How bad *is* coffee, really?

[MelissaF_07]

How bad is caffeinated coffee for induction afterall? Will it decrease my weight loss, increase my cravings??

[ValidRouge]

Re: How bad *is* coffee, really?

I can tell you my experience.

I started drinking it in July when I quit smoking...and the stuff made me a lunatic. I can't stop at 1 cup. 1 cup being 8 ounces. The more I drank, the more I wanted. Plus, it made me hungry, so I started eating more and more of 'legal' foods. I gained weight, then would quit the coffee, lose what I gained. Drink coffee again and gain. I'm close to goal, so my losses in a downward trend are minimal. I would stall for weeks. I'm back off coffee again now, and I'm losing again. I won't be touching it anymore. It's evil. Even the decaf stuff.

[Laceylyn1031]

Re: How bad *is* coffee, really?

My first time w/ Atkins I was able to drink coffee as much as I wanted and still lose. I tried going a couple days without it and it made me sooo sick. Before I restarted I was drinking about 8 cups a day, now Im down to 1. I have enough energy now without having to drink it, so i replaced it with water. For some it really stalls their weight loss and for some it doesnt. You just have to see what works for your body. Officially though, youre not supposed to have it on induction.

[Outback Jess]

Re: How bad *is* coffee, really?

I think you will find a variety of answers with the coffee question...It effects people very differently, I drink coffee and i did go 50/50 coffee/decaf for a while...i have never been effected by it at all, so my responce is completely opposite physically from Joys.
I believe you will get that type of responce, and the question is how does it work against all you are working for...

[lisadallasr]

Re: How bad *is* coffee, really?

hi, actually i drink one cup every morning, i have never had a problem with caffeine, actually it decreases my appetite when i drink coffee, the only thing i think can be a problem is when you have more than one and you use cream and sweetner even if it is splenda because your only allowed so much sweetner a day and if your drinking more than one or two cups i would say your probally going over your limit if you sweeten your coffee, that is just my opinion though.

[julirama723]

Re: How bad *is* coffee, really?

I can say that I was never a coffee drinker, but that the CAFFIENE in the coffee can be a killer! I was reluctant to give up diet soda at first. I couldn't figure out why I wasn't losing like I wanted to...until I read that caffiene actually inhibits weight loss AND the sweet taste of diet soda (or the sweet taste of sweetened coffee, I suppose) causes a reaction (cephalic insulin response) where insulin is dumped into your bloodstream because of that sweet taste, regardless of if it's REALLY sugar or not! This caused me to eat more foods, even though they were legal, and made me crave more!

So it's a personal choice, and everyone reacts differently. I'm afraid that if I introduced coffee, my reaction would be VERY similar to Joy's based on how I reacted to diet soda.

[Sarah1341]

Re: How bad *is* coffee, really?

I agree that it depends on the person and how you take your coffee. If you are drinking coffee and adding in splenda all day, then it could definitely cause some harm. Maybe try to start out not drinking and then if you have to - incorporate it in to see if it effects your weight loss or mood.

Good luck!

[Wonder Woman]

Re: How bad *is* coffee, really?

I lost 37 lbs the first time I was on Atkins and I drank 1 (occassionally 2) cups of coffee every day. I've never been affected much by caffeine so, like some others here, the only problem was having to count the Splenda and cream.

This time, I've decided to go with decaf but that is also because I'm trying to have a baby and figured it couldn't hurt to cut out caffeine.

[Qjakal]

Re: How bad *is* coffee, really?

I added coffee back in when I had about 20 pounds to go..decaf of course. It didn't bother me (at that point) or slow down my weight loss progression. Cutting it out during induction and the first few rungs seems sensible to me and can't hurt.

Coffee itself has done very well on the last few independent studies out and in a decaf form can be considered as "liquids" up to a point. What that point is in ounces is still under debate unfortunately...somewhere around 30-50 oz appears to be the answer at the moment. It has shown benefits in regards to certain cancers and genetic conditions and doesn't seem to be the villian it was made out to be...much like the Atkins way of life...lol.

Keep in mind that decaf does NOT mean NO caf...more like 30% of regular.

Q

[Ragtime Gal]

Re: How bad *is* coffee, really?

I stopped drinking coffee for about four months when I started Atkins. Then, when we were on vacation with another family, and everyone was ordering dessert, I finally had a cup of coffee and it was like a treat! I still use it as a "treat"...I do love the taste!

In part, I think it's more what people put in the coffee than the coffee itself (in part...see my insulin comment below). One thing I have learned is that, if you're going to live at a comfortable weight for the rest of your life, you simply can't give up things you really enjoy permanently. You have to learn to live with all of them to some extent. (And I'm not saying this means you should be eating chocolate cake during induction....) In the end, if you eat less calories than you burn, you will lose weight. It's just that sometimes caffeine makes people hungrier (since it makes your body release insulin) which makes it harder to stick to the plan or makes you eat more than you really should.


Sharon