Originally Posted By The FactorI’ll go ahead and throw down a comment, but personally I’d MUCH rather see more on the gain muscle / lose fat topic that we lost.
PLLLLLEEEEEEAAAAASSSSSEEEE????
me too
Yesterday I spent the bulk of my day sitting in the “coffee shop” area of Barnes and Noble plugging away on client programs and a couple of other “big things” I’ve got up my sleeve in the coming weeks.
Apparently if you’re working on a laptop at Barnes & Noble your cool points instantly jump by a factor of 3.7, which is essentially why I pay the additional $20 a month for AT&T Wi-Fi despite having plenty-o-internet and two other computers in my home office.
Okay, that’s not entirely true. Granted, I’m all about looking cool, but the fact is I can’t seem to get ANYTHING done at home lately, so I’ve been somewhat of a work-nomad for, well, about a year now (I suppose that goes a little beyond “lately”, sorry).
Nevertheless, I always seem to run into interesting people wherever I’m at.
For instance, just the other week these two guys were sitting behind me with about 17 books laid out in front of them talking about SPIDERS.
No, really, they were there for at least three hours talking about different species of spiders, predatory vs. non-predatory feeding habits (yes, that was actually part of the conversation), their arthropodic nature, and the venomous nature of each.
Did you know that there are 40,000 different species of spiders? Me either.
I digress.
(By the way, don’t expect to run into people that awesome too often…you’ll be dissapointed.)
Back to Saturday.
This time I’m sitting next to this girl who is downing cup after cup of Starbucks coffee.
Granted, she WAS studying an Anatomy text, but still, that’s a lot of caffeine.
Enter the world of counterproductivity.
A little lesson on how the body works:
As we work, every hour or so our bodies have a short window in which productivity, focus, and concentration diminish because our it simply needs a “break”. Our bodies wants us to unplug, to relax, to rejuvenate.
So what do we do? Instead of giving our central nervous system the time it NEEDS to unplug and relax, we EXCITE and stimulate every last neuron by grabbing a cup of coffee or some other source of caffeine.
Counterproductive.
And that’s in addition to the perhaps even more important negative side effects of habitual caffeine use on insulin sensitivity and carbohydrate tolerance.
Do you struggle with productivity? If so, do you feel that coffee or caffeine doesn’t REALLY increase productivity and energy as much people tend to believe it does?
At least 50 comments and I’ll be back tomorrow with three WAY MORE effective, simple strategies that will immediately, undoubtedly send your productivity through the roof as soon as you being using them.
Talk to you in the comments section!
Joel
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242 comments - add yours
Penny
June 10, 2009
David
June 10, 2009
Please don’t drink your coffee at Starbucks. They were found to be sending their profits to ersatz israel. They money was going to buy hand guns for the so called Settlers (terrorists). You may have heard that they recently closed down 600 outlets in the US and also many here in Australia. That is the power of the people. Keep the pressure on Starbucks and like minded groups; of which there are many ie AIPAC.
shalimar
June 10, 2009
Coffee gives the energy to help me awake the rest of the day,especially if I’m working on with my (research)papers..maybe because of the sugar(glucose) if i may say that gives the thing”energy” that makes me agile during the day..hm mm I’m a coffee lover.. thanks for that info..
Justin
June 10, 2009
Very useful information. Do you recommend a short few minute break every hour or so?
Nathan
June 11, 2009
I know im going back onto the diet soda debate, but i just read a post that reminded me of something. Drinking carbonated drinks will reduce natural stomach acid and allows you to properly digest the nutrients in food?
agree or disagree?
Nathan
June 11, 2009
ive never read that blog so he must have got it from someone else! haha
Coffee is nice to indulge in once in a while when it might taste good for a change or when your out it the cold. However, like most things use sparingly when incorporating it with a healthy life style. Now when I reach for a cup of coffee or caffiene I will think about the effect it has on carbs.
Pete
June 11, 2009
I drink my one mug in the morning (breakfast) and usually don’t touch the stuff again all day. If that’s being hooked, then I am. But I don’t relate it to “productivity boosts” during the day or evening, or something like that.
Heather
June 11, 2009
Why do we need a certain amount of comments for another article to be written?
Is it .25cents per comment? I’m starting a blog..I need to know this! haha
I drink 1 cup in the morning. I used to go to Tim Hortons at night with my friends when I was a bit younger and get a double double (2 cream, 2 sugar) and it was oooooh so good. And my friends and I would bond over our coffees. And when we went to anyone’s house it was almost expected that if you were drinking a Timmy’s coffee you MUST bring one for each person at the house. And if you were late for work, it’s not only okay but great if you stopped at Timmy’s to get everyone a coffee. lol
Now I can only have coffee in the morning because even the slightest big of caffeine at night keeps me up.
Elaine
June 11, 2009
I will look forward to your take on the coffee thing. I have read about some studies lately that point to coffee as a way to lower blood sugar ( from a diabetes site- dlife I think) I have just had a knee replacement 3weeks ago and had my shoulder rebuilt in March.. mobility is not optimum but I’m taking in all your posts and applying as much as I can in my lifestyle changes.. Thanks for all your hard work.. much appreciated..
Kit
June 11, 2009
I’ve switched to organic tea and cut back to 4 cups in the morning. 1/3 the caffeine and a bunch of antioxidants. Now I just do the occasional cup of great coffee just for taste. I ride a desk so I’m all too familiar with the need for movement. Just to get up and walk around, get hydrated and maybe a few bodyweight squats, push-ups and jumping jacks will get the blood flowing and oxygen to the brain. Also deep breathing and stretching thrown in helps.
Vikki S
June 12, 2009
I have migraines, and choose to go with managed caffiene rather than no caffeine, primarily because I LOVE good coffee, though I have cultivated some other excuses as well. (see below) My current routine is two to three doses (regular coffee cup equivalents) per day, usually one in the AM and one in the PM. So I might get a cup at Java Roasting Company (BEST coffee in Little Rock – highly recommend anything African or Caribbean there!!) or Java City (grab the Indonesian Green Dragon or Sumatra Mandelhing when they have it – yum!) in the AM, drink a large glass of iced tea before any exercise in a hot enviroment, and/or maybe a small cup in the evening especially if I need to stay up and do any work, though it does not realy help that much. Then when I need a slug of it to go with my migraine meds I use a double or triple dose depending which meds. Midrin plus an “eye-opener” (Java City’s most-caffiene for the buck drink – a shot of espresso in a cup of coffee) or a triptan plus a “tall” or “grande” will usually take care of my headaches, which are usually hormone cycle related +/- overheating, undereating or underhydrating +/- sound or flashing light triggers for me. Midrin does not work at all for me without the added caffeine in some form, and caffiene alone does not stop a headache once I have it.
I’d also like to recommend a coffee shop in Pittsburgh PA called The Blue Horse that is absolutely excellent, with free wi-fi and great healthy/organinc food available as well. Starbucks is usually way over-roasted, though I can drink their Verona or organic Mexican in a pinch.
I react a little unusually to coffee I guess, I tend to get increased appetite if I use too much but that’s been less prominent since I have lost weight, and I don’t get insomnia unless I drink a whole pot, but by then I would have muslce cramps and a tremor too. I’m not hypertensive, but tend towards low BP. And I’m not a low-carber – tried it several times, because of all the research favoring it, but just couldn’t, because I coudn’t think straight and felt terrible. So I rarely need to switch to decaf, though I will if I’m just really enjoying the coffee and drinking more than two cups at once. And I don’t get withdrawal headache for up to 36 hrs with no caffeine (I rarely go half that long, plus those seem different from actual migraines and do respond promptly to just a little caffeine.) There are supposed to be health benefits to filtered coffee drinking for those of us familially prone to diabetes and atherosclerotic disease as well.
One last comment on the ADHD thing – it is a stimulant and should help focus, but effectiveness varies from significantly helpful to zilch from what people tell me, and nowhere near what they get from Rx stimulants.
euna
June 12, 2009
hi joel,
coffee has really a different effect on me. just the opposite of the other people say that it makes them alert and energized. coffee makes me very sleepy after drinking a cup so a don’t really drink it when i needed a break. i just lay back close my eyes and take deep breaths or take a walk for a few minutes. it helps really… and thanks for the info it makes me feel i am doing the right thing…
more power to you
euna
I don’t drink coffee because it’s a stimulant. I drink it coz I LIKE it and I like the atmosphere in coffee bars like Starbucks. I don’t make a habit of it though. Not only is the coffee itself bad, but the dairy and sugar you add to it as well. Funny that I find coffee bars relaxing!
boris
June 15, 2009
well i heard,,,that drinking coffee before a chest workout, will improve your strength.
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Hey, it’s Joel! So you want to know a little more about me, huh? Well, I’d be happy to oblige :-)
I guess it all started back in 2001 (my freshman year of college) when I was just a “skinny fat” 19-year old kid. At the time, I was spending close to 2 hours a day in the gym (now my workouts last about 30 minutes), and despite my efforts, you’d probably never guess I worked out a day in my life by looking at me...