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

chi2teach

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.

SugaryLynx

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for your reply, Sedna. You sound like a fun "pal" to have on this weight loss journey. Your friends are lucky. Go YOU!

F00LofaT00K

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.