Will you be one of the millions of people who try to mask hunger with caffeine coffee this year? It’s an easy habit to fall into, especially during the long cold winter months.
Coffee is marketed as a solution for feeling tired. Images of smiling, content people are always featured in coffee ads. What they don’t want you to see is that the caffeine in their decadent beverage disguises the body’s natural rhythm by providing a “fake” source of energy.
If you reach for coffee often as a source of energy, honestly ask yourself – “Do I you experience mood swings or energy dips during the day?” If you want to reclaim your most powerful metabolism, examine your relationship with caffeine and you may discover a simple solution!
Try this… observe the effect of caffeine on your blood sugar 30 minutes to 3-4 hours after ingesting caffeine… Do you feel fatigued, experience brain fogs, shakes, light sweating, low or sad feelings or anxiety? Repeated consumption of caffeine can trigger a Blood Sugar Roller Coaster which can lead to weight gain and other health issues.
But don’t worry – this doesn’t mean that you can never have caffeine again. But you should begin experimenting with the amount of caffeine that you drink until you discover your “true energy” (i.e., how you feel without “fake” energy). Once you know that, then you can choose when and IF you drink caffeine, instead of feeling that you need to drink it compulsively or habitually.
If you do decide to continue drinking coffee on a daily basis, here is a good tip for you:
• CHOOSE HIGH QUALITY
• CHOOSE ORGANIC
• CHOOSE CAREFULLY WHAT YOU ADD TO YOUR COFFEE (Such as artificial ingredients).
If you want to quit drinking coffee altogether, here are a few tips to help:
• Gradually dilute your coffee until you are consuming only hot water by following this schedule…
- Start with 90% coffee and 10% water. Keep this ratio for a week or more.
- Next, reduce the coffee to 75% and increase water to 25% of your cup.
- Again, keep this ratio for a week or more.
- Now you can go quicker! For four days, try a half and half coffee-to-water mixture.
- Let coffee go and switch to hot water with lemon.
- Switch from coffee to green tea and follow the reduction schedule above. Green tea has approximately 25 mg of caffeine per cup compared to coffee’s 75-150mg per cup.
• Make sure to drink at least 6-8 glasses of filtered water daily. This helps to keep you hydrated and is a great way to avoid constipation!
• Exercise! Even if you can only fit in 30 minutes of walking during a lunch break it will do wonders for your energy and your digestion!
• Eat regular meals with high-quality protein, fat and fiber to keep your blood sugar and your energy steady.
• Avoid eating until too full: eating too much will create tension and tightness in your digestive system, which will make you crave the lightening effects of coffee. Eat only until you feel satisfied, or about 80% full.
Sure, the caffeine in coffee will “perk” you up temporarily but the PERKS of letting go of the caffeine is better health and weight loss that truly lasts!
This article is based on coaching tips by Anita Fitch our Director of Corporate Wellness