thbirks

Well, it looks like I'm giving up coffee, again. I'm just tired of being addicted. I don't really enjoy drinking it anymore. Anyway, I'm wondering what the effects of drinking coffee are and if it is in anyway beneficial to cycling. I'm sure I'll be better off without the 2-4 cups of coffee a day I've been used to, but will I see increased performance by giving it up?

LittleBigMan

One thing I've found is that when I've gone without it for awhile,
the next time I drink any I'm very sensitive to its effects.

JonR

I have a cure for that: don't ever go without it!
(That's coffee in the mugs)

Joe Gardner

I too have never had a drink of coffee in my life, my big "crutch" to getting going in the morning is Mt Dew, I admit, im a dewaholic, drinking 24 - 40 oz of the crap every day, I gave it up for 5 years, then I turned 6 .. Im slowly trying to drink more water, and give up the dew, I know this will effect my cycling in the long run for the better.

Badger, i love Red Bull, I usually pour two cans in my 100oz camelbak before a long ride.

Joe Gardner

Hmm, i think there may be a connection Badger... I kinda like the $1.49 price of red bull, it keeps me from overdosing

Ranger Jake

Servus!

GOOD LORD!! Don't scare me like that thbirks!! Coffee is the only reason that I am somewhat coherent come 0830! I was sure that this was to announce a global ban on the most wonderful morning stimulant this side of a hot shower. Joyfully, I was blowing things WAY out of proportion (As usual )

I would have to say that I still enjoy my morning cup despite the fact that I probably drink too much of the Black Fuel.

JonR

I think I'm adding coffee to my list of things it's unwise to discuss: religion, politics, and now coffee.

Eventually there will be nothing left to discuss.

I guess I can always go ride my bike.

aerobat

Coffee? Love it! I think it does give a little boost, the reason it's in those energy drinks, but I just like the taste.

Grump

My wife the RN says caffiene is BAD. It's a central nervous system stimulant , and causes a the heart to beat faster. If it was a new drug introduced today, it would be strictly controlled. I love coffee, but recently switched to half-caf in the morning, and decaf at other times. My resting pulse rate has been way too high, and is now a lot better since I gave up the full strength java. Maybe it's more just a matter of moderation.

LittleBigMan

Grump, I respect that.

But the rest of you guys who think coffee is a religious taboo but drink Red Bull like Mama's milk: PPPPPPPPP! Mountain Dew
IS controlled...somewhere, I think!

Anyway, if you're going to drink caffeine, whether it costs 5 cents or $1.99, don't fool around. "Just Do It."

If you're abstaining, well, good for you. You can be my new mentor, because I haven't licked it for over 20 years. (I respect you highly as I have been there for short periods. It's a weakness.)

ok, this is a FUN post, get over it?

(And to my buddies who like the taste, decaf tastes the same, but I hate it!)

fubar5

I notice I have more energy, I can wake up earlier, and I can bike longer when I have been off of caffine. I have given up soda(except for on hollidays) and I feel a lot better. My stomach doesn't seem to cramp as much either.

AlphaGeek

Hi my name is AlphaGeek, and I'm a coffee addict!

Limit 2 mugs per day, but none the less, java for me. (I agree with Jon, that's coffee in those mugs!)

By the by, caffene comes in soda pop bottles too! Not just coffee cups.


Sure, I could give it up. Maybe tomorrow! ... Not!

JonR

This is a fairly sore point with me, and I promise this will be my last post on the subject.

I am an alcoholic; I quit drinking with the help of AA in 1986 and have not consumed alcohol since then; in common with many recovered alcoholics I drink a lot of coffee.

Coffee is a great pleasure for me.

I do not have a partner. My best friend died of cancer last September. I don't have many friends. (That's one reason I enjoy the bikes forum so much, because it usually feels as though I'm among friends.)

I live on a very, very small retirement income.

I have lifelong, probably genetic, clinical depression which has been treated unsatisfactorily in any number of ways including hospitalization for a month with electric shock therapy (which I would not recommend to anybody).

Even if coffee kills me, which is a remote but just barely possible outcome, I would rather die from coffee than from alcohol.

There are days when coffee is about all I do enjoy.

And by now I'm not even sure what I'm getting at, except to add that I have been tempted to abandon this forum because of this thread.

ANYTHING that provides pleasure or comfort would be a "controlled substance" if it were discovered today, including s*x.

I'm glad coffee, and aspirin, and s*x, and music, are not new inventions. And bicycles, for that matter. They'd be off-limits, too.

The Puritans were wild partying rebels compared to today's worry-warriors.

End of--I guess--rant.

AlphaGeek

Jon,

It would be a sad day indeed to lose you from the forum!!!
Don't even kid about such a SERIOUS thing!!!!
Talk about going into withdrawal. We would be

Coffee is not THAT big a deal. I agree that it is my stimulant of choice. But coffee like so many things is a matter of "personal preference". When you and I drink coffee it is not hurting others, in fact there are ongoing research studies that show coffee and chocolate and sex and 437 other things to have pretty good advantages.

Next time you have a cup of java, remember you friends on BFC really care for you and I for one will join you each morning while reading the forum!
(yes, that's good ol coffee in those mugs!!!)

Mark

thbirks

Umm... I wasn't aware that coffee was such a touchy subject. Seriously I was just wondering what experiences any of you may have had after quitting coffee.

I don't feel that coffee is a bad thing or anything, but I just recently realized that I no longer enjoy drinking it. It doesn't make any sense to me to continue drinking it if it's not bringing me any pleasure. I like pleasure and spend alot of time in search of it.

Jon, I'm sorry if this thread has brought you grief. I can only hope that you were kidding about abandoning this site as you certainly have a lot of friends here.

JonR

Now that it's several hours later (and I've had my coffee), I think it wasn't so much that the subject "quitting coffee" touched me off, as that it served as one of those triggers that can explode somebody under too much stress.

A couple of my (few!) friends are being treated like dirt by the corporations (one large, that you've all probably heard of; one small) they have the misfortune to work for; they aren't in a position to get new jobs after many years of DEVOTED service, and I worry about them a lot and it hurts me how they're being treated. I think that's the major stress, and it's constant. Then there's still the grief from losing my friend even though it's eight months ago--I learned from a grief support thing that that can keep on for ten years or more. Great.

And then just the little stresses of daily life especially in a big poorly-managed city. It all adds up.

And it just bubbled over this morning.

I agree there's no reason to go on drinking coffee or doing anything else optional if it's no pleasure anymore, or if there's no longer benefit from it (there's a subtle distinction).

I will even describe my own withdrawal symptoms, for I quit drinking coffee on two or three occasions, some years ago, before I replaced alcohol with coffee.

When I laid off coffee, after about one day I started to get this severe headache--and it lasted for at least 24 hours. It was not particularly "sharp" pain but it filled my head and was no fun at all. I felt very tired, probably because of the pain more than from real tiredness (dealing with constant pain can be exhausting, as cancer patients find out pretty quick).

After the headache was finally gone on the second or maybe third day, I was OK and could do without coffee just fine. There was no lingering "addiction." However, I found out I preferred not to do without it--after a few weeks each time. I think the social and cultural associations built up around a habit like that can be a powerful inducement to continue, but I don't think it's a real addiction, like some drug addictions where there's danger of death from withdrawal.

Thanks for bearing with me in my tantrum today. This seems to have been a week for forum members to either quit or threaten to--at least three of us. No, I wasn't kidding, but I feel better now. I appreciate your kind support, all.

Joe Gardner

I admit, even tho i don't drink coffee, I love to sit in barns and noble and read the latest issue of bicycling (yes, i purchase it after i read it at BN, i hate when people who read a magazine, then put it back) in the café. Im not sure if it's the coffee smell I like, or just the people who hang out there, but its a nice place for me to escape.

Jon, my doctor wanted me to quit Mt Dew at least a month before my surgery, so i quit cold turkey, for the next three or so days i had nothing but major headaches, and felt very lazy and tired 24hrs a day. However within a week, i felt like i had more energy then ever before, and my headaches were gone. I also noticed that when i wake up, i was more awake, then depending on the caffeine. After reading this thread, im going to try to give up Mt Dew again, im taking a few old water bottles to work tomorrow, water only

Grump

Jon, you are absolutely right about coffee being preferable to alcohol for people like us. I've been sober for 12 years, have learned a lot from AA,(like open-mindness and tolerance) but forget sometimes to apply it to life. I didn't mean to be critical by implying that caffeine is bad. I am not by any means anti-coffee or anti-alcohol; well, yes I am anti-alcohol, but only for me. Anyway, peace, brother. Always remember the important things, like cycling, respect, and never passing up a good opportunity to pee.

mike

Whew! This coffee thread is getting deep.

So, to pull it up, let me say that you will notice your muscles will be more limber, hurt less, and recover faster if you drink less or no coffee.

It isn't so much the caffeine which is the problem. It is the tannins and oils in the coffee which are "body polluting".

Caffienne, on the other hand, has been shown to enhance physical performance.

I know that switching from that warm friendly cup of coffee to, say, tea is not inviting. Tea and coffee are two totally different types of enjoyment. However, I did make the switch and notice a big difference. Sure, I enjoy coffee too. Nummy nummy. A cup a week isn't a problem. If I do go on a coffee binder and drink it for a week, I notice the effects quite shockingly.

JonR, stick to the coffee. For you, coffee is more than just coffee and I appreciate that. For many people, coffee provides a certain comfort and pleasure beyond taste and even the caffienne kick. You mentioned that you suffer from clinical depression. Obvioulsy, you are not alone, JonR. I know people with clinical depression. The medication for depression makes them sleepy, so they drink enormous amounts of coffee to fight the dullness of the prescription drugs. Have you ever heard of this?

AlphaGeek

LOL! Glad to see Grump's got his priorities in order!

Steele-Bike

I believe things are best in moderation....except cycling. Every morning when I get to work, I have a big glass of water. Then about an hour later I get a coffee, and then at lunch I have a Mt. Dew. I drink water the rest of the afternoon and evening. I occasionaly have a beer, maybe one or two a week. I would not say I am addicted to caffeine, but I definitely like it.

LittleBigMan

I like to choose things, or not choose them, myself. If I decide to give up coffee, I'll appreciate any support I can get. But until then, if you touch my mug, you'll draw back a nub!

orguasch

I drink one cup of coffee a day, and thats it for me just one cup....

JonR

I don't know that I've heard of it, but it makes sense. Some medications given for depression, notably trazodone (one brand name Desyrel) produce tremendous sleepiness: in fact, trazodone is often prescribed to counteract insomnia caused either by OTHER antidepressants or by the depression itself.

I stopped taking antidepressants by personal choice in spring of 98, I think it was. I feel less numbed without them.... It's a kind of you-can't-win situation, ultimately.

Joe, good luck with the bottles full of water!

Pete, I thought of making a sticker for my bike echoing that famous one of years ago: "I'll give up my coffee when they pry it out of my cold, dead hand." But I looked at my bikes and they already have enough stickers: Animaniacs, Free Tibet, I Voted, and some bike-parts one I don't even know what it's about anymore....

Grump, I like the advice about peeing. I concur.

fubar5

I hope you are being sarcastic about leaving JonR.
If coffee is what it takes for you to maintain a non-alcoholic status, then you keep drinking coffee. The effects of coffee are miniscule compared to alcohol.