Is Your Morning Coffee Sabotaging Your Weight Loss Efforts?

2

Replies

  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
    I drink black coffee so no way it's sabatoging my weight loss efforts.
  • Carl_Carlson
    Carl_Carlson Posts: 85 Member
    I suspect coffee's health benefits outweigh it's alleged problems. We've used it for decades to boost athletic performance and to ease efforts to "make weight" prior to competition.
  • musicfan68
    musicfan68 Posts: 1,143 Member
    Mine doesn't. It actually helps me not overeat, it surpresses my appetite. I asked a Nephrologist once about caffeine, at the time I was drinking a lot more Diet Coke than I do now, and I was honest with him that I drank 3-4 a day and he said it was fine. He said if I were drinking 12 a day it could be a problem, but normal levels of consumption is fine. Caffeine is not bad for you unless you have a sensitivity to it.
  • lucerorojo
    lucerorojo Posts: 790 Member
    suzannesimmons3 wrote: »
    lucerorojo wrote: »
    SuzySunshine99 wrote: »
    TubbsMcGee wrote: »
    It’s incredible how weight gain, nutrient deficiency, and increased sugar cravings are associated with caffeine and sugar consumption! As a dietitian, I’m fascinated by what I’ve been compiling in my research, and what’s more, is I’ve noticed a dramatic difference in my mood and satiation through omitting my daily long black and sweet treats (I blame the kids for always having lollies around)!!

    Both caffeine and sugar can block your calcium and magnesium receptors, which not only help with nerve function but also help keep cravings in check and tell your body when you’re full and should stop eating! Additionally, studies have shown that sugar is one of the most addictive substances on earth (8 times more than cocaine, actually!), making it even more difficult to nourish our bodies and remain fit and healthy.

    I’ve been with MFP for nearly 10 years now in total. For 8 of those years I was eating clean, maintaining a healthy weight, hated coffee, and never had a sweet tooth. When I started culinary school, long gruelling hours made me turn to getting a caffeine fix to combat 20 hour days, and I soon realised that I had to taste test my baked goods before they went out. In a span of 10 months, I became addicted to caffeine and sugar, and stacked on 20kg. I’m now the heaviest I’ve ever been in my life.

    I decided last week to cut caffeine cold turkey, and drastically reduce my sugar intake (no refined sugars unless it’s a special occasion, and even limiting fructose found naturally in fruits). I’m already beginning to notice a positive difference in my mood, digestion, energy levels, and desire to want to get healthy again (rather than just lazily accepting that I’m “now this weight”).

    So now that I’ve beat my caffeine addiction, HERE’S TO KICKING SUGAR, TOO!!

    Soooo have you ever been around someone who was addicted to cocaine? Yes, yes, sugar addiction is 8 times worse than that. That's why people who are addicted to sugar lose their families, jobs, and lives. Oh, wait.....
    Just a tip for the future....please do not trivialize drug addiction in order to make some sort of point about the perceived dangers of sugar, caffeine, etc.

    So to be fair to the OP, he didn't say that sugar addiction was worse than a cocaine addiction, which it probably is not. He said that sugar is more addictive than cocaine, which I can't dispute personally since I never tried cocaine. I do think that sugar can be highly addictive for certain people, highly addictive.

    Nope to addiction.....how many times have you seem someone pouring sugar into their mouths from a bag in a supermarket aisle....always having a bag on them or physically sick/verge of death from withdrawl from not having sugar.....

    They don't have to pour a bag of sugar into their mouths. They can keep candy and chocolate in their desks!! .
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited November 2017
    This content has been removed.
  • Purplebunnysarah
    Purplebunnysarah Posts: 3,252 Member
    suzannesimmons3 wrote: »
    lucerorojo wrote: »
    SuzySunshine99 wrote: »
    TubbsMcGee wrote: »
    It’s incredible how weight gain, nutrient deficiency, and increased sugar cravings are associated with caffeine and sugar consumption! As a dietitian, I’m fascinated by what I’ve been compiling in my research, and what’s more, is I’ve noticed a dramatic difference in my mood and satiation through omitting my daily long black and sweet treats (I blame the kids for always having lollies around)!!

    Both caffeine and sugar can block your calcium and magnesium receptors, which not only help with nerve function but also help keep cravings in check and tell your body when you’re full and should stop eating! Additionally, studies have shown that sugar is one of the most addictive substances on earth (8 times more than cocaine, actually!), making it even more difficult to nourish our bodies and remain fit and healthy.

    I’ve been with MFP for nearly 10 years now in total. For 8 of those years I was eating clean, maintaining a healthy weight, hated coffee, and never had a sweet tooth. When I started culinary school, long gruelling hours made me turn to getting a caffeine fix to combat 20 hour days, and I soon realised that I had to taste test my baked goods before they went out. In a span of 10 months, I became addicted to caffeine and sugar, and stacked on 20kg. I’m now the heaviest I’ve ever been in my life.

    I decided last week to cut caffeine cold turkey, and drastically reduce my sugar intake (no refined sugars unless it’s a special occasion, and even limiting fructose found naturally in fruits). I’m already beginning to notice a positive difference in my mood, digestion, energy levels, and desire to want to get healthy again (rather than just lazily accepting that I’m “now this weight”).

    So now that I’ve beat my caffeine addiction, HERE’S TO KICKING SUGAR, TOO!!

    Soooo have you ever been around someone who was addicted to cocaine? Yes, yes, sugar addiction is 8 times worse than that. That's why people who are addicted to sugar lose their families, jobs, and lives. Oh, wait.....
    Just a tip for the future....please do not trivialize drug addiction in order to make some sort of point about the perceived dangers of sugar, caffeine, etc.

    So to be fair to the OP, he didn't say that sugar addiction was worse than a cocaine addiction, which it probably is not. He said that sugar is more addictive than cocaine, which I can't dispute personally since I never tried cocaine. I do think that sugar can be highly addictive for certain people, highly addictive.

    Nope to addiction.....how many times have you seem someone pouring sugar into their mouths from a bag in a supermarket aisle....always having a bag on them or physically sick/verge of death from withdrawl from not having sugar.....

    I mean, I don't necessarily think sugar is addictive in the chemical sense. But at my lowest points I certainly have hidden in the kitchen and eaten sugar straight out of the bag (or sweetened juice crystals or got chocolate mix or whatever I had to hand). In my case I'm pretty sure I was self-medicating mild depression with it.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    suzannesimmons3 wrote: »
    lucerorojo wrote: »
    suzannesimmons3 wrote: »
    lucerorojo wrote: »
    SuzySunshine99 wrote: »
    TubbsMcGee wrote: »
    It’s incredible how weight gain, nutrient deficiency, and increased sugar cravings are associated with caffeine and sugar consumption! As a dietitian, I’m fascinated by what I’ve been compiling in my research, and what’s more, is I’ve noticed a dramatic difference in my mood and satiation through omitting my daily long black and sweet treats (I blame the kids for always having lollies around)!!

    Both caffeine and sugar can block your calcium and magnesium receptors, which not only help with nerve function but also help keep cravings in check and tell your body when you’re full and should stop eating! Additionally, studies have shown that sugar is one of the most addictive substances on earth (8 times more than cocaine, actually!), making it even more difficult to nourish our bodies and remain fit and healthy.

    I’ve been with MFP for nearly 10 years now in total. For 8 of those years I was eating clean, maintaining a healthy weight, hated coffee, and never had a sweet tooth. When I started culinary school, long gruelling hours made me turn to getting a caffeine fix to combat 20 hour days, and I soon realised that I had to taste test my baked goods before they went out. In a span of 10 months, I became addicted to caffeine and sugar, and stacked on 20kg. I’m now the heaviest I’ve ever been in my life.

    I decided last week to cut caffeine cold turkey, and drastically reduce my sugar intake (no refined sugars unless it’s a special occasion, and even limiting fructose found naturally in fruits). I’m already beginning to notice a positive difference in my mood, digestion, energy levels, and desire to want to get healthy again (rather than just lazily accepting that I’m “now this weight”).

    So now that I’ve beat my caffeine addiction, HERE’S TO KICKING SUGAR, TOO!!

    Soooo have you ever been around someone who was addicted to cocaine? Yes, yes, sugar addiction is 8 times worse than that. That's why people who are addicted to sugar lose their families, jobs, and lives. Oh, wait.....
    Just a tip for the future....please do not trivialize drug addiction in order to make some sort of point about the perceived dangers of sugar, caffeine, etc.

    So to be fair to the OP, he didn't say that sugar addiction was worse than a cocaine addiction, which it probably is not. He said that sugar is more addictive than cocaine, which I can't dispute personally since I never tried cocaine. I do think that sugar can be highly addictive for certain people, highly addictive.

    Nope to addiction.....how many times have you seem someone pouring sugar into their mouths from a bag in a supermarket aisle....always having a bag on them or physically sick/verge of death from withdrawl from not having sugar.....

    They don't have to pour a bag of sugar into their mouths. They can keep candy and chocolate in their desks!! .

    That's not addiction that's greed.

    Candy and chocolate has more than just sugar in it....
  • bapity88
    bapity88 Posts: 98 Member
    If you're drinking bulletproof coffee and not logging it, sure that would sabotage your weight loss. But that can be around 300 calories and not what the typical coffee drinker drinks. I don't see how black coffee or coffee with low calorie sweeteners would be detrimental whatsoever though. I'd love to see some of these studies on caffeine because I've never heard any of that before. I've lost almost 60 lbs now, and I drink caffeine daily. And when I cut out diet soda and coffee for a while, I still took 1/2 a caffeine pill daily. I also cut out all added sugar and even fruits for the last 2 months, and it hasn't been very hard. My body hasn't craved sugar and I definitely didn't go through any withdrawals.
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,565 Member
    You can certainly speak for what works for you, and sharing can be useful to others if they find caffeine and sugar are difficult to manage within their calorie and nutrition goals.

    HOWEVER, generalizing your reactions to certain foods to the general public and demonizing foods for everyone that you choose to cut from your own diet is spreading misinformation. Many people find coffee is a useful tool for managing their appetite, and have no problem fitting "processed" and "refined" sugars into their daily diet. Telling people they must cut these things out in order to be healthy and lose weight is going to sabotage weight loss efforts for people who have found a way of eating that works for them but don't have the experience to separate legitimate information from bs.

    I will be charitable and assume the "sugar is 8X more addictive than cocaine" bs is coming from someone who has never witnessed drug addiction and withdrawal first hand.

    I lost almost 50 lbs over the last year and a half while drinking coffee and eating sugar daily (fitting it into my calories and macros). For me caffeine helps manage my appetite, and sugar, while certainly one of my favorite tastes, is nothing more than a food that I could easily indulge in to excess if I'm not mindful of how much I eat.

    If you have specific human-based (peer-reviewed) studies to back up your claims you would be doing your target audience a favor by posting them.
  • ZoneFive
    ZoneFive Posts: 570 Member
    My morning coffee includes milk and sucralose, and probably always will. Molon labe.
  • nickssweetheart
    nickssweetheart Posts: 874 Member
    Coke Zero is my caffeine, not coffee. I can live without it, but I can't work without it. With no income, I'd definitely lose some weight...so clearly OP has a point.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    I have lost 38# since I started my current weightloss effort 18 months ago and have been in maintenance for the past 12 months.

    During this time, I have consumed 2-3 cups of black coffee almost daily and it has been effective for me as both as an appetite suppressant generally, as well as a mild stimulant prior to exercising.

    Everything that I've read the topic indicate that these are 2 generally acknowledged effects of coffee and caffeine.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited November 2017
    This content has been removed.
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
    edited November 2017
    TubbsMcGee wrote: »
    So now that I’ve beat my caffeine addiction, HERE’S TO KICKING SUGAR, TOO!!

    Well, bully for you. I'm not giving up my coffee or sweeteners. And in answer to the question you post in your thread title: I call B.S.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    I drink coffee most days of the week, sometimes as much as 3 cups and my weight is exactly where I would expect it to be based on the calories I consume and my activity.

    Coffee actually usually suppresses my appetite (especially if I have it in the afternoon between lunch and dinner), so if your weight is higher than you would like, I would probably look at the calories you're consuming overall instead of blaming the coffee.

  • Silkysausage
    Silkysausage Posts: 502 Member
    edited November 2017
    A cup of coffee in the morning with sugar is hardly going to ruin my day in the gym! Mind you I don't drink coffee
  • kristen8000
    kristen8000 Posts: 747 Member
    Um what? How on earth does drinking black coffee impact your sugar intake?

    Dietian, huh? I think you need to go back to school.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Muscleflex79 wrote: »
    one thing this thread proves - don't blindly trust your dietitian! It is so important to educate yourself so when a so-called professional gives you bogus advice like this you can spot it from a mile away!

    This.
  • Bry_Fitness70
    Bry_Fitness70 Posts: 2,480 Member
    edited November 2017
    TubbsMcGee wrote: »
    Additionally, studies have shown that sugar is one of the most addictive substances on earth (8 times more than cocaine, actually!), making it even more difficult to nourish our bodies and remain fit and healthy.

    My assumption is that the reason that most people aren't cocaine addicts is that they understand that it is harmful, it is illegal, and/or they don't have cocaine readily available to consume on a daily basis. However, I do have a big bag of pure cane sugar in my pantry, it is legal, and I do consume some sort of sugar every day. So why isn't sugar controlling my life if it is 8 times more addictive than cocaine, and cocaine literally ruins lives, in some cases causing people to commit crimes to acquire money to obtain it? Wouldn't people be pouring sugar directly into their mouths right out of the bag instead of eating it in a diluted form like through candy bars or donuts?
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