21 Jul 5 Reasons to Quit Coffee

I, probably like you, didn’t want to give up coffee. I just love the taste of a good coffee. It was a part of my daily routine. I didn’t even get that big a kick from it but I just enjoyed my coffee time. So, why did I give up coffee for the last month?

There are a few reasons. We always recommend detoxing. One thing you have to understand is coffee or caffeine is a stimulant. An outer body product coming into the body and influencing how your body’s processes work.

For me, like many, when I removed caffeine from my daily ritual I received a headache which hung around for roughly 3 days (have heard of this being up to 7 days for some). As much as it would have been easy to say, “stuff it” and go back to having my caffeinated beverages, I knew I couldn’t… This headache that was lingering over me was a constant reminder of how much my body had come to rely on this stimulant. Without a cup of caffeine my body responded by metaphorically punching me in the head.

So, why even bother if you seem to be operating well? You can always be better, and for me I was getting constant reminders through podcasts and nutrition workshops we did. So here’s the reasons we explain on our nutrition workshops as to why you should detox your body from caffeine…

1. Caffeine is an appetite inhibitor. Meaning it stops you from wanting you to eat… For some fad diets that might be a staple but for us here at The Chief Life we know that the only way to live a healthy life is through having plenty of healthy food in balanced macronutrient amounts. Not eating will hinder your results in all aspects, aesthetics, performance in the gym, productivity at work and it will muck up your testosterone/ sexual drive.

2. Caffeine promotes cortisol release. Cortisol is a stress hormone. Although it can be a positive influencer in balanced amounts, too much cortisol will affect your fat burning processes. For those of you have that spare tyre of fat around your belly or stubborn layer you cannot get rid of, this is usually due to excessive amounts of cortisol. Although cortisol is brought on by many different aspects of our lives, removing caffeine is one we have full control on.

3. Caffeine puts you in a fight or flight mode. We operate off of different brain waves. Our beta brain wave is our fight or flight brain wave. Drinking caffeine puts you into the Beta brain wave. Although this can be good for training at times, it certainly is not good for productivity or retention of knowledge. (Find out more about this on The Chief Life Podcast episode 76 with Amon Woulfe – sport mindset coach)

4. Adenosine is a chemical created by the body to make you feel sleepy. Caffeine and adenosine’s molecular structures are off by one molecule… So, when we have caffeine it sits really neatly into the adenosine receptor site causing it to block the adenosine (this explains why we don’t feel sleepy when having caffeine). However, once the brain burns through that caffeine, there’s a flood of adenosine that comes crashing through causing usually a worse sleepy crash than if you weren’t to have it at all. (Dive deeper into this topics and sleep in general with The Sleep Doctor in The Chief Life Podcast episode’s 40 & 75)

5. Fast and slow metabolisers, which are you? Fast Caffeine metabolisers barely flinch whether they have a coffee or not. They tend to be the folk who could have a caffeinated drink before bed and not have trouble getting to sleep (not to say it’s not affecting the sleep). Whereas, slow metabolisers get a massive kick, sometimes to the extremes of anxiety and/or quivers… The catch is you have to detox your body from caffeine to have a real understanding of which you are. Your body will build a tolerance to caffeine over time and depending on how long you’ve been having caffeine, your body could be so used to the effects of caffeine, it’s no longer having the desired effect. If you’re a highly-strung person or you suffer from spurts of anxiety and depression it’s definitely recommended to have a detox and see the real effect caffeine is having on the body.

These are just a few reasons that are generally enough to convert people… With that being said, remember I too am a coffee lover and after 30 days of no caffeine I now feel I have more energy, no tired slumps, deeper sleeps that are super refreshing and a heap of mental clarity.

For more information and support to quit your caffeine addiction (lol) and dial in your nutrition to perform at your up most best, be sure to check out our personalised nutrition options at thechieflife.com

– Matty