fbpx ;

The Book No One Would Review (AKA The One Thing We Refuse to Give Up)

coffe-allday-585I had my third child in September. Jenn emailed me in late October to see if I wanted to review a book, The All-Day Energy Diet. I’m usually up for a good read and/or experiment, but there was one major problem with the book’s premise: eliminating coffee.

Jenn didn’t exactly persuade me to give it up for the good of you readers, either. In fact, let me paste her convincing argument here:

Any chance you might want to review? No way I want to give up even my half cup of coffee a day.

In fact, we all pretty much felt the same way, with responses like, “Oh HELL no” or “Yeah right [swigs from cup of coffee].” Maybe if I slept through the night regularly, I’d be willing. But no, probably not.

The main idea of the book is that coffee isn’t really giving us energy. He says that while coffee gives you an energy surge, it’s also followed by a crash. Instead, he maintains that greens will give you sustained energy sans crash. The author suggests first switching to decaf, and then replacing your caffeine with green veggies. He gives a step-by-step guide for making this energy-producing change, which is to start the day by drinking a liter of water and then drink a greens-packed smoothie.

While I have no doubt I’d have more energy if I were to swap the coffee for greens, I’m just not willing to do it. Coffee is my morning ritual. And even if the hit of caffeine wasn’t a great side effect, I’d happily drink decaf in its place simply because I love the taste of my coffee and its warmth allows me to wake up. It’s like a morning hug in a cup, and my lack of being a morning person makes me need that hug. When the weather is warmer, I do make green smoothies in the morning, and notice a significant amount of steady energy — but it’s always in addition to my coffee, not a replacement for it.

For me, yes, I know I could be a better, healthier person if I cut down on my morning cup of Joe. But … I don’t smoke. I don’t drink too much. I just kind of want my morning coffee, and I’m not willing to give it up.

What would you never give up even if it meant you’d be a little healthier? I gotta say, I’m not willing to give up my occasional Diet Coke either. —Erin

FTC disclosure: We often receive products from companies to review. All thoughts and opinions are always entirely our own. Unless otherwise stated, we have received no compensation for our review and the content is purely editorial. Affiliate links may be included. If you purchase something through one of those links we may receive a small commission. Thanks for your support!

Comments

4 Comments
  1. Deanna says:

    Carbs! I love bread and pasta and potatoes!!! While several people swear that giving up carbs (or severely cutting your carb intake) really helps you be a healthier person, I just can’t do it!!

  2. Stephanie says:

    I just gave up coffee at new year’s. I had the same rationale–it’s my one vice. I’m not going to lie–it was ROUGH. Eventually I got into a groove, but once January was up, I switched back to coffee. Now I’m doing 1/3 caff, 2/3 decaf. It’s totally all about the ritual now, not the caffeine. Honestly, I didn’t feel markedly better without it.

  3. Take away my coffee and you take away my will to live.

  4. Greg says:

    I used to think it was hard to give up coffee. Then I discovered Teeccino (which is a Chicory based herbal ‘coffee’) and not only did I find that I liked the flavor more then coffee, I found that I had more balanced energy throughout the day and my digestion greatly improved. No just the thought of acidic, over stimulating coffee and the late morning crashes make me have no desire for it at all.

Comments are closed.