How to make your coffee work for you

October 24, 2021

Yep, you can make your coffee work in your favour.

But wait… doesn’t coffee already do so much? (a.k.a. act as a vital part of bringing you to life every morning) (oh, and a part of helping you, you know, go).

Yes and yes –coffee is already amazing for the abovementioned, but from one coffee addict (oops - I mean, lover) to another, here are a few more ways I have found to make coffee work better for me.

I figured that if I’m going to drink one cup every morning, I may as well see if there are other ways that I can make my morning coffee more beneficial for me!

Before you begin to coffee…

MY #1 COFFEE RULE: WATER FIRST, COFFEE SECOND. After our body spends all night resting, we wake up pretty dehydrated. Rather than hydrating the body with coffee (which is actually also dehydrating!), have one big glass of water first. I mean, you’ll likely finish drinking all of the water by the time you’re done making the coffee.

I also find that after my big glass of water, I feel much more awake and enjoy sipping on my coffee much more.

Set coffee boundaries‍

Yup, yup, yup, just like we learn to set healthy boundaries with the amount of time we spend on our smartphones and the amount of wine we drink on weeknights, we can also set boundaries with coffee.

Have you ever found yourself accidentally drinking three coffees in a day and then wondering why you’re wide awake at 2 a.m.? 

When we’re extra tired or just in a busy season in our lives, doubling your caffeine intake seems like the right move. More coffee means more energy to get everything done, right?

Well as it turns out, drinking your body weight in coffee on a regular basis is not that good for you. Subjecting yourself to such high levels of caffeine can not only wreak havoc on your heart, but can also completely throw off your gut health.

Schedule your coffee at the best times

A.k.a. if you want to have the best sleep possible, have your coffee earlier on in the a.m. or at the very least, no coffee after 12.

Don’t think you can give up that afternoon cup of joe? Keep reading to learn a sneaky loophole so you don’t have to!

Spice your coffee up

And I’m not talking about pumpkin spice here ;)

Those who have been here for a while know that I LOVE adding collagen to my coffee, but that’s not the only supplement that can help boost your coffee.

Not only does collagen help hair grow, but it helps maintain the elasticity in our skin, can help with joint pain, keeps our tendons & ligaments strong, and is also a source of protein.

Cinnamon is a delicious spice that can also spice up your coffee by adding antioxidants into your diet and helping combat inflammation. Plus, cinnamon already has a great taste, so why not sprinkle some into your coffee! 

Next up, MCT oil – okay not my favourite thing to add to coffee (to be honest, it leaves a weird taste in my mouth), but nonetheless, has tons of benefits. A dash of medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil can help the body feel full for longer, help add healthy fats into your diet, and is said to help increase energy levels. Another great alternative with similar results is coconut oil! (MCT oil is actually extracted from coconut oil).

Of course, there are so many more supplements that can be added to coffee – the above are just some that I have personally tried.

*Before adding any sort of supplements into your diet, ALWAYS make sure to do your research and/or speak with a medical professional to ensure that the supplement is a good fit for you.

Self-reflection

If you’re someone who ALWAYS has a second cup of coffee and swears you can’t live without it, think to yourself, do you really need another coffee, or do you just like to have a hot drink to sip on while you work? 

Or if you’re someone who can’t start their day without a hot cup of joe, do you really need that coffee, or do you just like to have a hot drink to sip on while you get ready in the morning?

If the answer to both of those is that you just like the feeling of having a warm drink by your side, try swapping to something less caffeinated such as decaf coffee or tea! Don’t like tea? Hot water with lemon is also a great way to warm up and hydrate your body at the same time!

For every 1 cup of coffee, 8 cups of water

That’s a lot of water! And maybe enough to not make you want that second cup of coffee. As I said earlier, coffee is actually dehydrating for the body and that means, when we have coffee, we need extra water.

Want to slowly quit drinking so much caffeine? Make another “coffee rule” for yourself: for every 1 extra coffee you have, you have to drink 8 glasses of water. Suddenly, you don’t need that coffee after all… unless you want to spend all afternoon peeing…..

Don’t want to give up your lunchtime coffee?

I’m not here to make you say goodbye to your favourite part of the afternoon – your lunchtime coffee. I’m here to show you this wonderful thing called decaffeinated coffee :)

You can still enjoy sipping on a yummy coffee without another boost of caffeine. Plus there are lots of great flavours that you can get with decaf coffee! Why not treat yourself to trying out some of these flavours?

Make your tummy happier

The coffee combinations these days are honestly endless. Personally, I am someone who likes a Pike Café Misto with a little bit of almond or oat milk, but some of the Starbucks orders that I hear…. Oh my goodness. They are literally speaking another language.

Needless to say, with all of these combinations come a million different ingredients that we can add inside of our coffees. Unfortunately, most of them aren’t so good for us.

Those extra pumps of sugar or creamer aren’t that great … especially if you’re having some everyday.

Make your tummy healthier by exploring healthier options when it comes to coffee additives. You can still have your sweet creamy coffee- just a slightly healthier version of it.

There are plenty of ways to make your coffee a little more tummy-friendly such as natural sweeteners, dairy-free milks and sugar-free creamers.

So at the end of the day, will I ever give up my morning coffee? Probably not… but I will continue to find little hacks for how I can make my morning coffee work better for me.

Let’s call it my personal coffee cheat codes ;) 

Do you have any coffee tips or tricks? Share them below in the comments!

I know that myself and all of the other coffee lovers would love to hear them!

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Know yourself, know your body& until next time!

Mags

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