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the miserable attempt at reducing coffee
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hi all,

let me start by saying that about 19 months ago i gave up drinking (wine, booze, beer, all of it). and i have pretty much overhauled our diets to mostly organic whole foods. i felt that coffee was my little luxury, and have really loved it.

the problem is that i developed significant breast pain, and have had some other health problems (that are now resolving, much to my relief).

recently i went to a naturopathic doc who recommended i cut the coffee in half to start and eventually get to the point where i drink it only a few times a week, and have green tea everyday in replacement of coffee.

so i've tried to cut back the coffee. some days i haven't had it at all, and other days when i've had coffee, it's just 1 cup (if you can believe that).

overall, my motivation is to no longer have breast pain, and to get my health on track once and for all (i'm referring to regular periods specifically). but i gotta tell you, cutting out coffee has been very difficult.

first of all, i feel that my brain is in a perpetual fog. second of all, when i wake up i *crave* the coffee. and it's a major bummer not to have it. green tea just doesn't get my jollies the same way a good cup of joe does. thirdly, the "last luxury" i had, coffee, is now somewhat gone. i miss it; i mourn it.

now, i know i need to keep on keepin on here, and stick to the seriously reduced coffee lifestyle in order to get my health on track (regular periods, no breast pain). but dammit, it sucks sometimes to have all of these "sacrifices"; I'm finding that on some days it's hard (to not drink the coffee).

i quit smoking (10 or 11 years ago), quit drinking, and eat like a health nut. somehow there needs to a balance, i gotta have a little fun, i'm beginning to become a major stoge.

any advice, thoughts, or commentary?

much appreciation,
kitty
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Re: the miserable attempt at reducing coffee [kittycat] [ In reply to ]
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Kitty:
I have an ongoing bladder problem due to overly tight pelvic floor muscles and the first thing my urogyenecologist did was have me drop down to one cup of coffee a day. I asked her if I should give it up totally and she told me not to because there are some health benefits of coffee. She recommended controlling "portion" size by using a small mug.

I have my one in the morning and sometimes have a second in the afternoon...I'm still working on it.

But, I think, like sugar, if you skip it for a while, your cravings will dissapear.

I say go for that one cup in the morning. Buy the best coffee you can, grind it yourself so that you get the whole scent factor, brew it fresh, and sit down and relax and enjoy it. That little bit of time to yourself has to do something for your overall health right?

-Danielle
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Re: the miserable attempt at reducing coffee [kittycat] [ In reply to ]
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What about decaf or a mostly decaf/caf blend? A nice French roast decaf is pretty good and would still give you the ritual and aroma.

I kicked coffee about 5 years ago as it was causing lots of heartburn. I loved coffee and would have a nice big cup of black French press /French roast every morning. Fortunately I love green tea too (I lived in Japan for a few years and developed a taste for all teas.)

You can do it, if you ~want~to. It's hard to give up the things we love, but sore boobs sound like a major drag.
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Re: the miserable attempt at reducing coffee [pedergraham] [ In reply to ]
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there are anti-oxidants in coffee; and we have a really nice Saeco espresso machine. there is a roaster up the street, and this has been our indulgence (kinda feels like the last indulgence, actually).

one thing i thought about is switching to just regular beans, instead of espresso beans.

plus i find i get a little "bummed out" without coffee, espcially this time of year when there is very little sunshine.
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Re: the miserable attempt at reducing coffee [kittycat] [ In reply to ]
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Have you tried decaf coffee? I ditched caffeine when I was pregnant and found that decaf coffee worked much better for me than tea. I love the smell of coffee, the ritual of making my latte and the taste of the drink. I did miss that little "hit" of caffeine for quite a while, but the ritual helped me get over that. Now, I've decided to stick with decaf on a regular basis and just have real coffee once in a while.


----
Suffering on the the bike is always more fun than suffering on the run.
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Re: the miserable attempt at reducing coffee [QRgirl] [ In reply to ]
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yes, you and ride'em are right. i will look into decaf, maybe i could formulate a 50/50 blend--this would be good for me and my husband (who drinks WAY too much coffee).

thanks for the spurring.
must keep on keepin on!
kitty
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Re: the miserable attempt at reducing coffee [kittycat] [ In reply to ]
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I switched to decaf for about 3 years, including my lead up to IMWA. I didn't miss the caffeine that much after all. Right now I am like you - love really good coffee, it's a key indulgence for me. I used to make a pot of french press coffee in the morning, drink that with the BF (1 mug each), then make another one at work and drink that. That was too much. I bought a Saeco coffee machine and make 1 pot every morning (to split with BF of course). We drink 1 mug at breakfast, then load up our to go mugs with the remainder. Now I don't make another pot at work anymore.

On days I work from home, I can easily drink a FULL pot by myself in 2hrs and be bouncing off the walls and going to the toilet every 20min. Because you work from home it's easy to just make more and more. What I would suggest, since you have the nice espresso machine, is espresso americano style. Only make one cup at a time. Have one in the morning and allow yourself one in the afternoon. I assume you drink it black? If not, start doing that now. When I did that, I found I drank a lot less coffee.

FWIW, I think there is nothing wrong with 1-2 mugs of coffee a day. I don't personally take much stock in naturopathy/homeopathy, so keep that in mind.

AP

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS
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Re: the miserable attempt at reducing coffee [kittycat] [ In reply to ]
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Kitty,

I used to regularly travel, for work, to a country where I had no access to good coffee.

So, on arrival...I'd go cold-turkey.

I'd have headaches and 'morning fuzz' for a few days - and then I'd be fine.

Did this multiple times. I learned that it is EASIER THAN YOU THINK to go off coffee. The morning fuzz is TEMPORARY.

Maybe you could give it a little more time?

Also, the half-decaf trick works for me. Or just full-on decaf. A warning about decaf, though: It's just as acidic as caffeinated coffee. If real coffee gives you any tummy issues, the decaf might too.

let us know...
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Re: the miserable attempt at reducing coffee [kittycat] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:
one thing i thought about is switching to just regular beans, instead of espresso beans.
Espresso, and other dark roasts, actually have less caffeine so you probably don't want to go to a lighter roast. They taste stronger, but that's just because they've been roasted longer. It's probably a good idea to stick with the darker roasts (and maybe blend them with decaf) as you'll get more bang for your buck. On the other hand, you could start buying crappy coffee and only allow yourself to drink that, that could make it easier to give up!
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Re: the miserable attempt at reducing coffee [kittycat] [ In reply to ]
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Are you 100% convinced that the caffeine was causing the breast pain? If not, then I would consider going back to just one cup a day. There's nothing wrong with a little bit of coffee. As others have said, there's actually health benefits to it. Here's a link to an article on WebMD:

http://men.webmd.com/...ffee-new-health-food

Among other things, it explains a reduction in Parkinson's disease, colon cancer, liver cirrhosis and gallstones in coffee drinkers.

If I were you, I'd spend some time off coffee (like you have) and then slowly introduce one cup a day back in. Then, see if the breast pain stays away. Perhaps before you were just having too much, but your body will be able to handle 1 cup.

Good luck with it. I gave up caffeine when I was pregnant and was pretty much miserable through the entire 9 months.
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Re: the miserable attempt at reducing coffee [kittycat] [ In reply to ]
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Kitty,

Like you I am also attempting to get my cycle back on track. Over the last two weeks I've only consumed 2 cups of coffee. I don't have any breast pain so I can't comment on any correlation there and my cycle still hasn't shown up (CD103) so I'm not sure if cutting coffee is the answer but at this point I'm willing to try just about anything :)

That being said...I'm wondering if you've heard of the book The Thrive Diet? The author, Brendan Braizer, is/was (?) a pro Ironman athlete from Canada. The book is centered around eating raw natural foods/diet. I have the book at home and I recall that there is mention of a substitute for coffee....I just can't recall exactly. I've seen it in the health food stores in the tea section down the street from my house but the name is currently eluding me....I can check this evening if you'd like and get back to you?

Alternatively..here is an interesting article that supports chicory...maybe in the beginning a 50/50 blend instead of decaf...I think I saw a show that did an expose on decaf coffee and how much caffeine was actually in decaf so perhaps chicory (or the other name that eludes me would be a good substitute).

I can honestly say though that when my husband brews a pot of coffee my tastebuds start watering. Its hard to walk away I know. But I think it will get easier over time. What I have been doing is taking a sip of my husbands and he ALWAYS has it too sweet so one sip is usually enough.

BTW: in terms of a sweetener you should look at using Agave Nectar... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agave_syrup which is a very good alternative.

Hope this helps...
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Re: the miserable attempt at reducing coffee [kittycat] [ In reply to ]
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i could formulate a 50/50 blend

That's what I do. I haven't drank full strength coffee in years. I go to my favorite coffee house and order a "half and half".

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Re: the miserable attempt at reducing coffee [kittycat] [ In reply to ]
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About a year ago i decided to give up diet coke (I've never been a coffee drinker, but I would easily drink at least a 6 pack of diet coke a day...that was my bad habit and I justified it because most everything else I did was healthy, but I was having some health problems I was certain were from the diet coke). I tried many different things and was never successful. One night my sister gave me a bottle of Kombucha Tea (fermented tea) to tray and the next morning I woke up w/ no caffeine craving. I didn't think much of it and still opened a diet coke, but didn't drink more than a 1/4 of it. I never had any withdrawal symptoms. The Kombucha says it's caffeine free, but I (and my sister) doubt it is, since it is made from tea. I started brewing my own with green tea (a disaster at first, but I have since almost perfected the recipe/process). Now I drink Kombucha tea every day and haven't had to have a diet coke in over 6 months (I have probably had 2-3 in that time and I can feel the affect of the caffeine, so it's nice if I need a pick me up, but it's not something I crave all the time). I don't really know if it's the caffeine in the kombucha or what it was, but there are are other supposed health benefits of Kombucha and I like it (not everyone likes the taste). I can easily go a couple days w/o a kombucha, but I really like how it makes me feel after a hard workout, so i drink it. I'm not getting nearly as much caffeine as I was from diet coke.

Most health food stores have Kombucha and it's a little expensive ($5 a bottle here in Hawaii...which is why I decided to figure out how to make it). I like Dave's GT Kombucha in Gingerade or Citrus flavor. The fruity ones are a little too sweet for me and the unflavored ones are a little to fermented tasting to me. I make my own and put lemon, raspberries, ginger or other berries in when I'm doing the secondary fermentation and the flavors are great.
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Re: the miserable attempt at reducing coffee [GhiaGirl] [ In reply to ]
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I gave up booze, cigarettes and meat in my 20's and have kept coffee and sugar in protest. When I think I'm drinking too much coffee I go 50/50 using a fabulous locally roasted coffee. I grind my own and enjoy every minute of it. I also have stopped making too much otherwise I will drink it. I usually have 2 - 3 cups in the morning. I've dropped the afternoon lattes but will sometimes drink a cup of tea for a little perk up before a workout.

I had terrible breat pain about 6 months ago that took me to the doc that ended up with an MRI. Turned out it was just changes that happen over the years and I probably had some hormonal shift that cause it. It cleared up after about 10 days and I haven't had a problem since. My dr mentioned caffeine and I cut back a little but I'm not convinced that was the problem. It was quite painful so I understand. I got some awesome painkillers out of it :-)

Nothing wrong with a vice. A girl has to be a little bad!

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce
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Re: the miserable attempt at reducing coffee [kittycat] [ In reply to ]
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Chocolate
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Re: the miserable attempt at reducing coffee [kittycat] [ In reply to ]
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For me caffeine does cause breast pain. My mother had issues to the point where her doctor told her no caffeine even chocolate. I can drink about 1 small mug a day without having breast pain. I notice it if I go to more than 2 small mugs. I am not willing to give up chocolate completly so coffee is the thing to go for me.

However, about 5 weeks ago I decided to try to go caffeine free. My fiancee went caffiene free back in the summer for health reasons. So I decided to go with it as well and only do decaf. I didn't go through any major withdrawal. My big thing is I have to have the specialty creamers in my coffee. Big time wasted calories. So that was another reason to try to limit myself to one cup a day.
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Re: the miserable attempt at reducing coffee [NCCB] [ In reply to ]
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well, i'll tell you the morning fog is absolutely horrible. i feel like a mental cripple without coffee.

and also the mood is not good. my poor husband, he is used to me being high as a kite on coffee. now i'm practically in the gutter. for sure there is a direct correlation--too much coffee=breast pain.

is it wrong to drink it to the point just before it starts to hurt?

i guess i should ask my naturo this question, but man, this is really hard and i'm not happy about it. whaa, whaa, whaa!!!!!!!
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Re: the miserable attempt at reducing coffee [kittycat] [ In reply to ]
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Try the 50/50 blend. I buy a pound of each then mix them together in a Ziplock. I can't tell a big difference by taste and still get a little push. No withdrawl either. I love a cup of coffee and this is my compromise when I'm getting out of control.

Be sure a use a high quality coffee as well. It makes it much more satisfying and I find I don't drink as many cups. Look for a local roaster and get whole bean to grind yourself.

I live outside Seattle and coffee is a cult out here. If you don't drink it, people think you are nuts. It's like saying you don't wear polar fleece jackets and GoreTex. It means you clearly aren't from here.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce
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Re: the miserable attempt at reducing coffee [NCCB] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:
My big thing is I have to have the specialty creamers in my coffee. Big time wasted calories. So that was another reason to try to limit myself to one cup a day.

I recommend Bailey's. If you're gonna have calories anyway...


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Re: the miserable attempt at reducing coffee [Khai] [ In reply to ]
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We do kahlua at night with decaf!!!
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Re: the miserable attempt at reducing coffee [jenhs] [ In reply to ]
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>> If you don't drink it, people think you are nuts.<<

Well, yes. I'd rather give up beer than coffee.

clm

clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com
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Re: the miserable attempt at reducing coffee [ironclm] [ In reply to ]
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Well, yes. I'd rather give up beer than coffee.

Not everyone understands the true power of this statement, but I do.

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Awww, Katy's not all THAT evil. Only slightly evil. In a good way. - JasoninHalifax

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Re: the miserable attempt at reducing coffee [Katy] [ In reply to ]
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well, i gave up beer, but look at me here sobbing like an infant at the attempt of quitting coffee. lol.

and i was looking into a roaster to start doing the beans myself.

how can people not drink coffee? i don't understand that.
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Re: the miserable attempt at reducing coffee [kittycat] [ In reply to ]
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I'm really sorry for you. And thankful my boobies don't hurt.

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Awww, Katy's not all THAT evil. Only slightly evil. In a good way. - JasoninHalifax

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Re: the miserable attempt at reducing coffee [kittycat] [ In reply to ]
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what is the connection between drinking coffee and your breast pain? is it a hormone interaction?



"What am I on? I'm on my bike busting my ass for six hours a day. What are YOU on?" - Lance Armstrong
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