Caffeine Consumption

[Jason]

I ask because my job from 2021-2024 was incredibly hectic. I would typically go to bed at 9 PM and wake up at 12:00 or 12:30 AM for work. I'd have a 2-2.5 hour commute total (work and back) daily while also working anywhere from 10-16 hour days in between the commute. During that time I was still forcing myself to attend the gym regularly as I've been doing for more than ten years straight now. One day after work (maybe 6-12 months ago) in the gym I bought some drink in their cooler that had 200mg of caffeine. I was tired of being tired and wanted something to perk me up and decided I'd give it a shot. 15 minutes after drinking it my ears went "pinnnnnnnng" and I was loaded with energy and jitters. I sporadically consumed the 300mg C4 Ultimate Performance - Arctic Snowcone flavor (as well as the Icy Blue Razz) ever since. I don't like pumping those types of pre-workout chemicals in my body simply because I don't know exactly how healthy or unhealthy it is. Once or twice a week I've had one and it never fails to perk me up. Recently I've switched to black coffee and consume that sporadically now. It's a pretty drastic difference in energy and alertness compared to when I wasn't consuming any caffeine at all other than what's in a Coke.

I don't get the ping in my ears like before, but I figured I'd lay out my monitoring process of how I felt before and during caffeine consumption. I don't drink it enough to the point that I'll have headaches or withdrawals without it, and I think I'll keep it that way, but it is a very noticeable difference in energy and alertness on days that I do decide to consume caffeine.

[Tiggnutz]

I drink 2 cups of coffee everyday and rarely drink soda anymore. I guess this is moderate consumption

[Slaughterhouserock]

I currently use two different preworkouts: one 200mg, one 333mg. The high-stim is for leg day, cause that always fucks me up. I drink them every day. I don't get caffeine withdrawals, so I can miss days and it won't be an issue, but they have lost their effectiveness. The 200mg used to give the jitters if I didn't start my workout within an hour of consumption. Now I can fall asleep immediately after drinking it if I felt like it. To get the effect back, I would need to stop drinking it for a bit, but I don't want to look for a stim-free preworkout right now. Finding one that doesn't have garbage in it and has adequate dosage of the good stuff is a pain in the ass. I'm also allergic to ace-K, which alot of them use as a sweetener.

[Jason]

I currently use two different preworkouts: one 200mg, one 333mg. The high-stim is for leg day, cause that always fucks me up. I drink them every day. I don't get caffeine withdrawals, so I can miss days and it won't be an issue, but they have lost their effectiveness. The 200mg used to give the jitters if I didn't start my workout within an hour of consumption. Now I can fall asleep immediately after drinking it if I felt like it. To get the effect back, I would need to stop drinking it for a bit, but I don't want to look for a stim-free preworkout right now. Finding one that doesn't have garbage in it and has adequate dosage of the good stuff is a pain in the ass. I'm also allergic to ace-K, which alot of them use as a sweetener.

I'm wondering if ace-K is what they use in the non carbonated C4 I was drinking. I was shocked at the taste because it feels like you're consuming liquid sugar, but there is none at all.

I basically force myself to consume caffeine sporadically as I know the effectiveness of it will disappear. Even only consuming it once or twice a week, I get kind of used to it. I apply the sporadic method to basically everything I take recreationally except for a Coke from the fountain, which I drink pretty much every day. I drink alcohol once every two months or so now, I'll take kratom once a week on average, etc... I even used to get prescribed painkillers regularly and used them once every week or two on a weekend just to mellow out from the craziness of work and the uncertainty of the medical issues I was going through.

Also, now that I'm getting a regular sleep cycle again, the difference in muscle tone is night and day compared to getting only 3 hours. My body was not getting enough rest to generate growth so I was basically stagnant for a couple of years. Now I'm finally sore again, I'm back to being more toned and the only thing I changed was sleeping more.

[Slaughterhouserock]

I'm wondering if ace-K is what they use in the non carbonated C4 I was drinking. I was shocked at the taste because it feels like you're consuming liquid sugar, but there is none at all.

I basically force myself to consume caffeine sporadically as I know the effectiveness of it will disappear. Even only consuming it once or twice a week, I get kind of used to it. I apply the sporadic method to basically everything I take recreationally except for a Coke from the fountain, which I drink pretty much every day. I drink alcohol once every two months or so now, I'll take kratom once a week on average, etc... I even used to get prescribed painkillers regularly and used them once every week or two on a weekend just to mellow out from the craziness of work and the uncertainty of the medical issues I was going through.

Also, now that I'm getting a regular sleep cycle again, the difference in muscle tone is night and day compared to getting only 3 hours. My body was not getting enough rest to generate growth so I was basically stagnant for a couple of years. Now I'm finally sore again, I'm back to being more toned and the only thing I changed was sleeping more.

C4 uses ace-K in the powders I've seen, so probably.

Coke has caffeine, too. 34mg in a 12oz can(have to do some math to figure out whatever size you get from a fountain).

Sleep is when your muscles recover, so that's not surprising. During my unemployment, I was sleeping at least ten hours a day, and it was the biggest I've ever been.

[Jason]

I'm wondering if ace-K is what they use in the non carbonated C4 I was drinking. I was shocked at the taste because it feels like you're consuming liquid sugar, but there is none at all.

I basically force myself to consume caffeine sporadically as I know the effectiveness of it will disappear. Even only consuming it once or twice a week, I get kind of used to it. I apply the sporadic method to basically everything I take recreationally except for a Coke from the fountain, which I drink pretty much every day. I drink alcohol once every two months or so now, I'll take kratom once a week on average, etc... I even used to get prescribed painkillers regularly and used them once every week or two on a weekend just to mellow out from the craziness of work and the uncertainty of the medical issues I was going through.

Also, now that I'm getting a regular sleep cycle again, the difference in muscle tone is night and day compared to getting only 3 hours. My body was not getting enough rest to generate growth so I was basically stagnant for a couple of years. Now I'm finally sore again, I'm back to being more toned and the only thing I changed was sleeping more.

C4 uses ace-K in the powders I've seen, so probably.

Coke has caffeine, too. 34mg in a 12oz can(have to do some math to figure out whatever size you get from a fountain).

Sleep is when your muscles recover, so that's not surprising. During my unemployment, I was sleeping at least ten hours a day, and it was the biggest I've ever been.

It'll be impossible to really tell through a fountain since the syrup base/H2O/CO2 is mixed differently everywhere you go. I tend to stay away from cans and bottles. I generally drink a 52oz Coke and that was my only form of caffeine consumption my whole life up until recently where it made me bounce off the walls.

I got the biggest when I was unemployed also. lol. Sleeping like 9-10 hours a day. I even cut back on size at the time since my flexibility completely diminished. I'm 5'11 and try to stay at a lean 170-175. I got to 185-190 and it was too big for me personally. I like being able to scratch my back.

[zombie]

yeah... i don't know the exact amount as it's usually fountain drinks. but it amounts to about two liters a day or so of mountain dew.

i get headaches if i don't drink it. i could probably bear through it. i have a couple of times in the past but i'm weak so i went back to it. i don't really get the jitters or anything, but i like the taste of it and it makes me slightly more awake than i feel when i'm not drinking it.

[Jason]

yeah... i don't know the exact amount as it's usually fountain drinks. but it amounts to about two liters a day or so of mountain dew.

i get headaches if i don't drink it. i could probably bear through it. i have a couple of times in the past but i'm weak so i went back to it. i don't really get the jitters or anything, but i like the taste of it and it makes me slightly more awake than i feel when i'm not drinking it.

I believe we all should have one constant vice. Fountain Coke is mine. I've found that when I consume Coke in cans or bottles instead of the fountain drink I am much more thirsty in general and more prone to just feeling like shit and achy. So I allow for fountain Coke to be my vice and keep all my other wicked pleasantries to a moderation.

[zombie]

yeah... i don't know the exact amount as it's usually fountain drinks. but it amounts to about two liters a day or so of mountain dew.

i get headaches if i don't drink it. i could probably bear through it. i have a couple of times in the past but i'm weak so i went back to it. i don't really get the jitters or anything, but i like the taste of it and it makes me slightly more awake than i feel when i'm not drinking it.

I believe we all should have one constant vice. Fountain Coke is mine. I've found that when I consume Coke in cans or bottles instead of the fountain drink I am much more thirsty in general and more prone to just feeling like shit and achy. So I allow for fountain Coke to be my vice and keep all my other wicked pleasantries to a moderation.

for me bottled mountain dew tastes weird. but it's tolerable in 20 ox. i don't know why but i hate something about the 1 liter bottle drink. it has a weird after taste and it probably shouldn't cause i assume it is all mixed the same as the smaller bottles, but yeah. i'm weird. so mostly just fountain drinks except when it's broken or out of syrup whatever.

[Jason]

I like Coke in all forms, but I feel overall better when consuming fountain. I also do avoid 1 or 2 liter plastic bottle Cokes. I feel like the carbonation is off in those.

[Slaughterhouserock]

yeah... i don't know the exact amount as it's usually fountain drinks. but it amounts to about two liters a day or so of mountain dew.

i get headaches if i don't drink it. i could probably bear through it. i have a couple of times in the past but i'm weak so i went back to it. i don't really get the jitters or anything, but i like the taste of it and it makes me slightly more awake than i feel when i'm not drinking it.

You're getting a little over 300mg of caffeine in two liters of mountain dew. That would explain the caffeine withdrawals.

Stopping drinking soda is one of the best decisions I've ever made. Close to twenty years since I've drank it regularly and only had it a couple times since.

[Tiggnutz]

Giving up soda made more of a physical change for the better in me than cigarettes or alcohol.

[Lazerus]

I drink 2 to 3 cups a day. I no longer use any energy drinks before workouts as I try and watch my sugar intake these days. I use to hit the gym 5 days a week now I am only down to 2 days do to work commitments. Getting older sucks!

[Jigsaw]

I drink coffee maybe three times a month.

On the other hand, I drink Monster Enery Drinks every other day, so you lose some, you win some.

That said, compared to people who drink coffee every day (which just boggles the mind), I had to imagine my intake is relatively moderate.

[Tiggnutz]

I drink coffee more to take shits than as a stimulant.

[Headhunter]

Haven’t drank soda in years. I do drink coffee but not daily and no more than 2-3 cups when I do.