Well this is interesting. My coffee intake tends to ramp up to the point that it doesn’t help at all anymore and I’m actually just sleepy all the time. I can drink a big cup then go right to sleep at night. Can barely keep my eyes open in the afternoon. I get no buzz from it, I just suck without it. It’s like chasing a high. Call it adrenal fatigue if you want. For me this point is right around a pot a day or so and thanks to the holidays I’m here now.
So it’s time to suck it up and ratchet back to more reasonable levels, all the while feeling like hell while trying to restore some normal hormone/neurotransmitter function.
I stumbled across a little tidbit in Tim Ferriss’s new book about fighting caffein withdrawl with some super special tyrosine cocktail that he failed to get into the details of. So I did some more research, and sure enough there are articles out there talking about taking just plain old l-tyrosine capsule from your favorite vitamin store to wash away the headache and brain fog.
So I tried it. It seems like it actually works. I had three strong cups of coffee this morning but still had a headache and brain fog and spots in my vision at lunch. So I grabbed a bottle of this amino acid and took one and felt a ton better for a while. I’m going to try it without any caffein tomorrow morning and see how it works. If a little supplementation can fix my caffein dependency this would be great news, so I just thought I’d share. I’ll update tomorrow.
So does anybody know how to get off of an amino acid supplement? Supposedly there shouldn’t be dependency/withdrawl issues with this. We’ll see.
When I stopped drinking coffee I did it on a three day weekend, because all three days I dragged my nuts and felt like death, by Monday I was fine. Now when I actually drink coffee, perhaps 2x a month, it actually wakes me up.
Send in the lizards that eat them. When the lizards go crazy then send in the Chinese needle snakes. When the snakes take over then bring in the snake-eating gorillas. Then the gorillas eventually freeze to death. Everyone wins.
[/simpsons]
Cold turkey is the best way, but when I’ve done that I’m useless for a week and have a headache for two. I’d rather just rip the bandaid off, but “weaning” lets me continue to function. Not sure how this whole tyrosine thing will work out. I’ll feel it out as I go.
This makes me doubly glad I’ve never had coffee before.
Side note, got on a gluten free (and still vegan) diet… feel totally awesome. Noticeable changes: less hungry - thus lost weight, more energy - rarely feel sleepy during the day, general feeling of awesomeness. I also try to limit my soy intake.
However, this really leaves me only with vegetables to eat, but that’s OK because I like vegetables.
Yeah I don’t do myself any favors with the way I drink coffee. If you can keep it under control there is a lot of research that suggests it’s good for you. I, however, am apparently a stimulant glutton.
It’s funny how many people say going gluten free makes them feel better. It seems that gluten intolerance is more of a spectrum than a yes/no to celiac disease.
i usually have one cup a day but lately ive been working overnights so i bumped that up to two cups of coffee and a cup of green tea to keep me awake all night…
Just had a physical. The doctor said my bloodwork is so good I should hang the report on my fridge. My HDL is 60, which is pretty unusual for an adult male and considered protective against heart disease.
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To recap my strategy:
Grains bad. Except white rice on training days. It’s not particularly nutritious but it’s not particularly harmful either, so it makes for a pretty tasty glycogen replenesher.
Carbs good. Unless you’re overweight or sedentary, then keep them reigned in. (Potatoes are good, white or sweet. Peel them if you’re worried about digestibility. They’re heavy though so leave em be if you’re overweight or sedentary)
Meat good. Choose wild caught fish, organic poultry, and grass fed meat as much as you can within the limits of your budget.
Eggs great. Again, organic if you can swing it.
Butter great. Buy pastured (Kerrygold brand is common) no budget excuses. The incremental cost is so small and its so good for you just suck it up and do it.
Coconut oil, avocado, olive oil great. Fat is great. Eat lots of it as long as from natural sources. Transfats will still kill you. Sorry. Throw away the doritos.
Dairy is sketchy. It’s a no go for me. Try it for yourself. Go 30 days without, then add it back in. See how you look/feel/perform either way. It jacks up a lot of peoples’ insulin and inflammation even though they might not know it because they’re not lactose intolerant or allergic.
Coffee is great. Just don’t burn out your adrenals drinking it by the pot full.
Don’t forget your fish oil. You want a few GRAMS of total EPA+DHA a day so either get the liquid stuff and take a couple of teaspoonfulls or be prepared to swallow a lot of horse capsules. If you’re overweight/sick shoot for 1 gram for every 10 pounds of body weight. Yeah that’s a big fucking dose, but it’s important and you can cut it down significantly as you get healthy.
And of course don’t get neurotic or religious with it. You don’t have to comply all the time. The sicker you are or the higher your goals are the more you have to comply.
Gliadin is the primary immunotoxic protein found in wheat gluten and is among the most damaging to your health. Gliadin gives wheat bread its doughy texture and is capable of increasing the production of the intestinal protein zonulin, which in turn opens up gaps in the normally tight junctures between intestinal cells (enterocytes).
When the zonulin pathway is deregulated in genetically susceptible individuals, autoimmune disorders can occur. This new paradigm subverts traditional theories underlying the development of these diseases and suggests that these processes can be arrested if the interplay between genes and environmental triggers is prevented by re-establishing the zonulin-dependent intestinal barrier function. Both animal models and recent clinical evidence support this new paradigm and provide the rationale for innovative approaches to prevent and treat autoimmune diseases.
MY wife does weight watchers, so most of the stuff we eat is low fat, and generally healthier for you. What types of stuff do you make for lunches? I’m open to suggestions.
Supposedly there shouldn’t be dependency/withdrawl issues with this. We’ll see.