So........ No Coffee???

[xellios]

Ive been doing a lot of reading on these forums and it seems as if everyone is sticking to decaf coffee, and or tea..

problem is.. to me, Having Coffee or tea without caffeine is like having a romantic dinner... by yourself.

Does Caffeine actually stall weight loss, or just make you crave Sugar more?

and any pointers on dealing with withdrawal during induction?

[2big4mysize]

Re: So........ No Coffee???

cut it off cold turkey is best

Caffeine stimulates insulin production which messes with your blood sugar controls and it also is a fat storing hormone so you decide.

[Brook]

Re: So........ No Coffee???

Well, it's fair to say that it's been "clinically shown" to do all of the things 2big points out.

I think it's also fair to point out that it's a YMMV thing (your mileage may vary). That said, you're never going to know if it does those things to you if you don't cut it out and give going caffeine-free a real shot. You may be amazed at the benefits.

Aside from that, it's another addiction issue. The fact that you'd consider using it in spite of the potential for it to be a speed bump for your health goals speaks to the addiction issue, don't you think?

I'd strongly suggest weaning yourself off it (do the 1/2 and 1/2 thing for a bit) if going cold turkey seems to be too much for you. Like I said, you're not going to know if it's an issue for you or not if you don't cut it loose.

HTH
~Brook

[Kinkay]

Re: So........ No Coffee???

Hello! Welcome to the board!

I read in one of those girly weight loss magazines (yesss I have a subscription *blush*) that caffeine makes you consume more sugar.

Also, I did Atkins in the past, and I lost successfully until I added coffee. Then I stalled. Maybe it was just a coinky dinky. *shrugs*

[xellios]

Re: So........ No Coffee???

Ha,

well its definitely an addiction issue..

Ive been drinking an average of 2 cups of coffee a day since I was about 12 years old...
so I have this strange feeling that cold turkey quitting will propell me into the 7th circle of ****.. lol

I dont really care about the caffeine addiction in and of itself... but I guess Im willing to drop it if it will interfere with my goals..

[2big4mysize]

Re: So........ No Coffee???

oh and if you want more reason to give it up did you know coffee contains a chemical that increases your LDL cholesterol?

[xellios]

Re: So........ No Coffee???

hmm.. no I didnt.

But Unfortunately It also contains a chemical that wakes me up in the morning..

so sad..

[2big4mysize]

Re: So........ No Coffee???

eating a habenero pepper will wake you and your whole neighorhood up and is induction friendly

[Brook]

Re: So........ No Coffee???

ROFL 2big. I hate when you do that! LOL

(said the lady with the big mug of coffee in front of her)

[xellios]

Re: So........ No Coffee???

ha, yeah i suppose it would...


*Sigh*

Im not sure what im going to do..

I might just do induction with the coffee and see what happens... if I dont like the results, Ill just redo induction minus the coffee..

Thank you for all your responses

[Sirine]

Re: So........ No Coffee???

Xellios said,
"to me, Having Coffee or tea without caffeine is like having a romantic dinner... by yourself"



ha ha ha....that is hilarious..

[kealoha]

Re: So........ No Coffee???

Just give it up completely. Go cold turkey. Consider coffee cheating. You'll probably go through the induction flu anyways, and that just happens to coincide with the time you'll be going through the worst of the caffeine withdrawls, so you can just blame it all on the induction flu. Having coffee during that time really isn't going to make you feel all that much better anyways

When I started Atkins, I promised myself, "NO CHEATING!!!!" I included coffee as "cheating." I went from three quad venti vanilla lattes (total of 12 shots of expresso) and at least six cups of coffee a day to NOTHING. It was one of the most horrible experiences of my life. For three or four days I was an awful person and in awful shape. However, I was bound and determined to make this work and if coffee might have kept it from working, it was a small price to pay to get to where I need to be. And you know what? I don't crave it anymore. Now that I've been caffeine free for a little over a month, I wake up on my own. My body was so dependant on the caffeine before that it NEEDED it to function. Now that it doesn't have it, it doesn't need it anymore. I feel more energized than ever. An added bonus is that I get to bed at a regular time now and actually get a decent night's sleep. I always thought I was a night owl (as I write this at almost midnight lol) but, in reality, it was just the caffeine running through my veins keeping me awake most nights. Then, after only two or three hours of sleep, I'd NEED coffee to function.

Seriously, giving up caffeine was one of the best things I could have done for myself. Not only am I not sabotaging my induction, but I'm just a better person now. I was evil without my coffee before

[Jasmain]

Re: So........ No Coffee???

Hi there Xellios, from a fellow caffeine addict,
I can't give you fancy reasons to stop, but I can tell you this. I was hooked until about a week ago. I whined everywhere but here really, about how much the decaf did NOT taste the same, when honestly, it wasn't too bad. I missed the caffeine, like I would a child who moved away. I was drinking about 5 or 6 cups a day, it was my best friend, and I thought it kept me awake. That's not really true. It gave me the heebie jeebies, made my skin crawl sometimes when I had too much without eating. In other words.. it may not be doing that for you, but it certainly wasn't anything more than an addiction I needed to get rid of, because it wasn't producing completely positive results. Since quitting, I've found that this WOE (way of eating) has given me the energy I needed to get from the coffee that wasn't even good for me to begin with. I drink decaf, and it's one of the best decisions I've made so far, I think. Don't give it up, try going without it, or switching to decaf for two weeks. Don't think of it as losing a friend, think of it as getting rid of a friend that was stabbing you in the back while promising you to your face that nothing was up! You could always go back, but I'm hoping that between the wonderful feeling and energy you'll get from being in induction and the resulting weight loss, you'll agree it's worth it.

[Brook]

Re: So........ No Coffee???

The thing is, you only get one real shot at induction. Without doing a clean induction you'll never know what your true level of metabolic resistance is.

Know that when you make your decision and best of everything to ya!
~Brook

[Dyan]

Re: So........ No Coffee???

I don't know if anyone has asked what I think is the logical question............. how much coffee do you drink? Because it seems to me that a lot depends on that one question.

Also, and someone please correct me if I am wrong, but I don't recall Atkins saying that we couldn't drink it. Only that he encouraged us not to or at least to limit what we drank. I always took that to mean that my one cup in the am wasn't a huge issue. What I put in the coffee, on the other had, could be.