Coffee breaks

[Robocok]

Do any fellow coffee drinkers take breaks sometimes? Oh man, my head is thumping.

Decided to take a break for a few reasons.
1. Most obvious reason, to lower my tolerance and increase my sensitivity.
2. I feel like maybe my electrolytes are a little imbalanced or low. I've been working out a lot and have good lift #s (for me), but I felt like I almost cramped a couple different times recently.
3. This old Romanian man who used to work for me told me that coffee and chocolate both can be stressful on the kidney and liver if you consume them too often and that it's wise to take breaks to allow them to heal and flush out. Has anyone else heard of that?

I felt like I should skip the coffee today but it's been rough. I didn't realize how dependent I am.

 

[wufabufa]

That's not a bad idea. I like the taste of coffee but honestly, it kills my appetite and if I've got a day full of activities I'll be running on fumes by the end of the day. The initial burst of energy doesn't mean much if I don't get enough calories to actually fuel my body.

Caffeine can be a strong diuretic so I can see why you might be feeling cramps coming on at the end of a workout. I've always found the stimulant effect of tea to be a little smoother and less jolting compared to coffee.....but nowhere near as strong you're really looking for a strong effect from it. How much are you drinking through the day?

 

[Robocok]

I probably drink too much as I fill up my coffee pot almost to the top, so close to 12 cups.

I don't know if that is the best measure, the # of cups, or I should also factor the strength of the coffee based on the quantity of beans that I grind. I don't like it too strong but my opinion of what a weak coffee is might be different than others.

I like the appetite suppressant effect since it seems to go hand in hand with intermittent fasting. I was so hungry all day today and that never happens to me but it could also be because I have recently started lifting a lot more frequently. Between the hunger and pounding headache it was a rough day.

Veering off topic, but on top of that I just quit smoking weed partly because I have not gotten any pussy for awhile and I think the two may be related. This has been my longest dry spell in awhile and I don't masturbate so I'm channeling the extra frustration and energy into gym and overtime at work.

For some reason I don't do as well with women when I smoke marijuana. A couple different girlfriends told me that it changes my scent for the worse. Hopefully I can finally start getting some tail now that I'm abstaining from weed and coffee and lifting all the time. Maybe I'll stop smelling like a pothead and get some ass.

Sick of not getting any from any attractive women, just fat ugly chicks. I was killing it in California before I moved last year. Spinning multiple plates. Now I don't get any

 

[hardheart]

I used to take breaks but haven't in a while. I have been going a little too hard with my caffeine intake and I'll probably be cutting out most coffee and tea for a while.

 

[Jose Beehive]

Try to have none on days off to make up for over consuming at work ..

 

[Tayski]

It's a great idea to stop coffee, I've taken some long breaks before. The best positives of those breaks were first of all that I slept A LOT better; basically it took me a lot less time to fall asleep and the sleep would feel a lot deeper and a lot more repairing and I felt a lot more rested. Another great positive is that I felt a lot less stressed and edgy during the day, just generally more calm and composed even during stressful work days.

What I'd recommend is first to reduce your consumption rather than going completely cold turkey from 12 cups a day, otherwise you'd just feel awful and it would be a shock to your brain considering your dependence, you'd be getting bad headaches and not able to concentrate. Try going from 12 cups a day to let's say 9 a day for a few days, then cut down to 6, then to 3 and finally when you're at about 1 or 2 cups a day you can try to replace coffee with other foods and drinks which contain some caffeine but less than coffee like green tea and/or dark chocolate. Then you can also cut off those too. Dark chocolate would also help a bit with your mood as you say you're also quitting weed (which usually means bad mood for a while).

Quitting coffee also helps with putting less pressure on your heart, helps you stay more hydrated especially during exercise (personally when I consume coffee I sweat like a motherfucker during training), and it also helps regulated appetite and of course sleep as I mentioned above. I also read that drinking a lot of coffee can shrink your brain over time, but I didn't go too deep into research about that.

Good luck to you.

 

[Belaya Smert]

I drink it all day so no. I make time though.

 

[Robocok]

It's a great idea to stop coffee, I've taken some long breaks before. The best positives of those breaks were first of all that I slept A LOT better; basically it took me a lot less time to fall asleep and the sleep would feel a lot deeper and a lot more repairing and I felt a lot more rested. Another great positive is that I felt a lot less stressed and edgy during the day, just generally more calm and composed even during stressful work days.

What I'd recommend is first to reduce your consumption rather than going completely cold turkey from 12 cups a day, otherwise you'd just feel awful and it would be a shock to your brain considering your dependence, you'd be getting bad headaches and not able to concentrate. Try going from 12 cups a day to let's say 9 a day for a few days, then cut down to 6, then to 3 and finally when you're at about 1 or 2 cups a day you can try to replace coffee with other foods and drinks which contain some caffeine but less than coffee like green tea and/or dark chocolate. Then you can also cut off those too. Dark chocolate would also help a bit with your mood as you say you're also quitting weed (which usually means bad mood for a while).

Quitting coffee also helps with putting less pressure on your heart, helps you stay more hydrated especially during exercise (personally when I consume coffee I sweat like a motherfucker during training), and it also helps regulated appetite and of course sleep as I mentioned above. I also read that drinking a lot of coffee can shrink your brain over time, but I didn't go too deep into research about that.

Good luck to you.

Thanks for the advice man. Recently hooked up with a fat girl who gave me some free weed. I'm back on the wagon very soon though.

 

[messi_is_imba]

I drink 600 miligrams and tske 400 in caps
Everey 2 weeks i go on a 3 day coffe break as it resets my tolerance quite good

 

[Volador]

Pretty sure that "electrolyte imbalance" or dehydration being the main causes of cramps has been debunked. At best it seems like those could be minor contributing factors, not main causes (most of the time).

If you experience them during exercise, they are most likely related to fatigue. Which makes sense if you've been working out "a lot". It's true that coffee is a diuretic, so make sure you drink enough water I guess.

Wouldn't take old wives’ tales from a Romanian farmer as serious medical advice. The liver stuff sounds totally made up to me. As far as taking a break from coffee, I don't think it's a good or bad thing. It's good not to rely on any substance to get through the day, I suppose, as it could be masking some deeper issue. Other than that, if you enjoy coffee and consume a sensible amount, I don't see any reason to stop, unless you realize you feel better when you do so. But I don’t see an a priori reason. 12 cups a day sounds like a lot, but I'm too lazy to check the guidelines. They are out there though, you can look them up.

 

[NoSmilez]

I have a physical addiction to coffee. I get headaches

 

[hardheart]

I have a physical addiction to coffee. I get headaches

Gotta ease off in that case, rather than cold turkey.

 

[Versez]

I honestly drink 1 to 3 coffee a day, always black, since i'm fasting on a 16/8 basis during the day the coffee help for my fasting, i only drink it black to limit the calories, i can go for a whole day with a calorie deficie without having repercussion.

 

[NoSmilez]

Gotta ease off in that case, rather than cold turkey.

It's terrible. I didn't drink yesterday and was on my second workout of the day. I felt off and had a headache mid workout. I just realized it's the lack of caffeine.

 

[hardheart]

It's terrible. I didn't drink yesterday and was on my second workout of the day. I felt off and had a headache mid workout. I just realized it's the lack of caffeine.

Ya, my doc was saying something about needing to ease off (similar to cortical steroids) rather than going cold turkey, not good for your system to shock it like that. Hence, the headache. I've never heard or read anything about this but the way I feel when skipping coffee fore more than a day definitely tracks with my body not liking it.

 

[monkeyrhythm]

Ya, my doc was saying something about needing to ease off (similar to cortical steroids) rather than going cold turkey, not good for your system to shock it like that. Hence, the headache. I've never heard or read anything about this but the way I feel when skipping coffee fore more than a day definitely tracks with my body not liking it.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430790/

 

[hardheart]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430790/

I mean, ya, that's basically what any of us coffee drinkers know if we kick caffeine. So, circling back to the TS question, is it a good idea to take breaks? Yes, if you want to avoid that shit.

 

[monkeyrhythm]

I mean, ya, that's basically what any of us coffee drinkers know if we kick caffeine. So, circling back to the TS question, is it a good idea to take breaks? Yes, if you want to avoid that shit.

I'm not sure TBH. I drink shitloads of coffee, and like you and everyone else, I feel like shit if I have a break. That passes after a couple of days and I appreciate occasional breaks would increase my sensitivity to caffeine but I'm not up for feeling like crap. There is an argument that I should reduce my caffeine intake but that's not the same as intermittently cutting it out completely.
The way I see it is I'm either a coffee drinker or not. I may well cut out coffee completely one day for the long-term; however, going cold-turkey every so often doesn't stack up, for me anyway.

As an aside I think it may have been you that, when I was a lurker, first brought Intermittent Fasting to my attention maybe 11 or 12 years ago? I've practiced it in various forms ever since. It's good to see you back posting in the sub.

 

[hardheart]

I'm not sure TBH. I drink shitloads of coffee, and like you and everyone else, I feel like shit if I have a break. That passes after a couple of days and I appreciate occasional breaks would increase my sensitivity to caffeine but I'm not up for feeling like crap. There is an argument that I should reduce my caffeine intake but that's not the same as intermittently cutting it out completely.
The way I see it is I'm either a coffee drinker or not. I may well cut out coffee completely one day for the long-term; however, going cold-turkey every so often doesn't stack up, for me anyway.

As an aside I think it may have been you that, when I was a lurker, first brought Intermittent Fasting to my attention maybe 11 or 12 years ago? I've practiced it in various forms ever since. It's good to see you back posting in the sub.

Same, my withdrawals from caffeine only last 3 days or so, and then I feel fine. My father on the other hand, it took him a decade of switching to decaf, and another two years of on/off before he could kick coffee and that's with it causing gut issues. So, I guess YMMV.

I've played with IF, and it was big back then with me, Nemesis, Mike Martial, Sinister, and a few others who were proponents of it on this forum. If my advocacy of it led to positive results in your life, awesome. Glad to help.

 

[monkeyrhythm]

I've played with IF, and it was big back then with me, Nemesis, Mike Martial, Sinister, and a few others who were proponents of it on this forum. If my advocacy of it led to positive results in your life, awesome. Glad to help.

It did/has. I started with 16/8 and subsequently experimented with water fasts of up to 7-days, weekly 36-hour fasts for ~2 years straight, and various other protocols along the way.
Long story short I'm doing pretty well compared to most men my age, and I have to think fasting has been a key factor in that.
Thanks dude.