Do you have an addiction to coffee? Do you find it hard to get through even half an hour without having another cup? Have you worn a trail between your desk and the coffee machine? Well there are alternatives which will still keep you active, without the addictive properties of caffeine.
First of all, don't try to go "cold turkey" and stop drinking coffee completely and suddenly. If you do that, you're quite likely to have severe withdrawal symptoms such as sweating and shaking hands. Just take it gradually and cut down to start with. Try to reduce your coffee intake by about fifty percent in the first instance and replace those other cups of coffee with something else. Here are some ideas.
Drink something else: Variety is the spice of life, so why not alternate your cups of coffee with fruit or vegetable juices, hot chocolate, or even a low calorie carbonated drink but not cola unless it's decaffeinated. How about decaf coffee? It isn't completely without caffeine but it's a start. Water, boring though it may seem, is also a refreshing alternative to coffee.
The sugar rush: If it's the sugar from your cup of coffee that you need for energy, have a cereal bar instead or a piece of fruit. The sugar from an apple or orange is far healthier than the refined sugar you put in coffee.
Coffee instead of food: If you drink coffee because it takes the edge off your appetite and you're trying to diet, it's a very bad idea and incredibly unhealthy. Do eat something. Eat carrot sticks or other vegetables. Keep them in the 'fridge ready prepared so it's no effort or take them to work in an airtight box. Have some cottage cheese on crispbread or even a sandwich but take it easy on the butter and the filling. A scrape of low fat spread and a thin slice of ham or cheese with some tomato, lettuce and cucumber certainly won't do you much harm even if you are on a diet and bread is a great source of carbohydrate and therefore slow-release energy, which is much better than the sugar rush you get from sweets and chocolates. If you must have something sweet, try sugar free mints or gum or low fat and sugar plain biscuits.
Start the day right: Have a good energy giving breakfast such as muesli or porridge. If the weather is cold, there's nothing like a steaming bowl of porridge to set you up for the day. If you can't be bothered to make porridge, get one of those instant oatmeal cereals that you just add hot water or milk to.
Exercise for energy: There's nothing like some strenuous exercise to increase your metabolic rate and your adrenalin levels, So much so that you probably won't even feel the need for caffeine if you take some exercise a couple of times a day, even for ten minutes at a time.
If you follow some or all of the above suggestions as well as gradually reducing your coffee consumption until you finally drink no more than three cups of coffee a day, that coffee addiction and nasty side effects will be beaten.
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