Why is coffee whole30 approved?

[AussieMum]

Hi, I'm new to this whole30 eating plan, and have been primal for just over a month. What I don't understand though is why coffee is allowed. I don't drink coffee or tea, because I don't like either (cola was my caffeine fix, and I understand why that's gone), but I would have thought that the caffeine in coffee with it's associated addictive properties would make it a no go during the whole30.

This is just for interest, but why is the addiction to caffeine ok to continue with during a time when we're working on improving our relationship with food and trying to heal from the negative effects of eating the wrong things for years?

Does anyone know? Searching the forum for answers gives me too many hits on people's food logs rather than answers.

Thanks

[Renee Lee]

Try this post! http://whole9life.com/2011/01/the-coffee-manifesto/

[Susan W]

Love the manifestos. They are so awesome and really make me think. Here's how I feel about my personal Whole 30s. While I would never add anything to it, I don't hesitate to remove something if I personally feel it's a negative for me. Nuts, nut butters and dried fruits as an example. They are allowed on Whole 30, but I don't allow them in mine. It's too easy to walk past the nuts and grab some when I really am not hungry and I am committed to not snacking. I used to abuse peanut butter, so I keep all nut butters out of my life whether on W30 or not. If you think you have a caffein addiction or it has some negative impact on you, I'd do without. I enjoy my one to two cups a day in the morning, but next Whole 30, I will give up coffee for 30 days as the manifesto suggests.

[AussieMum]

Thanks Renee for the link.

[kb0426]

You know, when I talk to people about the whole30, and they say "I could never give up _____". Fill in the blank. When they say that, I say "then that is probably the one reason you should do this." I never really thought about my coffee that way, but when I read the manifesto, I thought "I could never give up my coffee!"

Oh boy.

Thank you for giving me something scary to think about!!

[jenna]

I have to chime in and say I don't think coffee should be allowed. I don't think coffee elicits a good hormonal response from the body. I just quit coffee 2.5 weeks ago (and am 7 days into a Whole30) because, even though I had said a zillion times "I could never give up coffee", as I made my 8th espresso of the day....it hit me that I had a problem. And now, with all the research I've done about coffee since then, I am surprised it is Whole30 compliant. But that's just me

kb0426 I encourage you to try 30 days no coffee! You can do it! You just might realize you don't even miss it after all

[DocIKY]

I've never said, "i could never live without my coffee."

But my actions did.

Every morning when I got to the office I would have a cup...or two.

Every afternoon included starbucks with my coworkers (can't really call it a treat when we do it every day huh?)

I'm on day 8 now and it's funny to me. Coffee is losing it's appeal. I've never needed tons of sugar, but the no milk thing was a bother. Last week when I started I went on with my normal (but compiant) coffee routines. However, everyday I noticed I drank less. I went along with the habit, but it turned out to be such a waste. On thursday I did my normal iced coffee in the afternoon. As I left the office for the day I had to dump it out and it was still nearly full. It's monday morning and since then I've had one cup of coffee that I didn't finish at home.

Now that I'm getting my energy back coffee has just lost its appeal. That wasn't one of the benefits I was going for in this whole30 plan. But hey, positive side effects are a beautiful thing!

[kb0426]

kb0426 I encourage you to try 30 days no coffee! You can do it! You just might realize you don't even miss it after all

Do you have something against my coworkers?

I am planning a second whole30 starting Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving). Between now and then I will begin the weaning process.

I do love bone broth in the morning, so when I need something warm to help me get my day started, that may just be what I reach for.

As long as I don't accidentally put whipped coconut milk in it, I should be okay!

[Robin Strathdee]

I agree with some of the above posts that suggest coffee is a crutch for many emotionally, behaviorally and even hormonally, but it is not (nearly) universally disruptive when used appropriately. The foods eliminated during a W30 are (yes, I know everyone's a unique butterfly...). For example, I can have a cup of coffee in the morning. Or 4. Or none. My body does not feel or perform any differently dependent upon my coffee consumption (unless I KNOW I've had too much, and hey - there's a limit on everything). If you suspect you have an issue with coffee, like Susan said - eliminate it! Take that initiative! If not, enjoy! I know I do.

[GLC1968]

I look at coffee similarly to Robin, so I get why it's 'OK'.

I would like to mention that I haven't always felt this way about coffee though. I used to say that I could drink coffee (with skim milk...ick!) at any point in the day and it had no effect on me. But, every time I tried to give it up, I craved it something awful. And for me, it was more what coffee represented...relaxation...time to myself...etc. I needed it.

Then when we got our own farm, I learned to like whole raw milk in my coffee (goat's milk, actually...higher butterfat than cow in our particular breed). I was still having a cup or two every morning but that's about it, mostly because raw goats milk that's been sitting around for awhile (even in a thermal mug) gets a little icky.

When I did my first Whole30, I gave up the milk or the cream. I tried coconut milk and really disliked it so I just skipped the coffee most days. Occasionally, I'd have a small black coffee (always in a travel cup so that I couldn't see that it was black!) and that satisfied my occasional desire for a hot beverage.

The first thing I tried at introduction on day 31 was cream in my coffee. I was so excited and it was a major disappointment. It was so awful that I poured myself two cups because I thought the cream was spoiled on the first try! I opened a new carton to try again and found it was still awful.

So my first Whole30 taught me three things 1) I don't NEED coffee 2) not to allow myself any caffeine after 2 pm if I hope to sleep deeply and 3) I like my coffee black.

For me, coffee is still a trigger to relax, so I still enjoy it - but in the mornings only.

[AussieMum]

Thanks for the replies. As I said earlier I don't drink coffee anyway, it just seemed to go against what I believed the whole 30 to be. I still don't think it should be allowed, but as I said I don't drink it, so it really doesn't affect me.

[Sharon Simpson Thumann]

I only drink coffee during the cooler months. I live in Florida so those months are short! Also, when I do drink coffee I only allow 1 cup a day as that's the only caffeine I ever consume. I haven't really pin pointed any one thing that was hard for me to give up.

[Alana in Canada]

In the beginning, I vowed to keep coffee consumption only to the morning. Before whole30 I had it all day--and a cup after dinner. It was nuts. I also had artifcial sweetner in it.

The first two days of my whole 30 I forgot and put a packet of sweetner in my coffee. By the third day, I hated the taste of the aspartame, and switched to black with a drop of vanilla extract. After a couple of days of that, I figured that was going to get expensive, so I switched to black. I actually enjoyed it!

As well, my consumption dropped dramatically: I'm down to two cups a day, and sometimes three (though I don't finish it even when I have it). (I'm on Day 37, btw)

I think I was addicted to the aspartame--not the caffeine. (I make mine at home with a blend of 1/2 regular and 1/2 decaff). I once thought that black coffee would be the worst thing in the world. Funny how things change.

[jenni268]

I look at the Whole30 as an intensely personal experience. There are those things which are definitely OUT (sugar, grains, legumes) but then there are the grey areas. I am not addicted to coffee, so I drink it. But caffeine does screw with me internally, so I opt for decaf... as I have for years. I just enjoy a nice warm cup of coffee. It's not an indulgence, it's not an addiction and it doesn't affect me psychologically or physically, so, for me, there is absolutely no reason why coffee should be considered non-compliant.

The great thing about the Whole30 is that you learn where your hang-ups are. As a lot of people have said, I've learned there ARE things that I need to stay away from, such as homemade roasted almond butter. But I am not going to sit here and insist that Almond Butter isn't Whole30 compliant. Like coffee, it IS Whole30 compliant.... but the butter isn't Jennifer Compliant. So I use my wonderful noggin that God gave me and I don't have almond butter.

This wiggle room is great so I don't feel so uber-restricted and it also forces me to take accountability for my own health and my own food choices. I don't think the point of Whole30 was ever to strip anyone's decision making away from them and if they deemed everything "non-complaint" that is what they would be doing.

[Susan W]

I would triple "like" the post by Jenni above if I could.

[Guest Srptskrts]

I'm on Day 2 and I doubt I would have ever undertaken Whole30 if coffee was prohibited. I rarely have more than 2 cups a day, and those cups consisted of coffee, half & half, and honey - nothing too lavish, but I am REALLY missing my half & half and honey right now! Of all things to crave...

Am I addicted to the caffeine? Sure (as my withdrawal headaches attest to), but coffee is a morning ritual, something to be shared with friends, warm and comforting. Will it have the same importance after 30 days of straight coffee? Time will tell...

[penybryn2249]

This is really interesting. I now wish I had stopped coffee in the beginning when I was going to feel bad any way.

 

I am on Day 30 of my first round. In the last 30 days, I learned to drink coffee black. But around day 25, the change in my coffee drinking habits came into my consciousness. Before Whole30, I had rarely consumed coffee after noon but now I was wanting it in the afternoon.  And I noticed I would wake up with a headache. I was wanting coffee too badly.

 

So a week ago I stopped all coffee and I will continue my Whole 30 eating for at least another 14 days, if not another whole 30. It just seems to make sense to DO IT NOW.

 

I also need to stop eating so many cashews.

[newwhole30er]

I quit caffeine very gradually during my first Whole30 (a little less on the spoon every day until I was down to nothing). I've never gone back.

 

What I DO use coffee for is to treat headaches. Often that's all it takes, and I think it's a lot less worse than taking Tylenol or Advil.