Caffeine

RKJR925
RKJR925 Posts: 254
edited September 18 in Food and Nutrition
Ok so Monday I began a 3 day break from sugar and caffeine. I was talking to my mom and she said years ago many diets started like this. For 3 days you ate low fat protein and low carb green veggies only with no caffeine. It is supposed to put your body in a "fat burning" state.

Well I am on day 3 and 4 days with no coffee and about an hour after I wake up I cannot keep my eyes open. I know my body must be looking for the normal caffeine fix and it is not there. Funny thing is that feeling tired has not affected my workouts.

Tomorrow I will have coffee again.

Has anyone ever heard of this or tried it? And I am not referringto anything Atkins related.

Replies

  • RKJR925
    RKJR925 Posts: 254
    Ok so Monday I began a 3 day break from sugar and caffeine. I was talking to my mom and she said years ago many diets started like this. For 3 days you ate low fat protein and low carb green veggies only with no caffeine. It is supposed to put your body in a "fat burning" state.

    Well I am on day 3 and 4 days with no coffee and about an hour after I wake up I cannot keep my eyes open. I know my body must be looking for the normal caffeine fix and it is not there. Funny thing is that feeling tired has not affected my workouts.

    Tomorrow I will have coffee again.

    Has anyone ever heard of this or tried it? And I am not referringto anything Atkins related.
  • littlespoon
    littlespoon Posts: 165
    The fat burning state is called ketosis, and it is what Atkins is based on. You are more likely to be tired due to lack of carbohydrates rather than lack of caffeine. Despite popular belief, for most people (especially those who drink it regularly) caffeine is very little help in keeping them awake.
  • xmimikinsx
    xmimikinsx Posts: 191
    I know that I like coffee way too much. I drink decaf normally but I think drinking it at all has an effect. Like salt caffeine aids water retention so you could be carrying like 5Ilbs of water! Cut salt (use pepper instead) and cut out caffeine and it will kickstart you. One of the reasons to drink as much water as possible in a day.

    I'm on glass 6! I have water coming out of my eyes see
    > :cry: !!
  • RKJR925
    RKJR925 Posts: 254
    The fat burning state is called ketosis, and it is what Atkins is based on. You are more likely to be tired due to lack of carbohydrates rather than lack of caffeine. Despite popular belief, for most people (especially those who drink it regularly) caffeine is very little help in keeping them awake.

    I did not think your body could go into Ketosis in 3 days. I thought that is why the first phase of atkins was 2 weeks. Interesting
  • vicky1
    vicky1 Posts: 236
    I heard that caffeine actually speeds up metabolism so as long as you allow for this and drink up your water shouldn't that be Ok.

    I told my mum (who didn't drink caffeine for 3 years unless she had no choice) this and she has been struggling to lose for a year despite doing everything right and the only thing she changed 1 mnth ago she began drinking green tea which has caffeine in a cup of coffee a lunch and a another cup after dinner and she has lost weight about 10lbs so I am glad I don't have to do without my caffiene.

    Not to mention if you totally cut caffeine if you have to drink it coz there is no option you are likely to get an extreme headache easier to treat as you would everything else in moderation 1 or 2 cups a day wont do harm to your diet.

    Go for the lifestyle change that works.
  • banks1850
    banks1850 Posts: 3,475 Member
    Ketosis can start after 48 hours or so of carbohydrate elimination. Ketosis is the subject of much debate for the following reason:

    While ketosis means basically the breaking down of fat cells for energy in stead of using ingested carbohydrates, that's not ALL that happens. Many proponants of diets such as Atkins worship at the alter of "drastically reduced carbs.". While the theory of Atkins is a good idea, as with many diets, taking it to the extreme they do can have adverse effects. The body doesn't just stand around and wait for the fat cells to be completely used up (if only), no no, it sees the state of Ketosis as a giant ALARM bell and starts storing any energy it can.

    Here's what happens on a purely biological level (the studies to confirm this are numerous, I can go dig some up for you guys if you like, but I'm not making this up.)

    1. your body recognizes the lack of carbs and says, oh, I guess I should start breaking down some fat.
    2. your body waits for some energy (carbs.) to come in to make it an even swap, upon this not happening for a while (a few days) the body starts to panic a little (it's really more of a continuing escallation of both ketosis and fat storage in parralel)
    3. your body hits the wall where it takes more energy to get the energy out of the fat then it takes to break down the molecules, so it starts dipping in to lean muscle tissue energy reserves breaking down muscle (because it is actually easier to do this now then to break down the fat)
    This is called "Starvation Mode" in laymens terms. Your body is now trying to store every little bit of energy comming in, it's shutting down "unnecessary" processes as much as possible like your liver and gall bladder. And it is eating muscle because a) it doesn't want as much because muscle burns energy needed for primary functions and b) at this point the muscle is easier to reach from the blood vessels because it is now closer and your body can access the energy from them faster.

    The trick is to balance a certain amount of ketosis without going reaching that stage where the body starts burning lots of muscle and panicing.

    I hope this helps.
  • megalitz
    megalitz Posts: 26 Member
    wow, all that ketosis talk is very interesting! ive always been anti anti-carb diets because carbs is where you get your energy from and i love them, etc. etc. but that is very interesting stuff, makes me want to get rid of them for a few days and see what happens!

    with green tea and caffeine, i have heard that green tea speeds up your metabolism and helps you lose weight. i however, have found that green tea does not work for me, and in fact i feel fatter when i go drinking it for a week. not sure how that works exactly, but whatever. but coffee DOES work for me, i am extremely sensitive to caffeine in general, so give me coffee for a week and i can drop five pounds easy. its a catch 22 though...
  • RKJR925
    RKJR925 Posts: 254
    Ketosis can start after 48 hours or so of carbohydrate elimination. Ketosis is the subject of much debate for the following reason:

    While ketosis means basically the breaking down of fat cells for energy in stead of using ingested carbohydrates, that's not ALL that happens. Many proponants of diets such as Atkins worship at the alter of "drastically reduced carbs.". While the theory of Atkins is a good idea, as with many diets, taking it to the extreme they do can have adverse effects. The body doesn't just stand around and wait for the fat cells to be completely used up (if only), no no, it sees the state of Ketosis as a giant ALARM bell and starts storing any energy it can.

    Here's what happens on a purely biological level (the studies to confirm this are numerous, I can go dig some up for you guys if you like, but I'm not making this up.)

    1. your body recognizes the lack of carbs and says, oh, I guess I should start breaking down some fat.
    2. your body waits for some energy (carbs.) to come in to make it an even swap, upon this not happening for a while (a few days) the body starts to panic a little (it's really more of a continuing escallation of both ketosis and fat storage in parralel)
    3. your body hits the wall where it takes more energy to get the energy out of the fat then it takes to break down the molecules, so it starts dipping in to lean muscle tissue energy reserves breaking down muscle (because it is actually easier to do this now then to break down the fat)
    This is called "Starvation Mode" in laymens terms. Your body is now trying to store every little bit of energy comming in, it's shutting down "unnecessary" processes as much as possible like your liver and gall bladder. And it is eating muscle because a) it doesn't want as much because muscle burns energy needed for primary functions and b) at this point the muscle is easier to reach from the blood vessels because it is now closer and your body can access the energy from them faster.

    The trick is to balance a certain amount of ketosis without going reaching that stage where the body starts burning lots of muscle and panicing.

    I hope this helps.


    This does help and it really explains why it is limited to 3 days in a few of the diets i have found that were written by MD's.

    Thanks
  • ali106
    ali106 Posts: 3,754 Member
    oh I have to have my morning java! :tongue: I have cut out the rest of the day cups....I'd sometimes have a second or third depending on my day and tired level(smaller than my morning cup...but still not good!)

    I now will have this delicious blueberry green tea in the afternoon if I need a kick start...but green tea is very good for your metabolism sooooo I dont' mind the caffiene it has and I agree water water water w/ it because it will dehydrate you or make you retain...at least it does for me!

    hugs and great info guys....I have no fear of ketosis since I eat my carbs BUT I actually had it one time when I was hospitalized for diverticulitis...they asked if I was starving myself because they noticed ketosis already...and I said heck no! it just hurt to eat LOL...:ohwell:

    Ali
  • banks1850
    banks1850 Posts: 3,475 Member
    wow, all that ketosis talk is very interesting! ive always been anti anti-carb diets because carbs is where you get your energy from and i love them, etc. etc. but that is very interesting stuff, makes me want to get rid of them for a few days and see what happens!

    with green tea and caffeine, i have heard that green tea speeds up your metabolism and helps you lose weight. i however, have found that green tea does not work for me, and in fact i feel fatter when i go drinking it for a week. not sure how that works exactly, but whatever. but coffee DOES work for me, i am extremely sensitive to caffeine in general, so give me coffee for a week and i can drop five pounds easy. its a catch 22 though...

    Careful Meg, don't miss the point of it, it's that while ketosis itself is the act of burning calories from fat, the idea is to never become dependant on it, more it's to have it happening at some smaller level then consumption energy so the body doesn't feel it has to hoard calories. :tongue: Ketosis is THE balancing act of losing weight, essentially it's what is happening in perfect balance when you are losing between 1 and 2 lbs a week. It's like trying to balance a see saw perfectly, add to much to either end and the balance starts to tip.
  • RKJR925
    RKJR925 Posts: 254
    I agree with Banks you must be careful about this. I did this only for 3 days to get out of funk I was in from traveling for the last 3 weeks.
  • littlespoon
    littlespoon Posts: 165
    Further to that - dont forget that carbohydrates are essential to brain and liver function. Some diets recommend 30g of carbohydrates per day, which is NOT enough for even basic brain function. And when you reintroduce carbs back into your diet, you put all the weight back on. Because different bodies need different amounts of carbohydrates, it is impossible to know what a safe level of (low) carbs is for you.
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