Most healthy adults can consume up to 300mg of caffeine a day safely, which is roughly 3 cups of coffee, but if you’re experiencing negative side effects, it might be time to scale back.​​​​​​​

Caffeine is a stimulant, which essentially means it’s an added stressor to your body. 

Here are just a few ways your body encounters stress throughout the day:

• Coffee in the morning
• Daily chores: Cooking, cleaning, laundry
• Pre workout
• Intense exercise
• Work life
• More caffeine stimulants- energy drinks, diet coke, iced tea, more coffee
• Busy schedules
• Family life

While the American way of life is a busy one, stress is not inherently a BAD THING. In fact, STRESSORS- those things that disrupt our sense of equilibrium- and our response to them- is what makes us STRONGER and more RESILIENT as human beings. Too much stress, however, can throw your hormones out of whack resulting in a slowed metabolism.  You can read more about the impacts of stress on fat loss HERE.  

Too much caffeine can actually have the reverse effect.

Caffeine suppresses the hormone in your body that says, “It’s time to calm down and relax.”  When in fact your body might just be YELLING at you to CALM DOWN and RELAX.  If you struggle with anxiety at all, adding in caffeine can increase anxiety, agitation, and cause dramatic mood swings.  

Not being able to make it through the day without an afternoon pick me up of added caffeine is a sign your body isn’t getting enough food!  The beauty of counting macros is that you focus on fueling your body so that you’re getting your energy from the nutrients in food not caffeine stimulants.

So what do you do now?  Start slowly cutting back. Initially you might experience headaches from caffeine withdrawals, but overtime it’ll be best for your body.  Swap out a few caffeinated beverages for water, caffeine free tea, or a zero calorie drink.  Think about eating more (macro balanced calories) throughout the day so that you’re fueling your body for your busy life with nutrients not caffeine stimulants.