the more I read the more afraid I become

[bellajgw]

Re: the more I read the more afraid I become

Coffee is a sensitive issue for me. I'm addicted and I realize this, but I have now gone from 5-6 cups a day of very strong coffee to 1-2 cups a day of relatively strong coffee. I am not a morning person and yet I have to get up at 4:30am each morning to drive to work and if I don't have at least 1 cup before I leave I will fall asleep behind the wheel. It has happened, thankfully I've never had an accident because of it but its scary as ****. Will I ever get down to NEVER having coffee? Maybe...its something I'm willing to consider, but at the moment I'm happy having reduced the amount of coffee and the strength.

Is it affecting my Induction and my weight loss? No idea, maybe, possibly, but then again I'm doing ok and really have nothing to complain about so why not have my morning coffee? I may eventually replace it with some nice Green Tea that has less caffeine and is actually helpful for weight loss, but right now I will sip my coffee in peace.

While you have the right to do this diet any way you want there will be things that you do that will affect your weight loss. Perhaps coffee is what you will need to give up to make Atkins successful for you, maybe not. Sure, the closer and more strict you are to the diet the more chances at being successful you can be, but lets face it, while Dr. Atkins was a brilliant man he did not know everything about everything and each person's body and constitution is different.

Personally, I follow 95% of the Induction rules. So, if I lose 95% of the weight that I could have, I'm happy with that. Its up to you.

[not2late]

Re: the more I read the more afraid I become

my 2 net carbs.....

I think you need to find a diet that YOU can live with 100%. Once you become dissatisfied---food choices, weight loss rate, etc.---you will most likely fall off the diet and go back to the eating habits that got you fat in the first place. We see it happen all the time on ADBB.

Moreover, you will constantly find "loopholes" to bend the diet's guidelines. So sure, Dr. ATkins wrote avoid caffeine if you are caffeine dependent. And you might not think you are "caffeine dependent" (eventhough, you "need" to drink coffee everyday because if you don't you get headaches or fall asleep) so it's okay if you drink caffeine because you aren't dependent. Or Dr. Atkins wrote don't eat anything that isn't on the Induction Acceptable Foods List, but since a Godiva chocolate truffle is "only" 5 net carbs, it would be okay to eat it as long as you don't go over 20 net carbs for the day. Eventually, you will bend the rules enough that diet you are on might be low carb, but it ISN'T Atkins.

So the first thing to do before undertaking any weight loss/weight maintenance plan is to read it thoroughly and completely. Then decide if that plan is right for you. If it's not, then don't waste your time, money and energy.

Don't go on a plan because your best friend's cousin lost alot of weight on it. Go on it because it's something YOU can and are willing to live with and to abide by the rules. It's self-defeating to go on a strict vegetarian diet if the only vegetables you like are carrots and potatoes and would much rather be eating chicken, beef and fish than tofu, tempeh, quorn and TVP.

[chadcs]

Re: the more I read the more afraid I become

Atkins is based on normalizing blood sugars. Like it or not, caffeine does affect blood sugar. Just google caffeine and blood sugar.

If you are going to go by the book, toss the caffeine. Once you wean down and are free you will feel a lot better.

This was a hard one for me as well. Going from quadruple espressos to decaf is not fun but not hard to do.

[Charmed.Life]

Re: the more I read the more afraid I become

I am doing Induction but I do allow myself coffee. I am one of those people that are not affected by it; I can sleep after having a cup. It does not cos blood sugar spikes for me and I refuse decaf.

I find I am not craving it as much as I have in the past. But I refuse to give it up.

It each her own Good Luck!

[sexysomeday]

Re: the more I read the more afraid I become

I have cut back on my coffee, but I have to say that it is my vice. I made the decision to use "1/2 the caf" coffee and cut back as long as I was losing weight and wasn't feeling the effects of unstable blood sugar. If that was the case I would've gone directly to Decaf. I enjoy my coffee in the morning, so I had to compromise. I've been on induction for 5 full days and have lost 8lbs so far and I have felt fine. Everybody is different..........