Replacement for caffeine in terms of staying regular?

August 14, 2023 12:10 AM

I quit caffeine about a month ago, and I'd like to stay off it because my anxiety is much better now. The one problem I'm running into is with bowel movements. When I drank caffeine, I would usually go once before coffee and once after coffee, and I got everything out then and rarely even farted during the day.

Now, what seems to stimulate it is food. I usually go once after breakfast and once after lunch, or maybe later in the afternoon if it wasn't a big lunch. I fart a lot more and always feel like there's a bit of something there, but it isn't fully ready to come out yet. I've asked this question other places and people just tell me to eat more fiber. I'm looking for something instant - I want to get it all out first thing in the morning and be empty all day. Can fiber do that?

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (21 answers total)

More water, as well as strategic timing of Metamucil.
posted by freethefeet at 12:14 AM on August 14, 2023 [3 favorites]

Could you try drinking decaf coffee?
posted by emd3737 at 12:35 AM on August 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

Exercise can trigger a bowel movement. Can you make time in the morning to drink more water/uncaffeinated liquids and then do a brief workout? Going for a walk can really get things moving, so can different yoga practices and other low impact options. By increasing bloodflow and moving your body around you’re stimulating a bunch of different systems that work in concert, maintaining your gut motility and creating a bowel movement.

Anecdotally, decaf coffee works for people about half as well as regular in this regard, and way better than plain water. You could also experiment with other types of mild stimulants like green tea. Warm liquids regardless of their caffeine can help too, you might try something as simple as hot water with lemon or a bowl of miso soup in the morning.

The people telling you to have more fiber are right, though. That will help your GI system in many different aspects, including helping you have more efficient and predictable bathroom visits. You may find that a fiber supplement in the evening before bed is all you need for morning success, but at the very least more fiber should help your issues with excess gas and discomfort, as well as bolster the progress you’ve made on your anxiety long term. Be sure to get a good combination of soluble and insoluble fiber and increase it gradually alongside more liquids in your daily food.
posted by Mizu at 1:37 AM on August 14, 2023 [3 favorites]

Simple answer: yes, fiber will do that.

I have been through this proces, when I cut down my coffee intake dramatically. I think part of it is just giving the system time to adapt.
Now when I wake up, I just have a glass of water or a cup of tea, and everything works just fine. I do eat about 20 grams of fiber a day (in my food, no supplements). I'm aiming for the recommended 25-30 grams, but not there yet. Maybe take a day where you count the fiber content of your food, to see if that might be a factor that the coffee was hiding.

Walking a lot probably helps too. You might get in some more steps by parking in the furthest corner of the parking lot, or getting off the bus/train on station before normal. I often take public transportation to work, and then walk back.
posted by mumimor at 2:48 AM on August 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

Drink decaf. It’s possible your body will eventually behave as if you were drinking regular coffee.
posted by Ollie at 3:24 AM on August 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

Magnesium aspartate the night before.
posted by chiquitita at 4:39 AM on August 14, 2023

I wouldn’t try this on a workday, but prune juice is known for its effects for a reason. I would try a SMALL glass on a weekend at home
posted by raccoon409 at 4:51 AM on August 14, 2023 [2 favorites]

We switched to decaf over a year ago and my body still acts like it's regular coffee. Something about the warm beverage in the morning. There is a small amount of caffeine in most decaf but I never have the craving for it like I did when I was a regular 3 cup a day drinker or the associated headaches from missing it.
posted by MadMadam at 5:43 AM on August 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

I wouldn’t try this on a workday, but prune juice is known for its effects for a reason. I would try a SMALL glass on a weekend at home

My grandparents, who did not drink coffee, would have a bowl of prunes in the morning for that effect.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:59 AM on August 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

Prunes even come individually wrapped now, for your convenience. All Bran Buds (it's the only cereal with actual psyllium husk, at least in the US) are my doc-rec'd routine, with a bit of kefir.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:06 AM on August 14, 2023 [3 favorites]

Oafs and/or prunes should help.
posted by bunderful at 7:36 AM on August 14, 2023 [2 favorites]

I've heard people recommend drinking warm water with or without a squeeze of lemon first thing i the morning.
posted by beyond_pink at 7:52 AM on August 14, 2023

A couple of magnesium tablets a day helps me. It comes in different forms and some of them have greater and more immediate effects than others. The glycinates may be too strong but work well if you are stuffed up and need to really get things moving. Citrate is better for long term maintenance.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:53 AM on August 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

You can take any of a variety of laxatives. I take psyllium fiber in capsules, because I hate the texture of metamucil. But also, fiber in your diet is a major health benefit. Bran muffin, dried fruit, beans, oatmeal, broccoli, etc. Drink a bit more water. Most of all, exercise helps, and is a hige benefit to overall health.
posted by theora55 at 8:30 AM on August 14, 2023

i take metamucil a few hours before bed. next morning i'm usually primed to go. the joys of middle age.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 8:43 AM on August 14, 2023

Brocolli.
posted by bluesky78987 at 9:28 AM on August 14, 2023

Nthing the prunes, mostly for the amusing memory it brought me just now seeing everyone else above mentioning prunes and/or prune juice. Whenever I stayed over at my grandparents' house as a kid, Grandmother Kouti would feed me three prunes in the morning as part of breakfast before I was allowed to go out and play with the neighborhood kids, "to make certain that you have your B.M." (bowel movement). Grandpa Kouti, who was a family doctor, just laughed. And then gave me a dollar in case we were going down to the corner store to buy popsicles or candy bars.

But yeah, they were effective enough that for awhile I kept a bag of prunes in my fridge for breakfast for days where I was just not going to have much in the way of healthy options once leaving the house. I should probably go back to doing that again.
posted by Pandora Kouti at 9:35 AM on August 14, 2023

Kefir for those healthy probiotics
posted by joeyjoejoejr at 11:30 AM on August 14, 2023

Oatmeal (the kind you make from scratch, not instant oatmeal) will do it.
posted by Toddles at 2:22 PM on August 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

I take 500-600 mg of magnesium before bed everyday for migraines and yep, you will wake up ready to go.
posted by velocipedestrienne at 2:10 PM on August 15, 2023

Kiwi fruit, two per serving each day.
My doctor told me about this and I can really tell the difference when the local store is out of ripe (slightly soft) kiwi fruit.
Two fruit, one knife, scoop out with a spoon. That's all.
posted by TrishaU at 6:41 PM on August 15, 2023