doopstr

So I'm one lazy mofo. I'm out of shape and a bit overweight but don't look heavy compared to normal Americans. I'm pretty sure I have a caffeine addiction because I drink a lot of coffee and I get tired if there is no coffee around.

Anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to get off the caffeine addiction and get back to having natural energy? I have some dumbbells and a treadmill in my house.

Losing some weight and gaining some muscle mass would be nice but the main goal is to stop feeling run down.

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

Having enough natural energy regularly can only be attained through exercise. Yes, diet can help, but ultimately, you'll have to sweat to make it happen.

Whiskers

I have nothing against caffiene...I love it...As far as natural energy, get a better night sleep...

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

^
How did I miss that one...maybe because I'm on 4 hours sleep, and a strenuous MB ride this morning.

doopstr

I don't think sleep is the issue. I usually get 7-8 hours. Whenever I do stuff that doesn't involve sitting behind a desk I get tired pretty quick. I guess I need some kind of cardio workout plan?

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

^
I think so. Endurance workouts seem to be in order.

Whiskers

Give in to coffee...

doopstr

New sneakers came in the mail so I put 2 miles on my treadmill today. Now, will I get back on tomorrow?

stogie1020

Truthfully, I see the biggest effect on my energy levels from my diet in the short term.

Doopstr, try going a couple of days without refined carbs.

Take your coffee black, have:

A whole wheat muffin or non-instant oatmeal for breakfast along with an egg or two
An apple at 10am
A wrap at lunch instead of a sandwich (no chips)
About 20 almonds around 3pm for a snack
A dinner without any real carbs (chicken breast (put a 'little' BBQ sauce or terryaki on for flavor), steamed veggies) with some cubed melon for desert.

Three days and you will not be feeling any energy spikes or crashes anymore.

doopstr

I can give that a shot, thx!

stogie1020

Throw in some interval stuff on the treadmill before dinner and you will be rocking the energy scale!

Street Spirit

Some ideas.....

Cut the coffee and artificial, short-term high.

Exercise (enough to get your heart-rate up).

Eat well, including carbs --- you DO need some carbs for energy (obviously, "good" carbs are better).

Cut your refined sugar intake.

Set a regular wake and sleep routine to include enough down-time and actual sleep.

Eat smaller meals but add balanced snacks every few hours.

underdog

When was the last time you had a full physical with bloodwork? Do you know for
certain that you are not diabetic or pre-diabetic? How about thyroid function?
Both of those conditions are far too common and both zap all your energy.

My $.02

Lightus

Semi-related question:

I drink at least three sodas a day. It gives me cavities, it causes tooth demineralization, it's empty cavities, etc. It's gotten to where one energy drink isn't good enough, and I end up having to drink two to "feel" anything. That can't be good for me. So, I'm going to wean myself off soda!

In short, how long does it take for caffeine tolerance to go down? I'd like to drink a vault every once in a while and be able to notice some kind of artificial energy spike.

subinf

^ - Are you sensitive to caffeine? Easiest way to get off soda is to just drink sparkling water. I bought a carbonator and I rarely drink soda - been years from what I can remember.

I like coffee but I don't get the ups and downs. I really do like how it tastes.

Scottman111

I stopped drinking any caffeine about 5 years ago because they were starting to make me sick when I was working in the summer heat all day. Just soft drinks (I never drank coffee anyways).

The first few months I was still having strong cravings but eventually they let go. I might have two or three root beers a year since they're my favorite and maybe something in a mixed drink, but that's it. I can feel the buzz right away though since I'm not used to it.

My stomach never hurts anymore and I never have that sickly feeling like I used to get after drinking soft drinks...I never realized it was there until I stopped drinking them. I've also not had a single cavity since I stopped.

In short, it was one of the best decisions ever. Even though I was already in good physical shape, I lost a few pounds right away, gained energy, teeth are better, never feel sluggish anymore, etc. If I'm tired I'll drink some orange juice or eat some fruit.

Yumcha

Nice topic.

I drink Chinese oolong tea (cha) religiously...I have a travel mug which I take to work every day which I fill with the dried leaves and then drink throughout my time in the office. I will refill it about 3-4 times.

Obviously, oolong cha has caffeine. And if I'm refilling the mug 3 times a day, that's alot of it I'm taking in, I'm guessing. Although, I'm thinking that by the 3rd hot water refill, the tea is pretty diluted (I don't add more leaves). And there are indeed days (weekends) where I don't drink tea and I do have that "withdrawal" problem. I'd have a slight headache and generally feel "tired" unless I make myself a cup of coffee.



Yeah, I believe I'm addicted to caffeine.

That being said, to boost up your energy levels, I would suggest eating less "pure carbs" in your diet. So, stay away from white bread, rice, pasta and if you want to have carbs go for the better alternatives like brown bread, brown rice...etc.

A brisk workout also helps tremendously. For example, yesterday, around 11AM, I felt absolutely fatigued...just was SUPER tired. Not even the tea was helping. I still dragged myself into the gym and did my routine for the day followed by a brisk run on the treadmill. Afterwards, I felt significantly better.

dbqkqh

My recommendation to you is, what you are already doing, running.
Rather than on the treadmill, I would run outside (yes, I know it's cold!)
But, your body feels more "fresh" after a hard cardio outside, breathing in fresh oxygen, hurdling over obstacles (hills and what not), commuting with the neighbors around you, etc...
Plus, once you are outside, you have to keep on running, either going back home or going through the entire cycle.
Using treadmills, it still is a cardio work out, but... I call it "cheating", literally, you lift your foot up for one second in the air and you are going "7 MPH", you are not using your body to it's full potential, but then you can make it up by extending your time limit.

And of course, you can always continue on with your work-out with some lifting.

Mansa24

More vegetables and fruit, green tea and yerba mate tea.

03bl AC k CL

add a b complex vitamin if youre not getting enough nutrition from food.

stogie1020

Any improvement?

doopstr

I've cut my coffee intake down a lot and I've noticed some improvement which kind of surprises me. I used to drink a crap load of coffee at work. I'm the kind of guy that if coffee/soda/beer is around I'm going to drink it. If isn't there I'm too lazy to get it I've been working at home the last 3 weeks so none of that stuff is around in the quantity it was at the office. (yes beer was at the office)

I'm also not snacking as much before because that stuff was more easily available at the office.

HI OFECR

I slammed caffeine hard for 2 years while i was in college, still haunts me now that i graduated, I also need to kick this addiction.

Shoofin

I have this same problem. Just been feeling lazy lately. I finally told myself that I can't deal with my weight anymore and need to do something. I signed up to see a personal trainer. I want to ski this season and not feel like crap afterwards. I also have a golf tournament coming up at the end of this montht hat I don't want to feel all strained after it too. I went to them for the first time saturday, last night. Problem is, the person I signed up with didn't tell the trainer it was my first time, so he worked me-hard-to the effect that half way through I got nauseous and dizzy, had to lie down with my feet up. It took about 20 minutes for my heart rate to get back to a relaxed/normal state. At some point my body got VERY cold and my hands started feeling numb. I think the numb hands had to do with me clasping my hands over my chest causing blood loss. Who knows. The cause of the nausea might have also had something to do with the fact that I didn't eat for a good 6 hours before going to work out, so there was empty energy in me. Anywho the owner of the gym (who signed me up) didn't think i'd be sore because he thought I only got a 10 minute workout when it was more like 25-30 minutes of non stop, no rest workout. I'm sore as a bitch right now. And the bowling tournament I played in today didn't help much, but I wasn't as bothered by the soreness.

In any case, I've been delegating doing this for months but hesitated because of time constraints. I'm still busy as shit but I really have to do something about it already, so I'm happy that I finally took the initiative to be proactive. I'm 5'10 and 220. My goal for now is to get to about 200 by the summer time and tone up a lot. Once I reach that goal, I ultimately want to get down to about 170-175, where I once was and felt I was in my best physical condition (soo long ago ).

I still hate dieting, so I have to work with that, as it is my big weakness. I don't binge or eat junk food, I just don't pay good enough attention to what I'm eating. I'm trying harder to pay more attention to what i'm eating, and am going to try hard to avoid OVEREATING carbs (oh how I love bagels/pasta/bread), we'll see how it goes. I pretty much replaced plain bread/bagels with whole wheat. Pasta my wife makes whole wheat as well. I don't drink plain soda, I do drink diet soda (1 or 2x a week max), and as much water as I could (but still not enough). For coffee intake, I drink 2 cups a day (i think the cups are 10oz). I don't drink it for the caffeine, I drink it for the taste. When I need a drink with sugar, I drink Vitamin Water "10". Biggest problem I have is timing of when I eat. I don't have a set time as to when I eat. My work controls me so badly that there are times I eat lunch at 4-5pm if not at all, and end up eating like a pig for dinner, which is usually too late as well.

All this talk got me feeling to go on the treadmill, so I'll be moving it back out and going on it RIGHT NOW (after non use of a few years!) to continue my mission. Wish me luck!

stogie1020

Any start is a good one Shoofin!

Shoofin

Went on for 30 mins, went a little under 2 miles total. Used a program that fluctuated the speed between 3-5.5mph with an incline of up to 6.0. Felt good!

Problem is, main reason why I don't use it is because i'm on the 3rd floor of a 3 family house. When I go on it, everyone in each apartment knows i'm using it. And when I start jogging,

vas25tl

I drink Canfield's seltzer water like it's nobody's business. Haven't drank soda in years.

doopstr

I added a trailmix in the afternoon. That and cutting back on the coffee (one med cup a day instead of 4-5) has really helped a lot.

I'm increasing my walking a bit but haven't been on the treadmill in quite awhile. I do walk up 3 flights of stairs a couple times a day rather than take the elevator.

I hate cars

Agreed 100%

I hate "uppers" for energy on a regular basis. I'll use coffee in emergency situations such as working a 9 hour day at work and then being told at the end of the day I have to stay for another 9 hours. This is coming from a coffee addict that used to go though 4 pots a day.

If I start feeling lethargic I'll go and workout if even for 10 minutes and I feel 100% better.

Cutting out the sugar had a huge impact too. You may not always feel great but you don't get the really low lows anymore.

I don't like the majority of the supplements out there. Just too much artificial energy. I think people rely too much on supplements.

doopstr

So some changes in my life in the last five months and I surprisingly have more energy. I'm not sure which of the following is the culprit but here are the things I can think of.

1. My new job requires me to wake up at 6am instead of 7:30. This also causes me to have to goto sleep around 10 instead of 11:30.
2. I walk up 3 flights of steps at work instead of the elevator. My commute is much longer but it is mostly train
3. Since I was a teenager I had a habit of eating 3 slices of frozen pizza almost nightly. This was essentially a fourth meal. I've replaced this with a glass of wine and sometimes potato chips. I've lost some weight because of this.
4. I still drink coffee but about 50% less. I now grab a 16oz in the morning and that is usually all I need for the day. I used to drink about 32oz a day.

MikeCLS6

sleep, diet, exercise....repeat

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

Good job doopstr!
Incorporate some more healthy lifestyle changes and watch your energy rise!


you are joining us for our weekly acurazine weight loss thread right?

doopstr

I don't normally get on the scale but for whatever reason I did today. Wow, down almost 10 pounds! All I've done is what's in post #30 plus I've replaced my morning Eggos with some kind of Special K cereal that my wife has been buying lately.

Chemmech

Don't forget to take a good multi-vitamin, it will help out alot with your bodies natural energy levels.

DeathMetal

iTrader: (2)

Try drinking smaller volumes of coffee spread throughout the day. I drink about 4oz. 4 times throughout the day and have found the effects of this approach are infinitely better then a single 16oz. cup.

In the morning, I drink a Vitamin Water 0...then wait an hour and see if the coffee is needed at all. It seems as though restoring my electrolyte balance works better then stimulants, but this s just me. This coming from a guy that used to down a Caramel Mach. triple every morning from Starbucks.

fsttyms1

I still do egg whites and home made salsa, but substitute Special K every now and then for breakfast. I usually have special K as a small snack in the evening. I have just about every flavor in the pantry.