinker: :smile:

    i agree with cutting caffeine out of your diet. it's a drug. people who need it to function are drug addicts.

    i'm not saying it's the same as meth or heroin or anything like that, but it does screw around with your overall wellness because you come to rely on its stimulant properties. when those wear off, you feel lousy until you have more. you'll feel MUCH better when you break the habit. i used to drink alot of iced tea. not only was that alot of calories, but it was also alot of caffeine. it truly did mess with my awake/sleep cycle. i'd be up every hour or so when trying to sleep and i never really felt like i got a good night's sleep. now, while off the caffeine for months, i can zonk out for 6-8 hours of sleep, no problem. i still drink sweet tea on occasion, but it's not often.
  • ToughTulip
    ToughTulip Posts: 1,118 Member
    Options
    nonsense.

    How can it negatively effect weight loss? Unless it is effecting your sleep I see no problem with it at all.

    I am pretty fit and have quite a bit of caffeine everyday.
  • crazybookworm
    crazybookworm Posts: 779 Member
    Options
    I never drank coffee, but I drink herbal Tea or Decaf...Decaf tea IS NOT full of toxins. I don't know where he got his information on that but he was poorly informed on that.

    7 a day is A LOT. I can see why he wants you to cut it out, but 1 cup in the morning won't hurt.

    Good luck!
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    Options
    there are tons of studies documenting benefits of caffeine. Like anything, you can over do a good thing.

    Are there toxins in decaf tea? It is possible that cheaper companies that use cheaper tea bags or lame processing plants MAY have some toxins but I imagine most anything processed or put on grocery shelves in a package can be described as having some sort of toxin in it. Good quality tea does not contain toxins itself. If it did, we would have heard that before.

    I doubt I would follow this guys advice.
  • aerochic42
    aerochic42 Posts: 822 Member
    Options
    That much caffiene is likely affecting your sleep quality. As for the decaf and the toxins, i found this site http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/question480.htm that explains that chemicals are sometimes used to take out the caffiene. i have heard that use of CO2 or water processes are healthier as more antioxidants remain.
  • raininmyshoes
    raininmyshoes Posts: 11
    Options
    I was getting unbearable headaches and found through research that it was my caffeine consumption. I spent a year being obsessed with gaining knowledge about how caffeine affects people and found that schizophrenics consume way more caffeine than the general population, and most show major improvement once off and through withdrawal. Get the book 'Caffeine Blues'; it dissects everything you want to know about this subject. I am off my Dr. Pepper and coffee and am managing much better mentally and headachewise. Now if I spend a weekend consuming caffeine, I pay for it with half a week of depression and migraines.
  • lozadee
    lozadee Posts: 89 Member
    Options
    I used to drink strong black coffee like a life line, first think in the morning through to the end of work, then I would get home feel drained then think about bed, about 4 month ago without trying I randomly went off coffee altogether.

    Now I can barely taste it let alone drink it, I do have more energy, a blurry headache the first week or so but nothing I needed to take painkillers for.

    I regularly drink hot water out of the cup I used at work and the occasional cup of tea/flavored tea - I much prefer a cup of hot water now than anything and I have yet to miss anything about coffee.

    I think part of the addiction to coffee is the need, to want something to be 'addicted' too and prove your more worked than others.
  • nkozyra
    nkozyra Posts: 10
    Options
    It does not have toxins. Period.

    Not necessarily true. Green teas in particular can have a large amount of flouride in them, which can cause crippling flurosis. The odds of that happening at 7 cups of tea is pretty slim.

    Caffeine is beneficial to weight loss - it's a thermogenic and an appetite suppressant. I'm not sure who gave you this advice, OP, but it's pretty terrible.
  • minkakross
    minkakross Posts: 687 Member
    Options
    sounds like sudo science to me, no one ever died from drinking tea and I'm pretty sure it never made anyone fat either. Eating too much that makes you fat, medication, no exercise, bad genetics these things make you fat. Tea...not so much, but if there is actual peer reviewed research from a reputable source I'd read it and be open to changing my opinion.
  • 28848
    28848 Posts: 32 Member
    Options
    Hi...! I gave up caffeine myself a month ago...it took that long! Terrible headaches and mood swings....still looking for a good tasting decaf...anyone know of one? Thanks!!
  • krnlcsf
    krnlcsf Posts: 310
    Options
    For those who have said they have more energy once stopping coffee/tea... I'm just wondering how much you drank before. Were you all similar to the OP who was at ~7 cups/day?
    I'm just curious because I typically have 1-2 cups per day, but I have very long work days. I don't find that I'm drained when I get home, but literally the minute I get into bed (whether it's 9pm, which to me is early, or 10pm and past) I begin to fall asleep.

    I'm wondering if giving up coffee would have a stimulating effect on me also, or do I not drink enough to begin with to notice the increase in energy.

Categories