[Verdasco]

hey guys,

been an ongoing issue the past month, been trying to balance work, school and gym 5 days a week and my caffeine intake from coffee and energy drinks have gone sky high.

wakeu p at 6, work till 4, school till 9.


Coffee gives me bad caffeine crash and blurred vision, energy drink has no crash but gives heart/chest aches and problems.


Any other drinks that is in the market that will be healthy?? I am thinking of tea, any suggestions on brand and where to buy?

[Traum]

I can't stand coffee myself, and energy drinks makes me too wired. The best alternatives I have found are:

1) HK cafe style milktea
2) Chinese Pu'erh tea (just drinking it straight)
3) English breakfast (tea) with honey

Gingseng tea has also been a good alternative for me, and it is super gentle on the body (my body, at least). But at the same time, it isn't quite as effective as some actual caffinated drinks though...

IMO, the best thing you can do for yourself is really to cut back on something and make sure you spend that time on sleeping. You can feed anything to yourself, but at the end of the day, nothing can replace a solid few hours of sleep. When you are sleep deprived, even just getting an extra hour or something makes a huge difference on your performance the next day.

Now, if I could only listen to my own advise... :okay:

[Gtrr33]

Nothing bruh... Nothing healthy anyways

[Verdasco]

Nothing bruh... Nothing healthy anyways

was really hoping some sort of healthy tea can replace coffee and energy drinks :yuno:

and to the first poster above, HK milk tea is def. not viable on convience :drunk:


hard to get extra hours of sleep when i have to eat dinner and homeowrk when i arrive home at 10pm ResidentSleeper


40hours full time and school maybe isnt a good idea

no life for me that is BrokeBack

[tomatogunk]

A friend of mine gets jittery through coffee, but found caffeine pills to work great for him

[320icar]

Just go to any supplement store and get some caffeine pills. $8 to $12 bucks for a bottle with 50 pills, and each one on average is 200mg caffeine (for comparison a big can of monster has ~180mg)

Or fix the real issue. Slow down and relax, don't push yourself hard or you will end up run down and sick

[DragonChi]

lol, do you even sleep?

There's a good alternative.

[Usha Christiano]

Milktea is a good alternative.

[Jmac]

Coffee gives me abdominal pain. I was using energy drinks (2-3 cans/week), but stopped in December. I found I was super tired on days that I didn't has an energy drink.

Since I stopped, I find I'm not nearly as drowsy and lethargic in the morning. That said, my health has been shit since I stopped, hopefully just a coincidence :okay:

[rageguy]

Go to GNC and buy the 8mg ephedrine. Take 2, and maybe sip some tea during the day. Can redose 4-6 hours after. Avoid taking 6-8 hours before bedtime.

[Armind]

Pre workout :troll:

[BoostedBB6]

Eat an apple. It works and not bsd for you.

[Verdasco]

Pre workout :troll:

some people want me to die... others want me to burn....



you want me to burn and die? :badpokerface:


apple? interesting... will try that.

[BoostedBB6]

some people want me to die... others want me to burn....



you want me to burn and die? :badpokerface:


apple? interesting... will try that.

The apple is like a sugar rush. It helps to give you a boost for sure.
I used to drink a lot of energy drinks and coffee (12-14hr work days and can't sleep). After I stopped the work I found it very hard to function without the energy drinks. I began to sub an apple in place and now I find its a great pick me up.

[jackmeister]

OP asks for caffeine alternatives... over 50% of the replies contain some form of caffeine (milk tea, tea, caffeine tablets lol) :drunk: coffee and tea have roughly the same amount of caffeine

i used to drink a lot of strong tetley orange pekoe-the kind where the pod that stays too long. it's gotten to a point that drinking that makes me sleepy so it doesn't really work long term.

what i've tried is if you're feeling a little tired just run up and down the stairs a little to get your heart rate/adrenaline going, can keep you up for a bit, but nothing is better than getting QUALITY sleep

[Vansterdam]

Crystal meth :troll:

Green tea extract pills

[Presto]

Ginseng tea works well. I feel alert, and have energy, but it's not jitter, like when I have coffee. Get some ginseng root from the supermarket to make your own.

[Nlkko]

Works great for me: Loose leaf tea from Murchie's (usually cheaper than David's Tea)

What I do:
- Buy loose leaf tea (lots of flavor you can try before buy, my go to is the Lychee Black Tea)
- Buy your own tea steeper (for example: https://www.davidstea.com/ca_en/36oz-steeper)
- Once a day makes 1 or 2 big bottle worth. Process takes 10min (water to boil). Put in the fridge.
You will have enough ice tea for the whole day. No need for sugar as the flavor is enough.

Benefits:
- No coffee crash
- Keep me well hydrated. I do not have to drink any extra water to compensated.
- Cheap.
- Healthy.

[DragonChi]

Usually, when your body tells you it's got pain somewhere, or discomfort, you should probably stop whatever your doing to it, because in the long run, it's going to fuck you up.

But if you must then here are some other stimulants that might work for you.

Cocoa leaf tea (same shit as cocaine, but not refined, same analogy would be eating a beet root vs eating granulated sugar)
Yohimbe root
Ephedrine
Adderall
Bupropion - Tell you're doc you're trying to quit smoking. This is the easiest way I got it, and with BC's quit smoking plan, it can be free.

DO NOT MIX ANY OF THE ABOVE. Some you can't even drink alcohol with or you'll get seizures.

I have not tried Modafinil, but other RS'ers might chime in, but it's also a stimulant.

But seriously, just take a loan, and quit your damn soul sucking job. You might even get some of your loan waived and save you a shit ton of burn out from your body.

http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episodes/while-your-were-sleeping

Yeah, if you want wallow your brain in it's own shit, get sleep deprived.

[SkinnyPupp]

Don't listen to the people telling you to take more stimulants, or replacing caffeine with other stimulants. Try taking L-Theanine with your coffee or whatever caffeine you take. It cuts out the jittery feeling.

More importantly, get more rest. Eat more food. Maybe work out 3 days a week instead of 5. 5 days a week with that schedule is insane

[XplicitLuder]

i was gonna say why not cut out a day or two off the gym ? 3-4 days a week is still pretty awesome. Seems like you're literally running yourself to the ground, at least while youre at work AND school. Id go down a day or two until you finish school and free up space than maybe go back to 5 ?

[Verdasco]

i was gonna say why not cut out a day or two off the gym ? 3-4 days a week is still pretty awesome. Seems like you're literally running yourself to the ground, at least while youre at work AND school. Id go down a day or two until you finish school and free up space than maybe go back to 5 ?

cant man, thx for suggestions, need to do 6 days a week of gym with no gf

with gf it was cut down a lot less

[BrRsn]

get some coke


theanine is pretty good but works best if you take it under the tongue. If you order liftmode brand off amazon, take 1 scoop put it under your tongue and hold for ~3-5 mins or until completely dissolved. Slam your coffee, start god mode

[vanfoodie]

A heavy green or black tea should do the trick! There are also a lot of energy teas in the health food sections, which is a better alternative to coffee.

[Verdasco]

hey guys, been caffeine free for the past month and decidied to skip out on the coffee. going to the gym 6 days a week and coffee really took a toll mentally and physically so I decided to sleep at 10-1030pm since I have to wake up at 6-7am

:)

[plat27265]

Verdasco, I suggest trying to limit your caffeine intake so you can sleep better at night. Or, as you just did, avoid it 95% of the time. When you sleep better at night (get full 7 to 8 hours), you won't feel sleepy during the day. Also, take your dinner at around 6 or 7pm instead of 10pm when you get home. I know you'll be at school attending classes. Is it possible to eat (say a sandwich or dinner) while attending class? Sleeping with a full stomach is known to cause heart attacks (not scientifically but its common knowledge in some asian cultures). Your heart works overtime to get your body digest all that food. Also, it is difficult to fall asleep with after dinner. One also tends to become overweight because instead of burning the fat from digested food (i.e., when you're up and about), your body stores it as fat in your body.

[Sid Vicious]

Verdasco, I suggest trying to limit your caffeine intake so you can sleep better at night. Or, as you just did, avoid it 95% of the time. When you sleep better at night (get full 7 to 8 hours), you won't feel sleepy during the day. Also, take your dinner at around 6 or 7pm instead of 10pm when you get home. I know you'll be at school attending classes. Is it possible to eat (say a sandwich or dinner) while attending class? Sleeping with a full stomach is known to cause heart attacks (not scientifically but its common knowledge in some asian cultures). Your heart works overtime to get your body digest all that food. Also, it is difficult to fall asleep with after dinner. One also tends to become overweight because instead of burning the fat from digested food (i.e., when you're up and about), your body stores it as fat in your body.

uh...this is 100% bullshit.

[plat27265]

uh...this is 100% bullshit.
It's up to you. Part of a healthy living is eating on time and having a proper diet. Most people think it's a load of crap but works for some who dare to try it.

[mr_chin]

hey guys,

been an ongoing issue the past month, been trying to balance work, school and gym 5 days a week and my caffeine intake from coffee and energy drinks have gone sky high.

wakeu p at 6, work till 4, school till 9.


Coffee gives me bad caffeine crash and blurred vision, energy drink has no crash but gives heart/chest aches and problems.


Any other drinks that is in the market that will be healthy?? I am thinking of tea, any suggestions on brand and where to buy?

One cup of coffee in the morning is fine.

Learn biphasic sleep. 15 - 30 min nap before work. 6 - 7 hours sleep at night.

If you sleep for full 8 hours, you should be able to stay up all day without a nap. Unless you have sleep apnea (refer to the sleep issue thread), where you're not getting good quality sleep. Or something is waking you up constantly.

To be honest, your schedule is not that tough, considering after 9pm, you have a whole 9 hour before you wake up for work, so I don't see why you need to consume energy drinks. The problem lies in your diet and your sleep quality.

What time do you usually go to bed? Plan your supper 3 hours before bed time.

Stop the energy drinks as they are known to have negative long term effect such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems, etc. Every unhealthy choice can negatively impact your quality of life, which forces you to rely more on these products. Get back on a healthy track now, it's never too late.

[Verdasco]

One cup of coffee in the morning is fine.

Learn biphasic sleep. 15 - 30 min nap before work. 6 - 7 hours sleep at night.

If you sleep for full 8 hours, you should be able to stay up all day without a nap. Unless you have sleep apnea (refer to the sleep issue thread), where you're not getting good quality sleep. Or something is waking you up constantly.

To be honest, your schedule is not that tough, considering after 9pm, you have a whole 9 hour before you wake up for work, so I don't see why you need to consume energy drinks. The problem lies in your diet and your sleep quality.

What time do you usually go to bed? Plan your supper 3 hours before bed time.

Stop the energy drinks as they are known to have negative long term effect such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems, etc. Every unhealthy choice can negatively impact your quality of life, which forces you to rely more on these products. Get back on a healthy track now, it's never too late.

havent drank an energy drink for 3 months. Stayed off that shiet once I noticed my heart was pumping 1000x harder.

[guurl]

Green Tea :nyan:

[davidpavel]

Hey man,

Coffee is a stimulant and stimulants cause dependency. More often than not, they also become a part of homeostasis and the body "requires" it for you to feel "normal" (hence why people say they are having a bad day because they "did not have their coffee")

Tolerance will depend how coffee affects people. Personally, I can drink 2 cups of coffee and not feel the slightest bit of energy. However, coffee is not needed for energy, as you have found out yourself.

You can have plenty energy sources for your workouts and you mentioned your sleep which looks good and regular so I'd say you're on the right track. If you ever need any "boost", have some green tea tablets or focus on proper nutrition and timing to optimize energy.

[jumsoo]

try not to drink coffee in the morning and just drink one cup in the afternoon.
worked for me

[johnyw]

I am trying to replace a coffee with black tea, but it's not working for now. I have a really low blood pressure and if I don't drink coffee first thing in the morning well..the feeling is like I'm going to pass out.