I started drinking monsters back in 2009 while working construction. I would drink 2-3 a day. I honestly didn’t need them at 19 years old, but I was staying up late and only getting 4-5 hours sleep every night.
Now that I’m older I enjoy my caffeine more responsibly. I started to get into a routine of coffee FIRST thing in the morning every single day a few years ago. Then it turned into coffee and an energy drink or two coffees a day. Usually nothing more than 600mg per day max.
If I don’t have any caffeine, obviously I have withdrawals and get extremely moody and tired. I’ve thought about trying to quit for a few months, but I just don’t seem to care.
Do any of you feel the need to get your fix every day or struggle when you don’t get it? I’m wondering if I have an issue or if I’m just being paranoid.
I would love to be free of stimulants hold over my life, and I am finally at a point where I don’t “need” more than 200mg a day. Similar to you, I drink a zero calorie RTD mid morning at work - even if I’m fasted, had a good low carb breakfast or a good moderate carb breakfast, I always have my “lull” period around 9am. I get up at 5:00am, so that’s somewhat expected.
I would strongly consider using a low stimulant nootropic in lieu of one of your caffeine drinks. Try that for a while and see if it works.
I have gotten to the point where I won’t even take caffeine/stims pre workout (exception for heavy leg and back days). It might not work for everyone, but replacing the caffeine with other forms of supplements could be a good idea.
If the goal is to cut supps entirely, than I suggest the weaning phase. 1 day on, 2 days off - this works better for me than doing weeks off/on at a time.
to me it was a having a carbonated drink more so than caffeine, but i also suffer from migraines so i mainly switched from 2 cans of 300 mgs of caffeine plus preworkout for a day to…
went to lower caffeine RTDS (MonsterZero 140 per can) or these (o caff) are my daily drinks
You all have great points. I actually have been slowly decreasing my daily intake for the last 2 weeks and I’m down to ~300mg per day on average. I have been skipping the PWO and opted for something like Ghost Pump in the morning on training days (I lift between 5:30-6:30am) and just coffee on non training days. I have also been very strict on making sure I’m getting at least a gallon of water every day to stay hydrated which has helped with my cravings for carbonated drinks through the day.
I am looking into possibly buying a nootropic or another non-stim pump formula for those days I’m just really in a fog and need a kick. I’ve been happy with Ghost Pump, but I’m all out. Anyone recommend something on par? Possibly Vaso blitz?
Typically once a year I take a stim break for several weeks just for tolerance purposes (actually in the middle of one now). For me it’s really the only first couple of days that are difficult, but I’ve found for me that supplementing with acetylcholine and dopamine precursors works wonders. My personal favorite go to stack for this is CDP Choline and Tyrosine.
Just need to taper it down and indulge responsibly. You say that you had coffee first thing in the morning and I’m guessing that was it until you started adding an energy drink and another coffee.
There’s no reason to quit using caffeine completely but you’re right to be concerned about a dependency. I know that I get caffeine-withdrawal headaches if I don’t consume any for a day or two. Have a moderate intake, make sure you’re healthy (BP, etc.) and it shouldn’t be a big deal.
I am in same boat as you, I love carbonated Drinks. This is why I have a PWO on work out days in the morning then 1 Energy Drink (Bang, Raze, or C4 typically) in the afternoon. No other Caffiene intake. I recently bought a Soda Stream that makes carbonated “soda” and it is amazing. All the perks of a carbonated drink without the caffeine, its a fairly inexpensive option.
I actually loved my soda stream for awhile, until I totally cut pop out of my diet. Regardless, I still enjoy some sparkling water from time to time, or the 0 cal options that came with it
It’s typically one day where you feel run down, maybe two.
I like to lower my caffeine intake daily, like drinking a small red bull (80mg caffeine) pre-workout and maybe another when I feel a crash coming on work days. I do this until I have a day off of work. On the off day I just lounge around letting the withdrawal symptoms take their course. I typically feel fine the next day and don’t feel the need to take 1g of caffeine throughout the day
