Good bye Coffee

Lyn_Matthews
Lyn_Matthews Posts: 902 Member
edited September 19 in Food and Nutrition
I love my coffee in the morning...not because it helps me wake up or jump start my day but I just love the flavor. I love the taste of coffee with my breakfast. However the coffee is reaking havoc on my HR when I exercise. Normally when I start my workout my HR is at about 70, today after my coffee my starting HR was 98...and then I couldn't keep it down in my zone. Listening to my HRM beep the entire workout is not enjoyable. So I either need to cut the coffee completely or drink it after my workout....but coffee with lunch just isn't the same....so I must say good bye....at least until the weekends :sad:

Replies

  • Lyn_Matthews
    Lyn_Matthews Posts: 902 Member
    I love my coffee in the morning...not because it helps me wake up or jump start my day but I just love the flavor. I love the taste of coffee with my breakfast. However the coffee is reaking havoc on my HR when I exercise. Normally when I start my workout my HR is at about 70, today after my coffee my starting HR was 98...and then I couldn't keep it down in my zone. Listening to my HRM beep the entire workout is not enjoyable. So I either need to cut the coffee completely or drink it after my workout....but coffee with lunch just isn't the same....so I must say good bye....at least until the weekends :sad:
  • TRLTAMPA
    TRLTAMPA Posts: 824
    i said goodbye to it about a week ago and i feel great!
    i did slip this morning....impulse mcdonalds caramel iced coffee run, but it didnt taste the same...
  • 12by311
    12by311 Posts: 1,716 Member
    I have one cup of coffee (black) in the mornings. I enjoy drinking it...kinda part of my morning routine.

    And I also saw where Fitness Chic posted a article that said it could help jump start your metabolism! :drinker: :happy:
  • meg0112
    meg0112 Posts: 344
    I've been considering more so because I definately have a dependance on coffee. I am in college and last semester my roommate and I developed the habit of coffee in the afternoons to fight that desire for naptime after classes were over. This slowly turned into me drinking coffee all day long. No seriously- A cup while I got ready (sometimes 2) and another cup & a half in my travel mug to morning classes which took me to lunch where I;d drink water, but in my break at 230 I'd have another cup AND fill up my travel mug for my 3pm class. Then work out, shower, and COFFEE before dinner and going out or if I was staying in to do homework it became 2 or sometimes 3 cups. WOW. I noticed over Christmas break that even though I wasn't doing much, I still needed the coffee to stay awake at 3pm. Craziness so I have cut way back, but am still drinking 2 or 3 cups a day. I have got to kick this habit!
  • ckroys
    ckroys Posts: 219 Member
    Decaf? I don't get anything from coffee/caffeine in general, and decaf coffee worked great for me when I was pregnant and wasn't allowed the luxury of caffeine for the baby's sake. If you're only in it for the taste, it should work.
  • Lyn_Matthews
    Lyn_Matthews Posts: 902 Member
    Decaf? I don't get anything from coffee/caffeine in general, and decaf coffee worked great for me when I was pregnant and wasn't allowed the luxury of caffeine for the baby's sake. If you're only in it for the taste, it should work.

    Decaf!!!! DUH!!! why didn't I think of that :laugh: It may save my morning!
  • stylistchik
    stylistchik Posts: 1,436 Member
    I've also heard that drinking coffee AFTER your workout can help your muscles recover... you don't feel the soreness the next day or something... so sometimes I mix my protein powder with a cup of coffee for my post-workout snack!
  • havingitall
    havingitall Posts: 3,728 Member
    I gave up coffee on January 9. Now I drink hot water with fresh lemon squeezed in it and I feel great. Cut the caffeine slowly or you will get an awful headache.
    I was drinking two cups in the morning, went to one cup, then half a cup and I didn't suffer.

    I don't miss coffee at all now
  • NWCountryGal
    NWCountryGal Posts: 1,992 Member
    I don't want to give up my 4 cups in the a.m. either but know I need to. I am thinking about switching to tea and then weening myself off the caffeine from that. I get headaches even with the little coffee(comparatively speaking)I drink. They are "all over headaches" and aspirin won't touch them:( So it's either ween myself off or go cold turkey and suffer with the headaches for how long?? I don't know.

    Good luck with your "venture". I know we both can succeed. I stopped wine altogether. Was staying under my cals and don''t do "drunk" but still. I just don't want anything to hinder me that is something I can control:)

    denise in Sams Valley OR
  • gperry227
    gperry227 Posts: 93
    My coffee is my quiet time. I enjoy the taste of it. I have cut back to maximum 2 cups a day. My weakness though is White Chocolate Mochas from Starbucks! So calorie laden tho. Those have been my biggest cravings. I think more for the sugar than the caffeine.
  • thejarviclan
    thejarviclan Posts: 465 Member
    I quit the coffee, too. It's a little head-achey but you can do it! My problem was all the milk and white sugar :cringe: I was putting in it. I could have had dessert for all the added calories. !!!

    I do miss it, especially when I smell it brewing in the morning at work...but I try to have some on the weekends.
  • msarro
    msarro Posts: 2,748 Member
    You can have my coffee when you pry it from my cold, jittery hands :tongue:
  • amycakes812
    amycakes812 Posts: 441
    You can have my coffee when you pry it from my cold, jittery hands :tongue:
    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
    I am right there with you! Nothing is going to get me to give up my coffee! I can't do decaf...just not the same for me. I have cut back to 2 mugs a day, and I made the switch to Truvia instead of real sugar. I have an abundance of calories today so I may treat myself to a mug with the real stuff. In fact, I think right about now sounds good! :bigsmile:
  • jessmomof3
    jessmomof3 Posts: 4,590 Member
    You can have my coffee when you pry it from my cold, jittery hands :tongue:

    I thought the same thing! :noway: I drink my coffee black and love it! :laugh:
  • Phoenix_Rising
    Phoenix_Rising Posts: 11,417 Member
    You can have my coffee when you pry it from my cold, jittery hands :tongue:


    AMEN BROTHA!
    It's my one indulgent... a giant two-cup thermos brought from home. With my powdered creamer and liquid creamer mix, it's more 'latte' than 'coffee' but I lurve it!


    But try decaf dear! Thank goodness you don't need it for morning kickstart!
  • Lyn_Matthews
    Lyn_Matthews Posts: 902 Member
    My coffee is my quiet time. I enjoy the taste of it. I have cut back to maximum 2 cups a day. My weakness though is White Chocolate Mochas from Starbucks! So calorie laden tho. Those have been my biggest cravings. I think more for the sugar than the caffeine.

    Oh I love White Choco Mochas. These are my "treat" about once a month. They taste so good!!!!
  • Lyn_Matthews
    Lyn_Matthews Posts: 902 Member
    I quit the coffee, too. It's a little head-achey but you can do it! My problem was all the milk and white sugar :cringe: I was putting in it. I could have had dessert for all the added calories. !!!

    I do miss it, especially when I smell it brewing in the morning at work...but I try to have some on the weekends.

    Sugar free Coffeemate French Vanilla and Splenda...60 cals total in my coffee.
  • kendallalissa
    kendallalissa Posts: 249
    I do decaf coffee only. I'm not much of a coffee drinker, just when I'm cold. Caf doesn't have the wake up effect on me, so I just stick to decaf. However, I'm in love with McDonald's low fat sugar free vanilla lattes!!!!!!!!! The hubby had to put a stop to that, as I was spending more on lattes per week (3/wk) than he was on gas to get to work per week! EEK! :smile: Gotta love the hubby!
  • get_fit2009
    get_fit2009 Posts: 827 Member
    You can have my coffee when you pry it from my cold, jittery hands :tongue:
    Amen! Everyone needs a vice. :devil: Even though I have more than enough vices I am still not giving up my morning coffee.
  • Coach2010
    Coach2010 Posts: 209
    I joined the "gave up Coffee" crowd this year...but I didn't give up caffeine :wink:

    I've started drinking Green Tea, and while the taste is different, it's kinda cool knowing all of the benefits.

    My vice is more in the Baked Goods area...formerly with Coffee :laugh:

    By the by, Green Tea seems to be be helping me in curbing my desire for food, for some reason :huh:
  • xtina11179
    xtina11179 Posts: 352
    I joined the "gave up Coffee" crowd this year...but I didn't give up caffeine :wink:

    I've started drinking Green Tea, and while the taste is different, it's kinda cool knowing all of the benefits.

    My vice is more in the Baked Goods area...formerly with Coffee :laugh:

    By the by, Green Tea seems to be be helping me in curbing my desire for food, for some reason :huh:

    I started with the green tea this week myself. I usually start getting "bored" around 3 pm and practically start falling asleep at my desk, as well as getting those "hunger pangs" and the green tea helps both. I know there isn't much caffeine in the tea so it's probably mental, but i have heard there really are components in it to curb hunger, as well as the antioxidants.
  • Coach2010
    Coach2010 Posts: 209
    Lots of benefits...check this google search out:

    http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=green+tea+benefits&btnG=Google+Search&aq=0&oq=green+tea

    Cheers...with Green Tea :drinker:
  • rachel41
    rachel41 Posts: 354 Member
    I was drinking alot of coffee ,I cut down on it because of heath issues ,I drink 2 cups a day and green tea the rest of the day,Also i drink decafe in both!
  • jhacker
    jhacker Posts: 301 Member
    I joined the "gave up Coffee" crowd this year...but I didn't give up caffeine :wink:

    I've started drinking Green Tea, and while the taste is different, it's kinda cool knowing all of the benefits.

    My vice is more in the Baked Goods area...formerly with Coffee :laugh:

    By the by, Green Tea seems to be be helping me in curbing my desire for food, for some reason :huh:


    i am with you!! I gave up my coffee when I found out I had high blood pressure (mostly caused by stress). I feel soooo much better without it. I miss it ,but I also drink green tea on weekends. Otherwise I have cut caffeine altogether.
    I do miss my hazelnut creamer too. Too many calories though!!!:cry:
  • plaisted
    plaisted Posts: 15
    CUT OUT COFFEE???? Caffeine is the world's safest weight loss drug. Pick up a bottle of any weight loss drug and you will see caffeine. Caffeine before you workouts delays fatique and helps burn fat!
  • drewzaun
    drewzaun Posts: 111
    You don't have to give up coffee. When I am in training for some event or another, I make sure it is all decaf. Personally I do not notice a difference in flavor, and I grind my own beans and drink it black with nothing in it at all. I mean, if you like coffee why put all that junk in it?

    Anyway, my resting heart rate dropped by a lot when I did that. However, on the morning of race day I would drink the strongest brew I could find. Caffeine is after all a performance enhancing drug, albeit a legal one.

    Keep in mind too though that a great many things can affect your HR, so while training with HR is effective, you should only use it as a rough guide, and really it is best when used as a guage to whether you are over training and need a break.

    If you drink the same brew at the same time and work out the same time every day,then the sudden increase in HR could be due to something else. Things that affect HR include:
    Diet
    stress/anxiety levels
    general fatigue
    over training
    coming down with or fighting off a cold/illness
    confusion between your HRM and someone elses if you use wireless
    the ones on the machines in the gym are not that accurate to begin with.

    A jump of 28 beats in one day is a lot, but it also can easily be an anomoly and nothing to concern yourself with. However if you are feeling tired you may need a rest, or active recovery day.

    Hope that helps some...
  • AmyNVegas
    AmyNVegas Posts: 2,215 Member
    I do half caff. I love it and still get my little kick start and the yummy flavor!


    Amy:bigsmile:
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    My favorite post for answers:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again
  • Lyn_Matthews
    Lyn_Matthews Posts: 902 Member
    You don't have to give up coffee. When I am in training for some event or another, I make sure it is all decaf. Personally I do not notice a difference in flavor, and I grind my own beans and drink it black with nothing in it at all. I mean, if you like coffee why put all that junk in it?

    Anyway, my resting heart rate dropped by a lot when I did that. However, on the morning of race day I would drink the strongest brew I could find. Caffeine is after all a performance enhancing drug, albeit a legal one.

    Keep in mind too though that a great many things can affect your HR, so while training with HR is effective, you should only use it as a rough guide, and really it is best when used as a guage to whether you are over training and need a break.

    If you drink the same brew at the same time and work out the same time every day,then the sudden increase in HR could be due to something else. Things that affect HR include:
    Diet
    stress/anxiety levels
    general fatigue
    over training
    coming down with or fighting off a cold/illness
    confusion between your HRM and someone elses if you use wireless
    the ones on the machines in the gym are not that accurate to begin with.

    A jump of 28 beats in one day is a lot, but it also can easily be an anomoly and nothing to concern yourself with. However if you are feeling tired you may need a rest, or active recovery day.

    Hope that helps some...

    I have been feeling extremely tired for the last few days...maybe I was fighting off something. Today I felt much better...I think I will stick to coffee on the weekends and drink green tea during the week. That way I have something to look forward too.

    Can someone please explain to me what an active recovery day would include?? Is that just a lower intensity workout or a "fun" activity vs a cardio/strength workout?
    thanks for all your insights and opinions.
  • jessegirl
    jessegirl Posts: 4
    I actually had a major diet coke habit..I drank it constantly all day long. About a month ago, I stopped drinking it, and started drinking coffee in the a.m. I lost 4 lbs!
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