Caffeine is something that I have a love-hate relationship with. I love the smell, taste, and feeling of a good cup of coffee in the morning. Or the buzz I get from an energy drink while I am working or playing some xbox.

This relationship I have had with caffeine has been great, but then things changed. I noticed that over the last month or two I am consuming a lot of caffeine everyday…just to keep going. My diet has changed slowly to become more and more Paleo friendly and I started to feel better. However, with this change in diet I have noticed I start to feel tired around 3:00 pm everyday and its a struggle to stay awake the rest of the day.

I can’t point at my change in diet to explain this situation, simply because even with just 1 cup of coffee in the morning I feel very awake. Breakfasts of eggs and vegetables with a little bit of fruit really get me going. A salad for lunch is what I am doing now, but then 3:00 rolls around. Bam! Brick wall.

When I hit this wall I do what any geek would do, head for the caffeine. I don’t like this. I don’t like the control it has over me, I should use it as a tool…not a crutch.

I have read way too much material on how to reduce or eliminate the amount of caffeine in your diet. From getting rid of coffee to switching to tea. You see, I don’t want to quit this drug…I want to control it.

What caffeine does:

In humans, caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant, having the effect of temporarily warding off drowsiness and restoring alertness. Beverages containing caffeine, such as coffee, tea, soft drinks, and energy drinks enjoy great popularity. Caffeine is the world’s most widely consumed psychoactive substance, but unlike many other psychoactive substances it is legal and unregulated in nearly all jurisdictions. In North America, 90% of adults consume caffeine daily.^[5] The U.S. Food and Drug Administration lists caffeine as a “multiple purpose generally recognized as safe food substance”.^{[6] -wiki pedia}

Pros:

-Restores alertness

-Helps you Focus

-Increases Energy

Cons:

- It is a psychoactive drug

- Affects your brain chemistry

- Addiction does occur

- Too much can kill you

Paleo?

I bet a caveman or two ate a few coffee berries. Should be limited though. Most Paleo experts say no, but a little is okay.

http://paleodiet.com/

My first thought is this:

1. Go cold turkey for 1 month, struggle through the pain and use pain medicine to get through the headaches.

2. After that month slowly introduce small amounts of caffeine through tea, dark chocolate, and other sources.

3. Maintain lower level of use.

I don’t know if I can make it through cold turkey though. I consume the equivalent to 6-8 cups of coffee a day.

The other option is to spread this out over a couple of months. First lower the amount of coffee I drink, then switch to tea, then a piece of dark chocolate or two, gradually down to none.

I think I am going to chronicle my thoughts and tips of this experience. A lot of people think that caffeine reduction is a good thing. You can tell by the amount of blog posts written on it.

So I think it is time for a 30 day challenge!

Day 1 will be tomorrow,I am going to opt for the slow steps. I will post my caffeine use through this blog and on twitter @paleoaddict.

Related articles:

• Perky Jerky (coolhunting.com)
• Espresso – It’s not just for breakfast (fitnesstipsforlife.com)
• The false god of coffee (kk.org)

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