Any coffee addicts losing weight?

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shakeray1173
shakeray1173 Posts: 40
in Getting Started
I LOVE coffee! I drink 3 or 4 cups per day. Should I try to cut back?
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  • chrisvinci
    chrisvinci Posts: 49
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    Coffee has almost no calories unless you are adding whole milk and sugar. I see no need to cut back, and it helps reduce appetite in my opinion.
  • funsteps
    funsteps Posts: 74 Member
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    It depends on what you're putting it in. If you're adding a lot of cream and sugar, try to scale those back. If you're a black coffee drinker, have at it.
  • Moonlitedi
    Moonlitedi Posts: 94 Member
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    Coffee can have both negative and positive effects on your health and weight depending on how it is consumed. Of course, if you already rely on a daily coffee habit, you aren't likely to want to give it up in order to lose weight, so learning how to harness coffee's positive attributes will be essential.

    1. Consume coffee in moderation. This is the most important aspect of fitting coffee into your weight loss plan. Excessive coffee consumption can lead to increased stress levels and insomnia, both of which can lead to overeating. Try to cut your coffee consumption to just 1 or 2 cups per day, or try switching some of your daily coffee intake to decaf.

    2. Forget the cream and sugar. This is an obvious but extremely effective technique for losing weight with coffee. Adding large amounts of cream and sugar to your coffee can give it the caloric content of a candy bar or more. If you cannot wean yourself entirely onto black coffee, try using Almond milk with the 30 calories per cup or skim milk and sugar-free sweeteners instead.

    3. Ditch the specialty coffee beverages. Even worse than adding cream and sugar to a cup of brewed coffee is drinking the large, flavored, espresso-based beverages that are becoming more and more popular at coffee shops. These drinks often contain large amounts of milk and flavored sugar syrups and can contain as many calories as a whole meal.

    4.Try coffee after dinner to reduce cravings. One of coffee's positive attributes is its role as an appetite suppressant. For this reason, try drinking coffee after your dinner each night. This may help you to reduce your cravings for dessert or other late-night snack foods before bed.

    You can also try brushing your teeth shortly after dinner or after your after-dinner coffee. Having a freshly cleaned mouth may help to reduce your temptation to eat anything else before bed.

    5.Drink coffee an hour or so before a workout. Coffee consumed before a workout can increase your energy and alertness, which can help you to undertake a more rigorous, focused workout. Coffee can also help dull joint and muscle pain. However, you may want to avoid drinking coffee immediately before exercising, as the acid coupled with the agitation from exercise may lead to an upset stomach.

    6. Augment your coffee with plenty of water. Coffee can act as a diuretic in many people, meaning that it will cause you to lose fluids. To stay hydrated and keep your stomach fuller, drink a cup of water for every cup of coffee you drink.
  • shakeray1173
    shakeray1173 Posts: 40
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    Thank you Moonlitedi for posting that!
    Unfortunately, I do use sugar and creamer. I use to use splenda, but I read (and experiencing) side effects
  • n_unocero
    n_unocero Posts: 445 Member
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    4.Try coffee after dinner to reduce cravings. One of coffee's positive attributes is its role as an appetite suppressant. For this reason, try drinking coffee after your dinner each night. This may help you to reduce your cravings for dessert or other late-night snack foods before bed.

    this sounds like a terrible idea.
  • vcampos111
    vcampos111 Posts: 1
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    Caffeine does hinder weight loss. :( It also messes with hormones that may lead to cravings that also hinder your fight to lose weight. I have switched to Organic Dandelion Root Tea. Looks, smells, and tastes like coffee. Add coconut milk which has so many health benefits and honey to sweeten. Hope this helps. Always research anything before you try. Have a blessed day!
  • glin23
    glin23 Posts: 460 Member
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    It's like salad. The coffee itself is low calorie. Go look up the nutritional information for black coffee or espresso/ It's always the toher stuff; cream, sugar, syrup, chocolate that makes it a calorie bomb. So unless you have other health complications I don't see the need. FWIW, it's not healthy, but I can have chocolate everyday and still lose weight ;)
    Caffeine does hinder weight loss. :( It also messes with hormones that may lead to cravings that also hinder your fight to lose weight. I have switched to Organic Dandelion Root Tea. Looks, smells, and tastes like coffee. Add coconut milk which has so many health benefits and honey to sweeten. Hope this helps. Always research anything before you try. Have a blessed day!

    Link to studies that substantiate this? And you do realize that sugar and the coconut milk aren't free calories either right?
  • Moonlitedi
    Moonlitedi Posts: 94 Member
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    Decaf coffee after dinner!
  • n_unocero
    n_unocero Posts: 445 Member
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    Thank you Moonlitedi for posting that!
    Unfortunately, I do use sugar and creamer. I use to use splenda, but I read (and experiencing) side effects

    try using stevia and skim milk. then try cutting back til you're drinking it black.
  • ruffnstuff
    ruffnstuff Posts: 400 Member
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    Coffee ALONE shouldn't have any adverse effect on your weight loss abilities. While I don't drink coffee, I do love unsweetened ice tea. Drink it all day long (probably half a gallon) and have lost 50+ lbs since August. I love when the threads pop up about "what counts as water" and some out there try to convince others that black coffee or unsweetened ice tea or water with a crystal light packet in it are not water. Lolzzzz!
  • parkscs
    parkscs Posts: 1,639 Member
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    I usually drink it black but will have an americano with some cream several times a week. I drink 3-6 cups of strong coffee/day and haven't seen it affect my weight loss negatively in any way. You could say that you shouldn't drink so much coffee that it messes with your sleep but that's more of a timing issue and a question of caffeine tolerance in my opinion.
  • SharonCMach
    SharonCMach Posts: 305 Member
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    No worries, Im a coffee addict too and I lost weight just fine. Just try to lay off the sugar & cream.
  • candacet36
    candacet36 Posts: 353 Member
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    <
    Coffee Addict!

    I have lost 72 pounds drinking 2-3 cups a day. It is the one thing that I will not sacrifice! I don't add a lot of calories to it about 30 per cup.

    Find what works for you and LOVE COFFEE:drinker:
  • neveragain84
    neveragain84 Posts: 534 Member
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    Eat what you love and drink what you love! Be mindful with your eating and drinking habits, log everything that goes into your body, enjoy, and lose weight! Amazing, huh?! :-)

    Maybe find alternatives to the heavy creams and such. There are a lot of sugar free creamers that are really good that are lower in fat and calories. Either that or just use a little less, or maybe just continue what you're doing and just cut back on other areas of calories so that you can still enjoy all those yummy drinks. The power is yours. Once you start seeing the scale drop and your body transform, you'll be so happy that you were able to do it in a way that works around you so that you don't feel deprived.
  • mich_bunny_86
    mich_bunny_86 Posts: 2
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    As long as you don't add sugars and creams.. maybe a bit of non fat milk.. As well don't forget coffee dehydrates you.. so try drinking water to keep everything flowing :) Good Luck!
  • SelfLoveMamma
    SelfLoveMamma Posts: 39
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    I gave up coffee cold turkey for the new year. I have given in twice, both times I've noticed I start to feel super stressed, angry, sad etc. I suffer from emotional eating so now I know that the ups and downs of coffee send me for the cupboard asap. no more coffee here!
  • peleroja
    peleroja Posts: 3,979 Member
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    As other people have said, coffee is extremely low calorie. It's not going to harm your loss at all if you don't add calories to it. However, some people are affected by the diuretic effects of caffeine, so you might want to make sure you get enough water if you think it's affecting you.
  • BamaBreezeNSaltAire
    BamaBreezeNSaltAire Posts: 966 Member
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    I refuse to give up anything that I want/like to eat/drink. Especially coffee. It's simple, I work it into my calories and my macros. I drink flavored creamer and measure exactly 2 TBSP. The occasional mocha, I work it in. Don't give up anything you like/love, just make it fit!
  • singlefemalelawyer
    singlefemalelawyer Posts: 382 Member
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    I drink a pretty large amount of coffee and I am never giving it up (unless my doctor tells me to for some reason). I just have it black with a bit of unsweetened almond milk (which I measure and track). It does help control hunger, especially when I am fasting until 12 pm. (I've been experimenting with intermittent fasting and eating between 12 and 8pm for the last week).
  • shakeray1173
    shakeray1173 Posts: 40
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    I have emotional issues too. This is definitely something to think about!
    Thanks!

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