Coffee or not? The choice to have coffee in the mornings is nigh

[csziggy]

It's been nine days since my last operation and it is still a struggle to eat. My digestive system is working but not up to normal. My appetite has not really returned - I get hungry but feel full after very little food.

That's fine - I am using this opportunity to lose weight and stop some of my bad eating habits. So far I have lost about twelve pounds and if I keep this up I will be at a third of my total weight loss goal by the end of the year.

So far I have not gone back to having coffee in the mornings. Before the operation I HAD to have at least one fourteen ounce cup every morning. That was a cut back but gave me enough caffeine to get going.

It's been long enough that the caffeine withdrawal is over and done. I still crave that pick me up in the morning but don't have that addict's pull for it.

Maybe it is the time to cut my caffeine ties? I could still have the occasional coffee but it sure would save me a lot of time every morning to just not have that daily cup.

What do ya'll think?

[Zambero]

1. Coffee is good for you

Short of too having too much keeping you awake at night. Recent studies show that 2-3 cups per day extends life span. Powerful antioxidants are said to play a role in this.

[csziggy]

7. For the last several years I have limited my coffee to my morning cup

But over the last year as my heart problems were being diagnosed, the time for that morning cup had been difficult to budget. Often I waited until after my medical appointments and had a cup with lunch after the appointments were over.

My cardiologists have all questioned the use of caffeine - though I limit my intake to fourteen ounces of coffee once a day - even though I have not had problems with fast or irregular heat beats. Every one of the cardiologists go through a litany "Limit use of caffeine, use less salt, cut your fat intake." That's even though my blood pressure has been generally well controlled, my LDL/HDL ratio is great, and my cholesterol numbers are fantastic.

I'll do some research into coffee's antioxidants though one of the last articles I read about antioxidants suggested they were overrated for their health benefits.

Thanks!

[elleng]

2. Sounds like the right time to do it,

especially if you've wanted to for other than 'I feel like it' reasons.

Go for it!

[Polly Hennessey]

3. All I need

is a cup of coffee; a book; and, my dogs. Guess you know where I stand. Hurry up and feel better.

[Cattledog]

4. Coffee: nectar of the Gods

[Siwsan]

5. Just think moderation.

When I was still working, I used to down at least two large cups of (company provided) medium roast Starbucks, every morning. I was sleeping only about 3 to 4 hours a night (job stress induced insomnia) so I needed that jump start, just to function.

When I retired, I ratcheted that down to two 8 oz cups of a mix of dark roast/medium roast every morning and that's normally the end of my caffeine ingestion, for the day.

Oddly, sometimes, when my appetite leaves me, I can go several days without a caffeine fix, and all is well. Then other times, missing my morning coffee for just one day triggers the most awful withdrawal headaches.

[csziggy]

9. That's what I have been doing - coffee in moderation

My single serve coffee maker (NOT a Keurug) makes 14 ounces max per serving. I was making one of those per morning and not having any more coffee during the day.

Sometimes at seminars I have a morning coffee, then another cup later in the day, but those would be normal size cups so not double what I would normally have.

I may wait and see how my stats are at my follow up check up next Friday. My blood pressure was trending high in the hospital. If it is still up then I might should skip the coffee!

[zanana1]

20. Moderation?

What's moderation?

[Siwsan]

21. A struggle. Sometimes a real struggle!

[malthaussen]

6. Coffee is a choice?

Not in my lexicon.

-- Mal

[snowybirdie]

8. Digestive problems

caused by coffee had me switch to tea years ago. Some have a difficult time with it

[csziggy]

10. That's why I haven't started back

Right now it is a struggle to eat so the acidity of coffee wouldn't be good even though I like a little coffee with my sweet milk.

But the call of caffeine is strong!

[SonofDonald]

11. I was a King Crab Fisherman

We each drank an average of 3 gallons of coffee a day, I kid you not, it was Folgers or Hills Brothers made as strong as it could be without going bitter.

These days they have have much better out there, I had my first fresh ground bean coffee in 92 and never looked back, I drink French Roast now.

Nectar of the gods, but I am down to one pot a day now.

But man that would have been great back in the 80's

[cwydro]

12. Coffee is good for you.

I love it.

Black and strong made in a French press.

[Codeine]

13. Coffee just takes up valuable mug room

better occupied by a good Earl Grey.

[csziggy]

14. I've never been able to get into tea, either hot or cold

Of course I grew up in the South where "tea" means sweet cold tea which I always thought was vile.

I do like herb infusions when I am sick, such as mint tea with lemon and honey.

Perhaps I should try some good hot tea and see if I can develop a taste for it. We're thinking of going to the UK in 2019 and being able to drink hot tea might be advantageous!

[Kali]

15. drop to an 8 or 10 oz size

see how it works

I feel you on the time in the morning thing. I can kill the entire morning on one cup - especially if the internet is involved.
I started a simple 5 minute habit a few months ago - do some little THING before the coffee. Could be a short walk, feed penned animals, start a load of laundry, put a few things away, etc. Usually I get started and do lots more, and then the coffee becomes a better treat/break and I enjoy it more.

[csziggy]

16. I'm going to wait and talk it over with the urologist who took out the kidney

If he says coffee is OK, I'll think about a smaller cup, maybe not on a regular basis.

Now that I am totally retired, I generally eat my cooked cereal and have my coffee at the computer - usually that is when I do most of my genealogy research or family photo sorting, editing and posting if I feel up to it. If I don't, I get on DU earlier than usual.

Assuming these last two operations make it more possible for me to hike and travel, I need to have a more efficient morning routine so I can get going faster. Dropping coffee in the morning would make that a lot easier, though I could go to a noon cup instead.

[Kali]

17. how are your knees doing?

I'm off to bed, but have been meaning to ask. I see an ortho next week, haven't been able to straighten my left knee for a couple of months and it is really interfering with walking now. We are working cattle tomorrow so will check back in the evening, not being rude! (I say we, but I will mostly be sitting and keeping records, can't move fast enough to be on the ground crew right now. LOL)

I know you said you don't ride anymore but I think it was about your back. I am curious about riding with knee replacements, is that done/allowed?

[csziggy]

22. My knees are doing great - that is one reason I'm happy about finding the heart problem

After my replacements, I tried to hike and felt as if I couldn't breath. They sent me to an allergist who could find no reason for shortness of breath. Then nothing happened until they heard the heart murmur last fall, even though I kept telling them I felt the way my Mom seemed to be with her bad heart valve!

I stopped riding before my knees, really. Mostly it was that after they rebuilt my left shoulder in 1993 I never got my balance back and still sometimes I have some vertigo. The other part is that while I have some great horses, I did not have and still do not have one that has the miles on them for me to re-learn to ride and feel safe.

My rule since 2001 is "No more accidents!" I still keep wearing out body parts, but I can't control that.

Riding with replacements is fine. I have a friend who is 75, has had both knees replaced and her entire backbone worked on (fusions, plates, all sorts of things - all in one operation) and she still rides. She and her husband go for weekend trips, camp out and ride all day long.

She discussed it with her orthopedic surgeon ahead of time and told him if she couldn't ride, it wasn't worth doing. I have no idea if her implants are different than mine but she does great. I know when I was looking at the various implants, there are different ones and some allow more range of movement than others.

Take care with that knee - you need to do something before the muscles get weak from non-use or the ligaments aren't as flexible!

[LeftInTX]

18. Go for it!!!

I'm addicted to caffeine It's disgusting. I've got other health issues. Over the years, I've required more and more. - sign pf an addict. (Maybe I have sleep apnea)

If would love to be able to survive without it.

[blogslut]

19. I had a friend that swore by a cup of hot water with lemon in the mornings.

So far coffee and I still get along fine but I drink far too much of it. There's a coffee substitute (made from roasted barley) that I drink once in a while, especially at night.

[csziggy]

23. You can also stretch coffee with chicory, which would cut the caffeine

The History of the Chicory Coffee Mix That New Orleans Made Its Own
By K. Annabelle Smith
smithsonian.com
March 5, 2014

Mardi Gras revelers in New Orleans may be needing all sorts of hangover cures this week, and they couldn’t do better if they visited the legendary Cafe du Monde and ordered beignets and coffee. The coffee, however, won’t taste quite the same and its not because your stomach is reconfiguring itself in its post-Bacchanalian recovery. Café du Monde, as part of what has become a New Orleans tradition, makes their coffee with chicory, the root of a blue-flowered perennial plant.

Though the root has been cultivated since ancient Egypt, chicory has been roasted, ground and mixed with coffee in France since the 19th century. (The term chicory is an anglicised French word, the original being chicoree.) The root traditionally was used on its own in tea or in medicinal remedies to treat jaundice, liver enlargement gout and rheumatism.

Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/chicory-coffee-mix-new-orleans-made-own-comes-180949950/#xHy833JpC6hCJk49.99
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