Consensus on Coffee?

glossbones

This time on the Low Carb WOE I initially started to follow the BFC Fast Track meal plan, and per its advice I've cut my coffee back from free-drinking to two cups a day.

I saw @FIT_Goat say he drinks coffee all day (I assume black or bulletproof?).

Now I'm wondering if anyone knows if there's any discussion on coffee's effect on this WOE?

TheSatinPumpkin

For me caffeine is up there with eggs as a staple and i don't feel it has impeded my progress. That said i do measure my HWC and Davinci SF add on's in addition to splash of home made whipped cream that i treat myself sometimes on weekends.

KnitOrMiss

I don't even like coffee, but I'm braving an attempt to do BPC this week. On fat fasts and such, they have you load up on the BPC, so I can't see a horrible effect on this WOE... I wouldn't swear to that, though.

I haven't researched the BPC plans in years, so I don't know how that plays in. Some people drink a pot or more a day. As long as you aren't having like 3000 calories of coconut oil a day or have a problem with too much caffeine, I can't image there being much problem, except from sweeteners, if you use them?

Dragonwolf

I don't know what BFC Fast Track is, but as far as coffee goes on more general LCHF, it's pretty much a matter of preference.

There's evidence both for helping with fat loss (a good thing) and for increasing insulin resistance (a bad thing), so it kind of depends on what your situation is and how your body responds. And, of course, it depends on how much you actually like it.

There is agreement, though, that most of the "coffee drinks" out there negate most of the good stuff about coffee by adding a bunch of sugar. However, as long as you drink it either black, bulletproof style, or just with some cream (or otherwise compliant with LCHF), it's okay in the general LCHF circles.

ValentineNicole

I live for coffee. One to two cups (max) in the morning with full fat organic half and half. It's the high point in my day, especially when my love wakes up and drinks it with me. LOL

glossbones

Thanks for your quick replies everyone!

I am a huge coffee fan, and I generally brew it half-caff in the morning and decaf after lunch. I cut the Light Cream back and added Coconut Oil. I tried it black with Coconut Oil (+ cinnamon and nutmeg) and I could drink it that way but I love the density the cream adds, at least in the mornings.

The BFC Fast Track is a "Just trust me on this" meal plan from the author of the original BFC. The original BFC was a 120g carbs/15g sugar plan (with no more than 40g carbs and 5g sugar per meal), counting total, not net carbs. There is an emphasis on fiber, good fats, and protein. Tracking the Fast Track in MFP it seemed that the Fast Track was a <50g total carb/day plan. I found my way to this group after a couple days on it and, after reading the resources here, modified my WOE to create a ketosis-aimed macro. I'm no longer worrying about sticking to the Fast Track menu, but I was wondering about the coffee part.

I know when I was doing the original BFC, I drank a LOT of coffee (with probably about 3tbsp light cream each serving) and I think pushing the limit on carbs was not helped by the extra cream. I never could cut back on the coffee in those days to see if it helped better my results.

DianaElena76

I'm really bad with coffee. I make an 8-cup pot in the morning before work and drink the entire thing while I'm getting ready and on my commute. Then I get to work and drink at least one more travel mugful of it at the office--usually more like two more mugs. Then if the baby has kept me up a lot the night before, I may even have another mug after lunch. That said, I almost always drink it black. Occasionally I might add some cream and a dash of cinnamon, but that's usually just once or twice on the weekend--not during the week. I have no idea what if any impact this has on my ability to lose weight, but it's a good question and one I will keep in mind if I have difficulties with weight loss. I do know it prevents me from drinking enough water some days, as I don't have time to go pee every half hour! LOL

glossbones

Yes I have to force myself to drink water if I have coffee on hand. I used to pick up lattes (no matter how I was eating) and tell myself I couldn't have it til I finished 25oz of water (my bottle capacity). That usually got me to drink it fast so I could have the latte before it cooled!

GaleHawkins

I am more into coffee in the winter time. The $0.63 McDonald's senior coffee with 10 little cups of their real cream is good for 150+ cals of fat. It is hard to stop with free refills.

Instant with 100% cocoa and 4-5 spoons of coconut oil is how I start my day.

Huge snow last night so before starting to plow it with the 40 year old no cab 265 Massey Ferguson tractor the coffee is motivating 'somewhat'.

glossbones

I can drink hot coffee year round, so if it is contrary to LCHF I need to really know!

IamUndrCnstruction

Must. Have. Coffee. (with HWC, no sweetener, one maybe two cups a day)

Mistizoom

I don't think there is any issue with drinking coffee on LCHF. Just make sure to count any additions you make to it.

DianaElena76

GaleHawkins wrote: »

I am more into coffee in the winter time. The $0.63 McDonald's senior coffee with 10 little cups of their real cream is good for 150+ cals of fat. It is hard to stop with free refills.

Instant with 100% cocoa and 4-5 spoons of coconut oil is how I start my day.

Huge snow last night so before starting to plow it with the 40 year old no cab 265 Massey Ferguson tractor the coffee is motivating 'somewhat'.

Excuse me, plowing snow with no cab and therefore no heat? I'd need a lot more than coffee to motivate me!!!

FIT_Goat

I do drink coffee almost all day. I try and cut myself off around 4pm-5pm on weekdays. I'm actually going to start a new pot right after finishing this post. I drink 95% of my coffee black and unsweetened. Sometimes, I will throw in some butter or heavy cream.

Actually, I may be running into a gallon or two of heavy cream very soon. If that happens, you'll see a LOT of cream in my coffee starting to show up. Last year, I even got to the point where I drank a whole cup of heavy cream one night.

I average about 12-20 cups (6oz) of coffee a day. That's 2-3 liters of liquids purely in the coffee form. I, personally, have no ill effect from it. My doctor is not amused. This is the primary thing she wants me to change--not my 100% meat diet, the amount of coffee I drink. This is despite the fact that my blood pressure is normal. She says it should be much higher from all the caffeine. LOL

Some have reported an insulin response to coffee, and thus they reduce or eliminate it because it slows/stalls their weight loss. Other reports show caffeine has a positive effect on weight loss. So, maybe we should all be drinking it.

In the end, I think it's a wash either way. I happen to really like coffee. So, I drink it. If I didn't like it, I wouldn't drink it.

Dragonwolf

FIT_Goat wrote: »

I do drink coffee almost all day. I try and cut myself off around 4pm-5pm on weekdays. I'm actually going to start a new pot right after finishing this post. I drink 95% of my coffee black and unsweetened. Sometimes, I will throw in some butter or heavy cream.

Actually, I may be running into a gallon or two of heavy cream very soon. If that happens, you'll see a LOT of cream in my coffee starting to show up. Last year, I even got to the point where I drank a whole cup of heavy cream one night.

I average about 12-20 cups (6oz) of coffee a day. That's 2-3 liters of liquids purely in the coffee form. I, personally, have no ill effect from it. My doctor is not amused. This is the primary thing she wants me to change--not my 100% meat diet, the amount of coffee I drink. This is despite the fact that my blood pressure is normal. She says it should be much higher from all the caffeine. LOL

Some have reported an insulin response to coffee, and thus they reduce or eliminate it because it slows/stalls their weight loss. Other reports show caffeine has a positive effect on weight loss. So, maybe we should all be drinking it.

In the end, I think it's a wash either way. I happen to really like coffee. So, I drink it. If I didn't like it, I wouldn't drink it.

FWIW, cream freezes pretty well. I usually put mine in jars and toss them in the freezer until I need one. The only "downside" is that some of the fat sticks to itself into what amounts to tiny butter drops. It blends out pretty easily with a blender, but doesn't stir out with just a spoon or whatever.

The only way I can get good cream is by the half gallon, and it's like $11 per, so I don't want it to go to waste.

glossbones

I didn't care for heavy cream in my coffee last time I tried.. the oil slick bugged me and I couldn't figure out how much to add to my taste preference. My husband also prefers light cream and doesn't always do the CO, so I will probably stick with LC until we both want to switch.

I still can't decide if I know what to do regarding coffee. I think I'll lay down a self-imposed rule along the lines of "If you want that third cup, drink it with CO and no cream."

I had about 5 cups yesterday and the scale had no change this morning. But I also had a bit of vodka, and I can't pick one to blame.

FIT_Goat

Cream is expensive. Which is why 1-2 free gallons is awesome.

Fat4Fuel2

KnitOrMiss wrote: »

I don't even like coffee, but I'm braving an attempt to do BPC this week. On fat fasts and such, they have you load up on the BPC, so I can't see a horrible effect on this WOE... I wouldn't swear to that, though.

I haven't researched the BPC plans in years, so I don't know how that plays in. Some people drink a pot or more a day. As long as you aren't having like 3000 calories of coconut oil a day or have a problem with too much caffeine, I can't image there being much problem, except from sweeteners, if you use them?

I hate bullet proof coffee, so I do it with tea. Maybe this would be more appetizing to you. If you try it, blend the fats in hot water before adding the tea bag.

sweetteadrinker2

No diet gets to touch two things: my coffee and my tea. If these must be eliminated the diet can go jump off a cliff. I drink 6-10 (12 oz) cups of tea with nothing in them per day, and eaSily two pots of coffee, some cream in the ones before noon.

vanhavely

Gotta have my coffee. BPC full caffeine in the morning, then decaf at night.

DianaElena76

I don't know why, but I've found I'm craving coffee in the evenings ever since I started eating like this. Any ideas? I need to get some decaf in my house, because if I drink regular coffee at night I'm never going to get the sleep I need to be up before 4:30!

JPW1990

Haven't had coffee today. Got 2 warnings in an hr on the main boards. My conclusion, coffee is essential for my mental well being.

DianaElena76

JPW1990 wrote: »

Haven't had coffee today. Got 2 warnings in an hr on the main boards. My conclusion, coffee is essential for my mental well being.

And I, without my coffee, walk into walls (literally), stumble over my words, and forget what I was doing while I'm doing it.

KnitOrMiss

Fat4Fuel2 wrote: »

I hate bullet proof coffee, so I do it with tea. Maybe this would be more appetizing to you. If you try it, blend the fats in hot water before adding the tea bag.

I never thought of doing that! I did make it with tea the other day, but it came out wonky weird kind of insubstantial. Why do you recommend the tea bag after blending the fats, out of curiosity?

KnitOrMiss

Mami1976D wrote: »

I don't know why, but I've found I'm craving coffee in the evenings ever since I started eating like this. Any ideas? I need to get some decaf in my house, because if I drink regular coffee at night I'm never going to get the sleep I need to be up before 4:30!

Remember that decaf still has the permissible amount of caffeine in it. They say to dump as much caffeine as possible, you need to toss after the first 30 seconds in the pot or if using one of those new decaf coffee "tea" bags... Most caffeine is processed out in that time. You can dump it and enjoy the rest...

DianaElena76

I had to read that several times. So you are saying that the first 30 seconds of brew time has most of the caffeine? That would make sense, as it's also the strongest.

KnitOrMiss

Yes, sorry. When using decaf coffee or tea, the first 30 seconds of a "bag" in the water has the most residual caffeine. So it would stand to reason the same in a "pot" of coffee. I found this out when a former family member developed a severe allergy to caffeine, and we had to seek out all "hidden caffeine" just like hidden carbs now.

Just as point of reference, if your cocoa has been (processed with alkali), it is mostly caffeine free? Usually it might have 1-3 residual grams of carbs, depending on solid or powder/roughly per serving. Random crap I learned before.

DianaElena76

Weird. Good information to have, though.

GSD_Mama

I've read somewhere that decaf is very bad for you, they eliminate caffeine with some toxic process. I will not touch decaf if it kills me.

DianaElena76

Oh, you are right, @itcphotog! I think there is one method of processing that is natural and okay, but I'm sure that coffee is hard to find and expensive. Thanks for the reminder!!

KnitOrMiss

I've come to the conclusion that any time we humans type to "remove" something from a product otherwise in it's natural state, all we do is screw it up!