No longer tolerating coffee

[Catherine Johnston]

Yesterday was day 11 and I woke up feeling just amazing, clean and happy... Then I had my breakfast which consisted of :

Chicken sausage (compliant variety)

2 eggs with some hot sauce

1 cup Swiss chard sautéed in about half tablespoon coconut oil

1 cup butternut squash plain

I seemed to feel just fine and dandy until I finished with my morning coffee ( about 12 oz)

My mood just shifted dramatically and I felt stressed out and depressed. Coffee has never done this to me until now and it's sad because I truly love my coffee. Has anyone else been a lifetime coffee drinker and had to give it up after starting a whole30? I was so excited to have finally felt benefits from the program and I can only think it was the coffee that ruined it.

[AmyS]

I can't drink coffee - not even decaf. I know it's OK for Whole30, but it's pretty poisonous (and immediately so) to my system. The effects were definitely more dramatic once I cleaned up my eating.

[Joey]

This is going to make me sound pretty out there, but so be it.

While I try to avoid coffee in general because of my particular health issues, I have a HUGE difference in symptoms depending on the type and source of coffee. Some of which makes sense, like worse reactions to decaf (probably because of the decaffeination process) and better tolerance to organic beans. Some of it baffles me, like different reactions to different countries of origin, or fair trade versus not so. I've even done blind taste tests with the latter, and was able to pick out whether the beans were fair trade or not based on my mood immediately after drinking. What? I don't get it, but I roll with it.

Also, (and this is much less baffling) I find that if I veer off my usual safe foods (even staying within the compliant zone) it will magnify the reaction I might have to coffee.

Have you read Melissa Urban's account of quitting coffee? Quite valuable, IMO.

Tried to edit to include link, but this device won't let me.

[CAK911]

I can drink decaf (the kind that's decaffeinated with C02 or water), but I can't really have much regular coffee. Cold brewed coffee seems like less of a problem, usually (you can heat it back up if you want it hot instead of cold).

Generally, though, I do Crio Bru or tea at home.

[Beets]

I chose to quit coffee as part of my W30 even though I've always loved it, deeply.

But my anxiety had gotten so bad I was unable to get anything done. I read a little about adrenal fatigue and some other things (I've read so much in the last few weeks, it's all starting to blur together) and figured out that the constant roller coaster of coffee wasn't doing me any good. I wasn't even drinking it to wake up but just to sustain. Sometimes it would even make me more tired, lethargic, even depressed.

The first few days of my W30 were BRUTAL. My head hurt so badly I could hardly walk. I was napping and falling asleep by 8:30pm.

But now I feel a lot less anxiety. A lot less. And it's funny because a few days in I remembered that my mom quit drinking coffee when she was in her 30s. And we are both very sensitive to medications. (When I used to take psychiatric meds I could only tolerate a really small dosage.)

Now I think about coffee like I thought about quitting smoking way back when. I miss the social aspects, the rituals, the bonding that is involved--and, for coffee, the smell. But I don't miss the physical effects.

[Emily]

I'm currently struggling with this too.. tea just doesn't feel the same. But my mood also changes (sometimes) dramatically with coffee; also I get gut issues from coffee. Finally, even if I don't drink any after noon I still notice a difference in the quality of my sleep.

Before W30s, I knew coffee messed with my gut but I wasn't aware of the mood/sleep issues. I've found coffee harder to give up than alcohol or sugar.

Good luck!

[Catherine Johnston]

Thanks to everyone for the information and suggestions! I had my first coffee free day today and I think cutting it out is what I'm going to do, maybe substitute with tea since that doesn't seem to give me trouble.

[Robin Strathdee]

Catherine, were you drinking it black? Some folks have noticed trouble when combining coconut milk that contains guar gum and coffee.

[Kirsteen]

Joey, what you say actually makes perfect sense to me. From what I've read, traditional, commercial coffee growing uses a shedload of pesticides, so it makes sense, if you're sensitive to those, that organic which uses none or fair trade which probably uses a lot less wouldn't have the same bad effect on you.

I found the link you were talking about, http://whole9life.com/2011/03/caffeine-clean-four-months-without-coffee/ yes it is fascinating if a little uncomfortable in that it might be hitting a bit too close to home

[Catherine Johnston]

Robin, yes I was drinking it black. I have always drank my coffee black unless its iced. The brand of coffee is Peets, pretty strong too.