Coffee or no coffee? Diet Coke or no diet coke?

chi2teach
chi2teach Posts: 29 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Does drinking coffee (with 3 tablespoons of sugar-free creamer) affect weight loss? :drinker:
How about other caffeinated beverages - like diet soda and tea?

I seem to do better when I give up coffee for a day or two. Is that because I am taking better care of myself generally - getting enough sleep, exercising, drinking more water? Or could it really have something to do with the caffeine itself?

Thoughts and anecdotes of your experiences are welcome. Advice from nutrition savvy folks, too.
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Replies

  • SugaryLynx
    SugaryLynx Posts: 2,640 Member
    Well, coffee creamer has calories, so depending on how many cups you have with creamer, there's that.

    It's all about calories in vs out for weight loss. I've drank both coffee and diet coke throughout my weight loss and it did not effect the rate by which I lost at all. Moderation with all things.
  • Sedna_51
    Sedna_51 Posts: 277 Member
    First off: this is all purely anecdotal, so take with a grain of salt. (Or a tablespoon of creamer, if you'd like.)

    I find I do best when I stick to one cup of coffee and one serving (12 oz) of diet soda daily; however, I personally think it has to do more with the fact that I drink more water that way. And when I drink lots of water, I tend to feel generally better- more hydrated, less hungry, just more stable in general (some of which might be psychological- "hey look, I'm drinking my water! Go me!"). I personally wouldn't want to cut out coffee and diet soda entirely, but I also absolutely hate declaring anything off limits (because then it becomes incredibly tempting and delicious, you see).

    I'm interested to hear other's experiences!
  • jtyler83
    jtyler83 Posts: 28 Member
    my coffee and diet pop intake varies between 1c coffee a day and no soda to entire carafes of coffee and multiple 2 liter bottles of soda

    doesn't matter in terms of weight loss
  • tracydr
    tracydr Posts: 528 Member
    There is no way I'm giving up my 32oz coffee with whole milk. I use 1/4 cup milk with each mammoth cup.
    We roast our own coffee and brew it in the French Press.
    I could order green, decaf but there are so few choices of decaf varieties compared to regular. I love my fresh roasted coffee.
  • trinity5703
    trinity5703 Posts: 78
    Some folks drink coffee or tea in the morning. I cant abide the taste of coffee (gag) so my caffine is a Diet drink. I'm a serious Cokeaholic. Coke Zero, Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi.. it doesnt matter to me. Left to my own devices I will (and have) gone thru a 2 liter a day... or more! I cant say that its really effected my weight loss. I still loose 1-1.5 a week. But.... I do try to limit myself. I have my Coke Zero in the morning, and then water the rest of the day until dinner when I have another. The added water has had some benefits.... the skin is in a lot better condition :)
  • chi2teach
    chi2teach Posts: 29 Member
    Thanks for your replies and your experiences including caffeinated drinks during your weight loss journey. I don't really want to give them up, but my friends insist that I must to really have good success.

    Usually I just have the 1 cup of coffee and yes, I count the calories in the creamer. I drink water all day. It's the diet coke that I frequently have with dinner and afterward while grading papers that I sometimes get carried away with. I know I should substitute water (Go ME! right Sedna?) But I also like that fizz.

    If I can make progress without giving it up, I'd really prefer that.
  • chi2teach
    chi2teach Posts: 29 Member
    Thanks for your reply, Sedna. You sound like a fun "pal" to have on this weight loss journey. Your friends are lucky. Go YOU!:wink:
  • F00LofaT00K
    F00LofaT00K Posts: 688 Member
    As long as you're using more calories than you're ingesting, you will lose weight. I drink coffee with sugar and whole milk almost every day. I drink both diet and regular soda on occasion. I eat candy, I had sugary cereal for breakfast this morning. I went way over my daily calorie goal the past two days and I am still losing weight. As long as your average intake of calories creates a deficit, it does not matter where the calories come from to lose weight. But while you will lose weight regardless of where you get your calories, it IS important to get the proper balance of carbs, protein and fats for optimal health.

    But no, diet soda and coffee will have zero effect on whether you lose or gain weight as long as you account for the calories you may be taking in and fit them into your goals.
  • wannakimmy
    wannakimmy Posts: 488 Member
    I have coffee almost daily, with splenda and milk. An occasional diet coke, maybe once a month. It hasn't seemed to hurt my weight loss.
  • Nissi51
    Nissi51 Posts: 381 Member
    Over 100lbs lost over here and I drink three cups each day on average... Not logged ever, shhhh.....
    I use a dairy free, no sugar creamer and Splenda (I know they are both probably killing me, but next to no cals!)

    If you are using cream and sugar just include them in your count and continue at a deficit

    AT the end of the day, it's usually not the coffee that's the issue!

    Good luck!
  • 1911JR
    1911JR Posts: 276
    Caffeine is the number one most abused drug in this country. And yes, I like coffee, tea and pops just as much as anyone. But what I don`t like in my body is anything that changes my thinking process (mood) or makes me feel a need for it. If I crave it, I don`t drink it or eat it.

    I use coffee as at treat at odd times maybe once a month, last night I had a caffeine free diet Pepsi. And being I had not drink a pop in 3 weeks, it was awesome!
    \m/ \m/
  • 32sami
    32sami Posts: 380 Member
    I'm trying to give up coffee because I can't drink it without flavoured creamers and the creamers are a trigger for me with other not so good foods. When I stick to tea or water I find I'm not so tempted to eat badly.
  • liftingandlipstick
    liftingandlipstick Posts: 1,857 Member
    Thanks for your replies and your experiences including caffeinated drinks during your weight loss journey. I don't really want to give them up, but my friends insist that I must to really have good success.

    Usually I just have the 1 cup of coffee and yes, I count the calories in the creamer. I drink water all day. It's the diet coke that I frequently have with dinner and afterward while grading papers that I sometimes get carried away with. I know I should substitute water (Go ME! right Sedna?) But I also like that fizz.

    If I can make progress without giving it up, I'd really prefer that.

    If it's the fizz you're really after, have you tried sparkling water? All the goodness of water, plus fizz! And you can get flavored varieties, though they do tend to have some added sodium.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    Coffee and soda will not affect your weight loss, as long as you count any calories they contain or that are in additives like cream.

    Having said that, I feel that moderation is good. I feel best if I limit the amount of beverages that are not plain water to no more than half of my total. I'm not convinced that artificial sweetener is totally benign but I also don't think it is the devil either so I do have it but limit it. I have a SodaStream so one liter is plain fizzy water and one liter is a diet soda. If I drink those along with my morning coffee (with real cream, none of this fat free yuck) I know I am getting my 8+ glasses and that I am not putting too much other stuff in my body.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    If it's the fizz you're really after, have you tried sparkling water? All the goodness of water, plus fizz! And you can get flavored varieties, though they do tend to have some added sodium.

    Or get a carbonator like SodaStream. Adds the fizz with no sodium unless you choose to add a flavor.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,031 Member
    Neither............................ now Diet Pepsi:drinker: .

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • kikityme
    kikityme Posts: 472 Member
    but my friends insist that I must to really have good success.


    If I can make progress without giving it up, I'd really prefer that.

    Backseat drivers are the WORST! Hey, if you need it to carry on and focus on other, arguably more important, things, than hey, whatever gets you through the day.
  • Fat2FitMyDrive
    Fat2FitMyDrive Posts: 83 Member
    I am a coffee junky, but I love my coffee light and sweet so therefore I enjoy it very sparingly. As far as diet soda I stay as far away from that shoe polish as possible... LOL! Just my .02
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    I cut out most soda because I don't like diet soda and I didn't want to drink my calories. I cut way back on coffee for a long time because it took me a loooong time to adjust to drinking it without sugar and creamer (again, not wanting to drink my calories) So,while weight loss really is all about calories in vs calories out, I had to make adjustments on where my calories were coming from. I found that as long as I got my caffiene (Mio Energy added to water), I didn't really even crave soda or coffee...though I will still have it occasionally as a treat.
  • gramarye
    gramarye Posts: 586 Member
    I drink coffee with half & half and sugar daily. I drink diet sodas several times a week. The only thing that has negatively affected my weight loss is eating too much. :D
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    I don't know the "science" on this so I almost didn't respond. I have had steady, good loss over the past year (as seen in my ticker) and I drink one cup of coffee every morning (about 10 oz) with one packet of aspartame sweetener and about 1 oz of unsweetened original almond milk. I drink diet cola about 3 times per week (12 oz can each time)...I love it with certain meals, like my husband's homemade pizza.

    I gave diet soda up completely for about 3 months last year and I experienced some pretty severe constipation for the first time in my life - even though I drink at minimum 10 eight ounce servings of water per day. Of course that wasn't necessarily the cause, but I only made 2 tiny changes in my diet (resuming the diet soda a few times per week being one of those changes) and the problem went away almost immediately. So FWIW I feel like diet soda in moderation is something I'm not going to stop drinking.

    Artificial sweeteners get a lot of bad press but sometimes I think it's due to people I've seen posting on these forums who say they consume about 20 packets per day. I think that's excessive and like with most things, moderation is key. JMHO!
  • Llamapants86
    Llamapants86 Posts: 1,221 Member
    I haven't had any issues with losing weight. As long as I track what I put in my coffee. I could see my weight loss stalling if I didn't count those calories, because I would be eating too much.

    I also have a coke zero most evenings.
  • anothermop
    anothermop Posts: 187 Member
    I do not like coffee; but I like my caffeine cold so 3 Diet Cokes a day is where I'm at. I make myself "earn" them. I have to drink a 24 oz bottle of water and do about 15 pull-ups before I get delicious Diet Coke. I'm going to drink the Diet Cokes anyway, this just makes me drink enough water and my pull-ups are getting better all the time.
  • ccf_trainer
    ccf_trainer Posts: 86 Member
    Does drinking coffee (with 3 tablespoons of sugar-free creamer) affect weight loss? :drinker:
    How about other caffeinated beverages - like diet soda and tea?

    I seem to do better when I give up coffee for a day or two. Is that because I am taking better care of myself generally - getting enough sleep, exercising, drinking more water? Or could it really have something to do with the caffeine itself?

    Thoughts and anecdotes of your experiences are welcome. Advice from nutrition savvy folks, too.

    Drinking coffee has its health benefits, and it also has its share of health problems, such as anxiety, increased blood pressure, and depleted calcium and iron levels (specifically in women). Tea is good if there is no sugar in it. I recommend Agave Nectar because it's naturally sweetened, and healthier than honey. Diet soda is not good for you because it contains so much sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and other stuff you don't need in your body.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    I have about 3-4 cups of strong black coffee a day, and usually 2 cups of black tea with skimmed milk. I find that that amount of caffeine hasn't given me any problems whatsoever with losing/maintaining weight, and doesn't seem to give me any problems with sleep. I do try to keep most of my caffeine intake towards the first half of the day.

    I don't really drink soda much at all - only diet coke from time to time when it has vodka or rum in it.

    I don't add any sugar or sweeteners to my coffee or tea, but I eat sugar and sweeteners in other things, and again, I haven't had any problems with this.
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    Does drinking coffee (with 3 tablespoons of sugar-free creamer) affect weight loss? :drinker:
    How about other caffeinated beverages - like diet soda and tea?

    I seem to do better when I give up coffee for a day or two. Is that because I am taking better care of myself generally - getting enough sleep, exercising, drinking more water? Or could it really have something to do with the caffeine itself?

    Thoughts and anecdotes of your experiences are welcome. Advice from nutrition savvy folks, too.

    Drinking coffee has its health benefits, and it also has its share of health problems, such as anxiety, increased blood pressure, and depleted calcium and iron levels (specifically in women). Tea is good if there is no sugar in it. I recommend Agave Nectar because it's naturally sweetened, and healthier than honey. Diet soda is not good for you because it contains so much sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and other stuff you don't need in your body.

    Diet soda contains sugar?? Really?? And you wonder why people question your nutritional advice

    I also drink lots of coffee (about 2 pots daily) have very low blood pressure, calcium levels just fine and only anxious if talking to people that annoy me I develop a twitch.. but that's another story.

    Sugar is not bad for you everything in moderation. OP drink your coffee log the sugar and creamer you add to the coffee because those calories can add up.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    1-2 12 oz cups of coffee at work on weekdays. I log the creamer. 1 can diet dew driving to my workout. 1 cup coffee driving back from my workout. I did switch my home coffee drinking to green tea because I logged the calories and it was like 40 cals a pop and I'd have it several times a day

    Log any calories involved. Enjoy your caffeine. Your friends are wrong, drinking this stuff won't affect your weight loss unless they put you in a calorie surplus. Perhaps they're thinking of all the venti latte lord knows what drinks are out there at 400 cals a pop that *they* drink
  • Strokingdiction
    Strokingdiction Posts: 1,164 Member
    Well, coffee creamer has calories, so depending on how many cups you have with creamer, there's that.

    It's all about calories in vs out for weight loss. I've drank both coffee and diet coke throughout my weight loss and it did not effect the rate by which I lost at all. Moderation with all things.

    This and it should have /ended thread
  • LoupGarouTFTs
    LoupGarouTFTs Posts: 916 Member
    I drink up to two cups of coffee/day, each with one packet of saccharine and two tbsp of original Coffeemate creamer. I typically have zero to three diet sodas/day and as much water (some flavored) as I can tolerate. During the summer I drink a lot of sugar-free iced tea (Community Coffee brand or homemade). I've never found caffeine to be much of an issue with weight gain.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    Does drinking coffee (with 3 tablespoons of sugar-free creamer) affect weight loss? :drinker:
    How about other caffeinated beverages - like diet soda and tea?

    I seem to do better when I give up coffee for a day or two. Is that because I am taking better care of myself generally - getting enough sleep, exercising, drinking more water? Or could it really have something to do with the caffeine itself?

    Thoughts and anecdotes of your experiences are welcome. Advice from nutrition savvy folks, too.

    Drinking coffee has its health benefits, and it also has its share of health problems, such as anxiety, increased blood pressure, and depleted calcium and iron levels (specifically in women). Tea is good if there is no sugar in it. I recommend Agave Nectar because it's naturally sweetened, and healthier than honey. Diet soda is not good for you because it contains so much sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and other stuff you don't need in your body.
    What utter nonsense. Where to start with this. Oh it's just not worth it just ignore this it's as I said utter nonsense and not worth the energy of correcting

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