Caffeine And Alcohol Can Be Hard To Reduce Or Give Up

If you want to use green, oolong or white tea to boost your metabolism, try cutting out the coffee and colas first. But remember, if you really want to boost your metabolism, the best way is to increase your exercise. Coca is a sirtfood and may increase the amount of fat you burn. However, chocolate drinks are generally high in sugar and calories. You may find it helps to drink valerian and camomile teas. These are calming herbal teas. Dandelion tea and coffee support your liver, which processes old hormones. If you feel hungry between meals, try drinking a glass of water, then waiting fifteen minutes before eating anything. You may mistake thirst for hunger signals. Remember that caffeine and alcohol can disrupt your sleep, and lack of sleep increases your appetite. Try replacing a cup of tea with a cup of green tea. Add spirulina to juices and smoothies, as it contains chlorophyll, which may reduce absorption of some obesogens.

In Some Small Way

If you don’t like plain water, jazz it up by adding lemon, lime, cucumber, mint or other fruit or herbs. You could also put sliced or grated root ginger in a cup and pour on boiling water. Caffeine and alcohol can be hard to reduce or give up, especially if you are using them to keep yourself going or because you are stressed. Are you feeling resistant to the idea of reducing caffeine or alcohol? If so, just acknowledge that. It is important to be honest with yourself. I am not suggesting that you cut caffeine and alcohol out completely if you don’t want to. But I want you to be aware of how caffeine and alcohol can affect your biochemistry, so you can make informed choices. If you want to cut back on caffeine or alcohol, would it be easier to start with a small change? Or limit alcohol to a glass of wine with dinner at the weekend. If that feels a step too far, could you halve your alcohol intake or reduce it by a couple of units a week? If you plan to reduce your caffeine intake, you may want to reduce it slowly to avoid withdrawal symptoms. You could also try reducing the amount of milk and sugar you add to tea and coffee or gradually replace with herbal teas. Be specific about what you are going to do and how you are going to achieve it. Being slightly dehydrated can lower your metabolism and energy levels.

If The Worse Comes To The Worst

And many people reach for food when their energy drops. You may mistake thirst for hunger signals. If you feel hungry between meals, drink a glass of water, then wait fifteen minutes before eating anything. Alcohol enhances your appetite and suppresses your body’s ability to burn fat. The fat that is not burned is likely to be stored around your belly. Artificial sweeteners in diet drinks may cause weight gain, even if you do not eat more than normal. Caffeine has different effects on different. It can cause blood sugar imbalances and isn’t good for stress or your female hormones. However, coffee and green, oolong and white teas may slightly boost your metabolism. This helps you feel fuller for longer and doesn’t spike your blood sugar levels. Remember Polly? Polly was pretty sure she was intolerant to wheat. Wheat is in a lot of different foods, so cutting it out wasn’t going to be easy.

All The Trials

But she was determined, even if it meant the difficult choice of foregoing her morning toast! She struggled, to start with. She desperately wanted her toast! She tried rice cakes, without success. In the end, she opted for a completely different breakfast that didn’t involve a toast substitute. Quickly, she started to notice a difference. Within a couple of weeks, her bloating and digestive discomfort had vanished. She was waking up feeling clearer headed, and it didn’t feel like she had to drag herself out of bed. Her anxiety also went down some notches. And it was getting much easier not to have the wheat. She still craved it occasionally, but the level of craving was loads less. Polly’s stomach was also flatter. She wasn’t sure how much was weight loss and how much was due to the reduced bloating, but she felt so much more energised and able to enjoy eating healthily. It may help to keep a food diary. Note down not just what you ate and when but also any symptoms you have and when they occur. Remember, symptoms don’t necessarily happen immediately, they may take hours or days to appear. You are most likely to be intolerant to foods you eat regularly, foods you crave and foods you would find it hard to give up. To reduce the risk of food intolerances, it’s best to rotate foods, so you do not eat the same foods each day. However you may be intolerant to other foods. Wheat is high in a protein called gluten, which some people are sensitive to. If so, that is a lot of wheat. There are also many hidden sources of wheat. It can be in mustards, fish fingers, soups, confectionery, malt and many packaged foods. To find out, check labels if you need to avoid a particular food. If you are intolerant to gluten, you may need to avoid rye and barley as well as wheat. Both rye and barley contain gluten. Researchers have suggested testing excluding gluten as a new approach to prevent the development of obesity.1 There is no need to cut out wheat completely unless you have an intolerance. If you eat a lot of wheat, why not limit it to just one portion a day? Milk and dairy products contain proteins called casein and whey. If you are intolerant to these proteins, you will need to avoid all dairy products. Another form of dairy sensitivity is lactose intolerance. Lactose is a milk sugar found in dairy products. You are likely to have digestive problems within a few hours of consuming dairy.