I’m not usually one to say this but… TGIF. Today was just rough…
The reason? Not getting nearly enough sleep last night thanks to this bad boy right here…
Pumpkin Chili Mexican Scramble
(Hands up if your minds momentarily went to the gutter)
My stomach was not impressed with last night’s dinner (beans, I’m looking at you!!), and it didn’t hesitate in letting me know. Hello pain, discomfort, and general malaise; won’t you stay a while? Ohhh, all night? Well if you insist…
😐
If you’ve ever suffered from any kind of stomach woes, you probably know that sleeping becomes more or less an impossibility. After unsuccessfully trying to fall asleep for about an hour, I decided to throw in the towel and spent the majority of the night curled up in a fetal position on the couch, catching up on old seasons of Dexter with a mug of hot ginger tea within arm’s reach at all times. It was a long night.
Needless to day, I’m a little tired today. And frustrated. I have an extremely finicky stomach – which is bad enough on it’s own – but what makes it even worse is that the food it chooses to tolerate can vary so much on a day-to-day basis. One day it loves Mexican, and the next day it doesn’t – the inconsistency makes it kind of difficult to figure out which foods I should avoid, and meal prep basically becomes a game of Russian roulette. There are foods that I know I never have any problems with, but as tempting as it sounds, I don’t think I should be living on breakfast foods alone…
I also don’t think I should be taking in as much caffeine as I have today. So far I’ve had 1 mug of coffee, 3 cups of strong black tea, and I’m currently working on my afternoon cappuccino…
As much as I love coffee and black tea, I usually try to limit my caffeine consumption to a cup of strong tea in the morning and an espresso in the afternoon. That puts me anywhere from 200-250 mg of caffeine a day, while the recommended amount is up to 300 mg/day. I don’t even want to think about how much I’ve had today, but I’m pretty sure that I wouldn’t have been able to make it through the day without it.
It’s not even the idea of the potential negative effects caffeine might have on the body that bugs me, but the fact that I don’t like pushing my body past it’s limits by giving it a fake sense of energy when exhaustion is its reality. I guess maybe it just brings back too many bad memories from the days where I starved myself and caffeine was basically the only reason I was still semi-functional… not the kind of life I ever want to relive.
Unfortunately, some days it just seems unavoidable. Life happens, things need to get done, and we need a little bit of extra help to do them. No big deal; but I think it does become somewhat of an issue when we’re doing it on a regular basis. I remember back when I used to still go to the gym, I’d often see people downing energy drinks or some kind of pre-workout stimulants so that they could push themselves harder, and I can’t help but wonder if that kind of thing is a good idea. Our bodies send us signals of exhaustion for a reason, and I think that ignoring and masking them with the use of stimulants is a good way to get into some serious trouble. Or maybe I’m wrong. I’ve never used any myself, so I can’t exactly speak from experience. And now I’m pretty sure that I’m just rambling, so I’m going to end it here and hopefully catch up on some much needed sleep tonight.
Hope you guys are having an awesome Friday, and I’ll talk to you tomorrow!
. – . – . – .
Are you a coffee drinker? How many cups do you drink a day?
What’s your opinion on using energy stimulants before a workout?
You know me…I can’t handle the caffeine anymore when it comes to coffee, but I do usually have 2 cups of black or green tea a day. I don’t know if it’s a mental thing or not, but I like to have a cup before my night shift starts and then halfway through…I’m convinced it helps give me that little “nudge” I need. But I do miss the taste of coffee, so last night, I totally caved and bought some decaf at the store and just finished a cup. I know there’s still a little bit of caffeine in it, so I won’t try drinking it before bed, but I AM sitting here now staring at an empty mug, contemplating making another! Lol
Back when I worked at GNC in college, I tried so many energy supplements it’s not even funny! There were times where I was so out of it because of some pill or drink I had had that I would be a nervous wreck…but I didn’t care, with working full time AND taking 5-6 classes a day, I needed to stay awake! Nevermind the fact that on any given day, I was shivering and sweating at the same time. I swear it’s a wonder I didn’t give myself any heart problems… :-/
I have the same type of stomach. Sometimes it can handle things like dairy, beans, broccoli, etc. and other days it wants to murder me if I touch any of the stuff. It sucks 🙁 Sorry you went through that!
Oh how I love your rambling, haha! Anyways I feel like I have the exact problem as you when it comes to my stomach…I feel it reacts differently to to the same foods and so figuring out which foods to avoid are impossible ugh…Oh well, hopefully it’ll get better over time! Have a good sunday 😀
Sorry to hear about your stomach pains 🙁 And not getting a good night sleep is a killer. But hey, at least it’s the weekend, right? I have a very finicky stomach as well and it’s so annoying! I went through a difficult time when I had heartburn daily, and could barely run without stomach pain. Now, my new problem is digestion pain. I’m suspecting dairy is the culprit, but the thought of not eating cheese makes me want to sob. I refuse to give it up! I’ve been trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t, but unfortunately the answer changes day to day so I feel your pain 🙁
As for caffeine, too much = BAD for me. I instantly feel anxious. I limit my caffeine intake to 1 cup of coffee every morning and sometimes 1 cup of green or black tea in the afternoon.
Ugh, I hate sleepless nights like that! That happened to me last weekend and I was basically a zombie the next day. Not fun at all! I hope you get a better sleep tonight. 🙂
As far as I can tell, caffeine really affects my sleep so the maximum amount I’ll have in a day is 1 cup of black tea with breakfast. Other than that, I drink decaf coffee and herbal tea!
Oooh beans kill my stomach…. I stay away from them like the black plague. Caffeine on the other hand…. with waking up at 4am to squeeze in a short workout before my 8 hour shift which I spend all day on my feet. I definitely love having my coffee.. and other stimulants. Some days I’m surprised I even sleep at night but being on the go all day my body is completely worn out and down. I drink 1 cup of coffee but also take a pre-workout supplement that has caffeine in it. Luckily I don’t suffer any crashes…
I was never much of a coffee drinker or caffeine person until I started waking up early and feeling groggy all day just doesn’t seem logical when you actually have work to focus on.
I had a 5-hour-energy shot once. I had a flight to catch at 6 a.m. and an interview at 9 a.m., and my insomnia decided to come out to play the night before, so I slept like an hour, tops. I took the shot right before the interview and even though I was super perky then, the crash after that was TERRIBLE. I guess you gotta do what you gotta do, but ugh. Definitely not healthy on a regular basis.
I’m the same way with tummy problems. On any given day something I eat can upset my stomach that didn’t the day before! It’s so frustrating! I also used to drink like 3 huge mugs of coffee every morning but now I limit myself to one mug. I don’t like having “false energy” like you mentioned, but some days it’s totally necessary. Just get a good night’s sleep tonight (don’t eat Mexican for dinner!) and I bet you’ll feel good as new tomorrow 🙂
I hope you’re having a MUCH better day today, dear Amanda!!
Yep. I too relate to this issue. Beans seem to be a big problem for me, as well as fibrous veggies like cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, all that stuff. Sometimes I can’t even eat a tiny bit without curling over in pain. Ick, not a good feeling. Hope your tummy issues get better soon! I am a coffee lover. I don’t really care if studies say differently, if its going to help me concentrate and get work done, I’d rather use that then basically be useless at work. Plus I just love the taste and ritual of coffee in the morning.
Pft. There’s so much conflicting evidence out there about the effects of coffee that I think as long as you’re feeling good and not overdoing it or relying on it -too- much, then there’s no problem with enjoying it on a daily basis… especially if it’s something that makes you happy 🙂
I love love love coffee, but luckily I don’t need it to function every day! I think it’s because I regularly aim for 8-10 hours of sleep every night, which is apparently what works for my body. But last week, I went three straight days needing coffee because I got one on Saturday for fun, then Sunday I was feeling a little tired so I got more and Sunday night I didn’t get much sleep so on Monday I was really dragging and needed some Starbucks stat! I was worried that I wasn’t going to be able to break my coffee streak and then I’d feel awful without it but I did break it and I’ve gone almost a week without some. I think our bodies sometimes just need or want coffee, and that’s okay!
Haha, sometimes I feel like I only comment to talk about soaking beans. Have you heard of this? Beans contain phytic acid, an anti nutrient that prevents your body from absorbing different nutrients like zinc, iron and magnesium that also makes beans (and grains) hard to digest. There is a lot of research available on the Internet about phytic acid in beans. Traditional cultures soaked their beans and grains and this reduces the phytic acid content. Nowadays beans are cooked at high temperatures in the canning process and this only slightly affects the phytic acid content.
I’ve been soaking my beans for about 8 months now and have noticed a huge change in the way my body reacts after eating them. It has been beneficial to me, so I try to spread the word about it when I hear of people having GI troubles with beans.
Anyway, I love your blog, Amanda! It’s my first time commenting but I like to read along. 🙂
Thanks for the tip, Austin! I’ve actually heard about the benefits of soaking beans, grains, and even nuts, but I’ve only tried it myself a handful of occasions and it was so long ago that I don’t really remember how I reacted to it. Definitely something to keep in mind, though!
oh Amanda~I’m sorry you had those pesky tummy issues. I know you know how finicky MY stomach is too, and I figure that if/when my stomach is going crazy, it also tends to get worse if I have too much acidic stuff like coffee. So laying off of it till the stomach settles down really helps me! Tea, on the other hand, depending on which one it is, it seems to help me a lot. I hope you have a great day, Love you girlie! 😀
I used to drink coffee every morning. Then I started working at TJ’s and for over a year I worked the morning shift..aka 4am or 5am every morning. As much as you may think I would reach for the coffee on work days, I actually started to drink less coffee while working. Since quitting and having free mornings the past couple weeks I have started to drink my morning coffee again while blogging. It’s one of my favorite “me” time activities. I usually stick with the one cup of coffee, and will have tea sometimes too. I always forget there is caffeine in a lot of the teas. This reminds me I should search for the caffeine free tea..even though most teas have very limited caffeine.
As for energy supplements, I am a huge advocate of “natural” energy. B vitamins, WATER, everything boring like that. I am not into the stimulants and such, but I would say if you do use them..be careful and use something mild like the 5hr energy’s. I know some of that bigger heavy duty stuff can be sketchy!
Coffee time = me time for me as well 🙂 There’s something so comforting about it, and tea just doesn’t do the trick.
I absolutely adore coffee but I have to say I’m not sure how much it likes me! I’ve never really been having more than a couple of cups in the morning and perhaps a small one in the afternoon but I started to notice the effects and decided to cut back. When I have coffee now I really appreciate it. I drink green tea all the time but have also started drinking black chai tea instead of coffee on a morning now as well. I’m even thinking of trying decaf!
I’m coffee OBSESSED!! I’ve been trying to limit my caffeine though, due to it’s affect on my anxiety. I used to drink at LEAST 6-8 cups a day, especially while I was in school/working. Holy-health risk! Now I would say I drink a maximum of 4 a day, which still isn’t all that great, but typically it’s a coffee in the morning, and another in the afternoon. I purchased a box of decaf k-cups and sometimes do half-caf at starbucks if I find myself in need of more coffee than my typical two. But I DO drink tea as well, however I also try to keep it herbal if possible.
Coffee can have a pretty nasty effect on my anxiety as well, but I find that black tea doesn’t, so you can always try to go that route if you need a little extra? It also doesn’t mess with my stomach as badly.
Good idea. I DO love me some Earl Grey…
Ooooo same here. Too much lactose, or beans, or fiber, or whatever….not fun. I also feel much better when I cut out gluten and dairy. I limit myself to one greek yogurt per day. And although it’s painful I try not to have any melted cheese on anything…but melted cheese is soooo good….ugh.
Coffee though. LOVE IT! I limit myself to 2 cups/day. One in the AM and an afternoon treat. That keeps me from having sweets in the afternoon. If I cut that out I’d be 20lbs overweight. So coffee, you’re here to stay!
Hope you figure out your tummy issues and have a great weekend!
I have the same random stomach woes, but I am quickly realizing what causes it. Espeically when it comes to pairing food. Meals with too much fiber and not enough fat are the main culprit for me.
Pumpkin and beans would rip me to shreds haha. I find that if I mix too many different things at the same time, I definitley have a harder time digesting.
Make sure you’re drinking enough water also.Too much caffiene and not enough water obviously causes dehydration, but also makes it harder to digest food.
Sometimes the more simple it is, the better off we are when it comes to sensitive tummys
I definitely have to keep things simple when it comes to food, and that usually means avoiding anything too herby or spicy. It sucks because there are sooo many delicious flavorful dishes out there, but anything too complicated and I pay for it later. Sometimes it’s just hard to resist though 😀
Ayayay– Sleepless nights because of stomach issues is all too familiar of a predicament for me!
I went most of my life with no intolerances whatsoever, then all of a sudden I woke up one morning with a sensitivity to wheat! It SUCKED, and the worst part was that it took me 3 weeks of stomach issues for the doctor to pinpoint what it was.
I’m sorry you have an icky tummy. I hope it likes some good food today! 😉
Get some rest girl! Hope you feel better! I am a huge caffeine drinker too but have to stop drinking it at 3pm so it won’t affect my sleep! Any later and I’m done! Playing around with the timing of when I have it definitely helps too!
Ah sorry you had a rough night…hope last night caught you up in sleep. Fortunately I rarely experience tummy troubles so can’t really offer advice but in terms of energy supplements, I’m with you totally. Each to their own but personally I rather not take them. Due to past issues, I had to take medication which completely threw my hormones out of whack and they are FINALLY getting back to normal. As long as my health is not in danger, I don’t want to risk taking anything which may mess them about again. And to be honest, I am not a professional athlete or bodybuilder and as a result can’t justify the need to resort to supplements beyond protein powder!
Have a great weekend, Amanda1
I have the worst stomach. One second something works and then the next I’m laying in the fetal position wondering if I will ever feel better! I have come to find too much fiber is a bad bad thing. I am with you on not becoming dependent on caffeine. I have been trying to stop myself from grabbing that extra cup of coffee now that I like the stuff. My tea is super strong and then add the coffee one day and I see the effects the next day if I don’t have it. BUT you are right some days we need the extra help because life has to get done!
Eep! Too much fiber is definitely a bad thing. I remember back in my crazy veggie days I’d get like 50g + a day… Needless to say, that wasn’t fun at all…
ah, stomach woes. i avoid beans – which is hard to do because although i am not a vegetarian, i like to eat mostly veggies. and beans are such a great protein source. but, when i do eat them my tummy reacts just like yours. i swear i’d trade in my stomach in a heartbeat – and it sounds like you would too. hope you are feeling better today.
Girl, I literally feel your pain with stomach issues! Ever since I became a vegetarian a few years ago (I’m not anymore), my stomach got super weak. I did have have some stomach aches before my vegetarianism (aka when I started eating really healthy), but now they are much worse.
That is literally the problem with eating so “healthly”. Every time I eat something abnormal, my stomach FREAKS out!!!!
Also, certain “foodie” goodies do NOT sit well with me – like coconut flour, stevia, peanut butter, whey protein, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, pb2, too many vegetables at once, etc. the list goes on and on haha
I also used to be a much heavier coffee drinker than I am now – I usually have one caffeinated cup (8 or 10 oz) and then one or two decafs cups later on.
When I was restricting my food intake my coffee consumption (and gum chewing) was at an all time high of like 5 or 6 caffeinated cups a day…the thought of the now makes my stomach churn!!
I hope you feel better and have no more stomach “woes” today 🙂
xoxo
Ugh I can so relate to healthy eating completely messing up my stomach. It was the worst when I was trying to stick to a vegetarian diet and constantly eating things like beans and tofu (and waaaaay too many vegetables), but it’s been getting better since I started eating meat again and more processed grains as opposed to whole ones. Crazy how healthy doesn’t always make you feel the healthiest…
I totally agree – there definitely is a point where healthy gets taken way too far and I think a lot of us fall victim to this. It just can create a whole host of digestion issues!
I too have the occasional issues with beans, however I can’t go anywhere near lentils unless I want to look like a pregnant lady and be in immense pain for days!
I am caffiene intolerant, which is so depressing considering I work in a coffee shop as a barista! I’ve never really been able to drink coffee (even decaf affects me atm), but I used to be able to drink tea. Then, in January just after drinking some tea I went really dizzy and sort of hallucinating, and my heart started palaptating. The only thing that fixed it was drinking about 2 litres of water and 3 pieces of toast! Safe to say I have touched it since!
I rely on roobois tea a lot now, which is nice, but not the same. ):
Oh yikes. Your reaction to caffeine sounds a lot like what I started experiencing when I ate oatmeal. Sucks to have to avoid something you enjoy, but it’s a lot better than going through those unpleasant side effects.
Regarding stimulants – I don’t have any experience with energy drinks, but I do always drink coffee in the morning before yoga, and for me it is a happy combination. (My yoga practice is vigorous: traditional ashtanga, 5 or 6 days/week depending upon the moon.) After yoga most days I have chai; occasionally I have more coffee instead. Overall, I love coffee, and could have it happily almost any time; however sometimes when I crave it I choose not to have it because I know that it will throw me off for the rest of the day (i.e., my stomach won’t be ready for dinner at an appropriate time, and it’s all downhill from there).
I used to have the worst stomach issues (insert IBS), but thankfully I’ve been able to deal w/ the discomfort these days.. knock on woods! I’m sorry you had such problems though girl. That chili looks to good to be the culprit of your pain! I hope your feeling much better by now 🙂
To be honest, usually when we feel the need to drink caffeine pre-workout, it’s because our minds are tired, not our bodies. So you’re not really pushing yourself harder, it just feels better. I agree with listening to your body, but personally when I have a goal race coming up, being mentally foggy from a day at the office is no excuse to skip a training session. For me it’s easy to tell the difference, because if it’s actually my body that’s tired, caffeine won’t get me very far into the workout. That said, I only drink one cup of coffee a day, and if a person’s having to down caffeine every few hours just to feel normal, and is still doing workouts? yeah, that’s a problem. In any case, on a one day basis, a lot of caffeine is fine – and the amount you normally drink? also fine – after all, you love your tea and your cappuccinos – definitely not worth it to give up those little joyful parts of your day for the sake of supposed health benefits 🙂
That’s actually pretty interesting about the mental aspect of it – I honestly never thought of that. But yeah I refuse to give up my caffeine #soworthit 😉
i recently started to feel not so great after eating beans too…which kind of stinks because i kinda really like them.
I’m a total coffee drinker. But usually only one mug a day. That’s all my body can handle. I had a grande cappuccino the other day around noon and was totally feeling it the rest of the day. My hands kept shaking when I was trying to cook. But i still love it!
I actually don’t even think coffee has much of an effect on me. Like, I can drink a cup at 8 PM and still have no trouble falling asleep. Black tea actually seems to give me a lot more energy than coffee does, and I have no idea why.
I need my coffee, keeps me sane. 🙂
I’m good with a cup in the morning, and then an americano for an afternoon pick me up.
I drink tea too but mostly herbal so it doesn’t count.
Hope you tumtum feels better soon!
I am the same way as Lindsay. Such a coffee inhaler LOL. Anyways, I feel you on being so tired today…it’s like before 10pm and I’m laying in bed with no problems…
coffee drinker? i’m a coffee inhaler. haha, yes. the frothier the foam the better too!! rest up, the beans can make you mad. I mean, they don’t help, yes?
ugh, been there
I don’t really have adverse affects to any foods, but I have noticed that my previous abuse of coffee has made coffee drinking a near impossibility. I’ve grown to really like the taste of coffee and don’t feel it has much of an effect on my energy, so I guess I could take it or leave it now — except for the fact that certain coffee (and I think Starbucks is the culprit here!) gives me really sharp stomach pain! I had an ulcer after taking too many ibuprofen once, and it seems like since then, coffee seems to flare it up? I still wonder if that’s REALLY the case (or maybe I’m just hopeful and optimistic!) because I have coffee every now and then still…. but yeah, too much is not a good thing. Besides, it dries you out! Same with tea. Some people count every cup of those that they drink as a cup of water, but you basically have to double the amount of water you drink if you consider coffee or tea into your daily water intake!
Sorry to hear you we’re feeling under the weather- nothing is worse than a stomachache before bed!!
In college I used to drink an entire pot of coffee myself while studying for exams – thankfully I quit that bad habit and now can function on only one cup of coffee in the morning. I also love tea but drink it mostly in the winter. Well hope you some well deserved rest tonight! Happy Friday!
By the way I have a book recommendation for you – “The Alchemist” – a great story!
I love The Alchemist 🙂 It’s such a simple story but it has such a great message.
Too many beans always mess with me as well 😉
My brother is the freakin’ king of energy drinks – like, he’ll easily consume 5 cans a day (including the one before he works out) and I know that level of caffeine is awful for him. He’s been trying to put on muscle and weight for ages but he’s having trouble doing it – and I honestly think that’s why. A little bit of extra help is necessary now and then, but people just take it to extremes nowadays. I’ve always hated energy drinks (the aftertaste) and I’d never use them for workouts – if you’re tired, that’s probably a good sign that you need some sleep.
Yep, beans and my stomach do not get along. Like you, sometimes it’s fine and sometimes it’s not. It’s probably not just beans that your stomach doesn’t love. It has to do with accumulation of foods. If you eat foods regularly that your stomach isn’t a fan of, after a while these foods accumulate and then your body just doesn’t wanna have it. However, if you have these foods occasionally, the foods don’t accumulate and you don’t suffer stomach pains. I particularly experienced this when I ate lots of apples and beans. Now I can’t eat either but my stomach feels so much better that I don’t crave either of them. FODMAPs FTW! 😛
Yeah I was thinking that it might have had something to do with frequency… I’ve barely been eating any beans at all lately, but apples have definitely come back into my life in a serious way, and I’m hoping they’re not causing the problems because I’m loving them again!
ugh I hate that. the queen over here of stomach problems have had more than enough sleepless nights. coffee is a must after those nights, just happens. i feel like i have to break a lot of those recommended ‘health’ rules out there. happens!