My journey with giving up coffee......

SexyGorecki

I have been on my weight loss journey for about 7 years now.. A lot of ups and downs. A baby in between. A separation from my husband, a man I have spent 19 years of my life with. It's really been a struggle at times. But here I am 7 years later successfully keeping off over 100 pounds. With that being said I still have weight to go and I am STUCK... YUP S.T.U.C.K.. stuck. So I did some reading. Over the years I have been able to lose the weight with exercise, watching what I ate and portion control. Not so much anymore... I could eat 1500 calories or 2500 calories and not lose or gain ANYTHING! So to try and shake things up a bit. I have given up coffee... a staple, a friend, a comfort. With that I have also started eating "clean"... following some rules of the "Blood Type Diet" and the Paleo ways of living. I love the food. I love the premis.. I miss my coffee. However, with that being said. I don't miss the coffee because I am sleepy! I miss the comfort it brought. In the reading... I have learned that for some of us the coffee can increase our insulin.. therefore making fat loss more difficult. I was shocked really.. I always looked at coffee as being a stimulant.. increase the metabolism.. Maybe for me it did the opposite. So today is day 4 and I feel FANTASTIC. I am awake and feeling the best I have ever felt. Maybe a combo of the food choice and the coffee but I really feel like a new person. I am excited to see if I finally have a loss on my scale come Wednesday at my 1 week point. Anyone else have any interesting results from giving up coffee? (p.s. I only used a small amount of milk in my coffee. no sugar)

Have a great weekend!

jeffpettis

Coffee may in fact increase your insulin, but even if it did, that in and of itself is not going to make it harder to lose weight. A calorie deficit is the only "requirement" for weight loss, nothing else. Also you said you don't use any sugar in your coffee so I really don't see how it would cause an insulin spike to begin with. A cup of black coffee only has about 4 or 5 calories and the small amount of milk you add is only going to make your whole cup of joe around 30 or 40 calories, if that. Be careful telling yourself a certain food is bad, you will only set yourself up for failure in the long run. That being said. Good luck! I'm not giving up my coffee!!!

IrishAlpha

Good going! I think that this is the right move. My doctor recently put me on a diet program to eradicate a candida infestation, and part of that was giving up coffee. I have a bad coffee habit. Easily a half pot a day or more. Always black, but still, that is a lot of caffeine. The first three or four days I was glad that his office was a long drive away, because I would have gone over there and beat the holy $(%^ out of him. It was very hard. But now, a week or so in, completely cutting out coffee and sugar, I feel completely different. Not as sluggish. More alert. Weight loss or not, it was the right move, and I applaud you for taking this step. It is not an easy one.

havenoenvyonlylove

Yep; I gave up coffee a couple weeks ago. I went on vacation and didn't drink as much coffee, either none or one large cup in a day. When I went back to work the coffee seemed to strong, led me to an early crash, made me restless at night, and then I'd wake up with my heart pounding. Not worth it. The science behind why it's not good for you (speaking as a coffeeholic mind you), is that most coffee isn't growing in the dark rainforest like it should- they're growing it out in open fields in open sunlight. It also increases your stress and cortisol levels, so I believe it does spike your insulin and even contribute to acne if it's hormonal. Biggest eye opener for me was that it's extremely acidic so it's actually taking away the body's ability to absorb all the positive vitamins and minerals from the good foods you eat, since it forces the body to pull alkaline from it's own stash to balance the acidity of the coffee, and you release some of the good stuff when you go to the bathroom As much as I love coffee and it was heart breaking to hear, I knew it didn't feel right to have an afternoon crash every day and wanted to know what it felt like throughout. Ironically after the first week I felt so much energy! And not the kind I was afraid would go away )

rbiss

Good luck to you. I can give up a lot of things, but I am not sure coffee is one of them.

Have you tried a brand new kind of workout? Sometimes the body really needs to be challenged to break through a plateau. HIIT, TRX, Crossfit, endurance sports, P90X, Insanity might be able to help. I am not sure what your current workout is, but you might benefit from a complete change in routine.

carrieous

I would never give up coffee. It is good for you, full of antioxidants and it fights cancer

that being said I only put a little milk in mine- no sugars at all

Showcase_Brodown

Coffee or no coffee... it really makes no difference as far as weight gain or loss goes.

I suppose if you are adding sugar and creamer, it will contribute to your calories, but coffee by itself, black, is hardly worth any calories, maybe a few a cup. I don't even track my coffee.

I feel as though you are being distracted by ideas that are missing the point. Weight is managed by your energy balance (calories, calories, calories). The other stuff may help you get the right number of calories, or may work better for you for one reason or another, but don't forget why these things work (calories).

Calories. If you want results, diligently keep track of these.

If you like coffee, and it's not somehow screwing up your goals, go for it.

jrose1982

My first attempt at low-carb (about a year ago) stalled out pretty quickly. That's when I quit drinking coffee (probably read the same stuff you did), and I was amazed to discover how much better I slept. I was off caffeine for about two months when I finally allowed myself a cup (at about 9 am), and I had a hard time sleeping that night. I guess I'm just more sensitive to caffeine than most people.

So I resumed another low-carb diet earlier this year. And shortly after, quit drinking coffee again. I had one solid week of misery: a massive, non-stop headache; practically falling asleep at my desk; I needed 10-12 hours of sleep every night and was late for work every single day; I only billed out 22 hours that week (I usually bill 40). But on the 7th day, the headache stopped; I had a reasonably productive afternoon, and I've felt pretty good ever since. My sleep quality is so much better. I started waking up earlier and feeling more focused throughout the day.

I still miss my coffee. Like you, it was never about the caffeine for me. I love the smell and taste of coffee. It's one of my favorite comfort foods. And the heating/AC system at work seriously sucks, and my office gets really cold in the afternoon. That's when I most miss my nice hot coffee. I'm what you might call a Northwest Coffee Snob - i.e. I actually can taste the difference between Starbucks, Tully's and Seattle's Worst (but none compare to Batdorff & Bronson, or Ravensbrew). And I used to have a weekend ritual of making my coffee, starting with grinding my own beans.

I've tried decaf, but it really doesn't taste as good. It's nice to commiserate with a fellow coffee lover (as opposed to the caffeine lovers I mostly know).

SexyGorecki

Thanks for all the kind words. I appreciate them all. Regardless of what coffee is to me personally, helpful, hiderant or abosolutely wonderful, I have to say I feel better with out it after just 4 days. I am sleeping better, waking easier, feeling more awake! For that I am more healthy. Less stress and couldn't be happier that I tried this route.

annette_15

MyChocolateDiet

IN...for 4 day journeys.


(i gave up coffee due to migraines but started up again. this was on the advice of a neuro not an article or "premis" that I just liked. It worked but I have not heard any reputable source say coffee was linked with fatness. That's why as long as my steady level does not interfere with me being headache free too much i"m gonna stay to my limited amounts that I enjoy. Thoroughly.)

:drinker: Two cups of coffee per day, yo!

MyChocolateDiet

Cute, but I've tried inviting my friends out for glass of wine in the morning after school drop off and it just doesn't have the same ring.

jrose1982

IN...for 4 day journeys.


(i gave up coffee due to migraines but started up again. this was on the advice of a neuro not an article or "premis" that I just liked. It worked but I have not heard any reputable source say coffee was linked with fatness. That's why as long as my steady level does not interfere with me being headache free too much i"m gonna stay to my limited amounts that I enjoy. Thoroughly.)

:drinker: Two cups of coffee per day, yo!

I've never seen anywhere that links coffee to weight (except when talking about high calorie frappuccinos, etc). What I saw was a statement (from a low-carb expert) that basically said that some people found that caffeine hindered their weight loss. But it was purely anecdotal, with no actual studies to back it up. But when I hit a plateau I decided to give it try, what could it hurt? I did break the plateau shortly after quitting, but there could be other reasons for that. But my sleep improved so much. That benefit goes beyond any possible (imagined or real) weight loss advantage.