Do you need caffeine to just get your day started?
Or as a pick me up in the later afternoon as your body starts drag?
What does the caffeine do for you that is making it so you can’t live without it?
You probably know this, but caffeine acts as a stimulant. It is known as a psychoactive drug, which means that is temporarily changes your perception, mood, consciousness and behavior.
So what is wrong with this?
Well, the caffeine is not allowing the body to take care of things naturally.
Caffeine mimics adenosine ( a chemical naturally found to decrease wakefulness and increase sleep). Caffeine attaches to the adenosine receptors and pushes the adenosine out of the way.
This is why you wake up and get more energy after having caffeine.
Over time, the adenosine gets smart and starts to make new receptors. So now you have more receptors! Basically you have increased the number of receptors that are wanting adenosine.
Remember that adenosine makes you feel sleepy! Since you now have more receptors, it takes more and more caffeine to help you stay awake since their are more receptors.
One coke doesn’t do it anymore. Two cups of coffee just isn’t enough.
The more receptors yo have, the more caffeine needed to plug them up.
The caffeine also allow dopamine to run wild!
This also causes a mood boost. But along with that is, activates the adrenal glands and tells the body it better start pumping adrenaline.
Adrenaline is your fight or flight hormone and was really meant to only be produce in life threatening situations. This is a factor playing a roll in adrenal fatigue.
When the body is stressed it can’t think about losing weight.
Dr. Sara Gottfried, in her book The Hormone Reset, suggest that “obesity results from chronic problems with energy balance in your body, which is definitely in part caused by high stress. ”
So you get stressed, your cortisol rises, which usually causes you to over eat. Once you overeat, you need some caffeine to boost you up a little bit, which leads to an even higher cortisol level. Those high levels of cortisol over time, cause you to get fat!
Caffeine Free!
This may sound scary, but if you are wanting to lose weight, bring your stress levels down or sleep better, this is a great place to start.
Dr. Gottfried suggest starting one day at a time.
Day 1-3: Cut caffeine amount in half!
Day 3-5: No more than 2 cups of black tea a day.
Day 6-8: Green or white tea. No more than 2 cups a day. By day 8, only one cup.
Day 9-10: Herbal tea from now on!
Watch what happens!
Pay attention to your days!
How is your sleep?
Do you feel calmer?
Does your stomach feel flatter?
If you need help with this process, I would love to help!
🙂
Dana