Coffee and dieting

missigus

I think I'd rather pull out my toenails one by one than give up my morrning coffee! lol. I have 2 big cups with 1Tbsp coffeemate- what ever flavor I feel like, and a 1/2 packet of sweet n low. I just budget my calories. I have tried other sweeteners the natural type, Stevia, but I think it gets bitter tasting in hot things, and the best one I found was Xylitol. But it still adds a few calories, but doesn't have the blood sugar effect supposedly. I gave up and went back to my sweet n low. I don't think 1 packet a day will kill me anytime soon. I'm not a lab rat consuming 100x the recomended dose anyway!

Jupitter

Absolutely agree. I also have a lot of trouble modifying my coffee with fat free milk and splenda and all the artificial stuff. I use the Carnation creamer with zero sugar and carbs and the splenda/brown sugar mix... I'm sorry my coffee has to be right! Everything else I can sacrifice taste on but not the "crackfee"...LOL

JaceyMarieS

I haven't completely cut out caffeine. I used to drink 1-2 POTS of coffee (at least I drank it black) in the morning, switched to iced tea and Diet Coke /diet Pepsi for the afternoon/evening and capped off the night with hot tea. I now drink green tea with Stevia in the morning, coffee if I'm offered it somewhere, 1-2 cans of Diet Coke per month and a cup of hot water w/ lemon or lime juice at night. I'm sleeping better and now have room for 10-15 glasses of water per day.

Strobins05

I stopped adding sugar and cream to my coffee over four years ago, so far so good. Only get sweet tooth for the flavors around the holidays : )

BaconMD

I switched from sugar / chemicals to xylitol (birch sugar) years ago, and do not regret it one bit. Check out this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylitol#Medical_applications

Also, if you're worried about the calories, try drinking it black from time to time. I thought I'd hate it, but I love it! I still love it with cream and xylitol, though.

And if caffeine is your concern, find a good decaf. The one I currently love is Kicking Horse Coffee's Decaf blend. It tastes great!

Furthermore, I'd advise you go with a French press, grind your own beans fresh (weigh them for consistency!) right before brewing. I find I enjoy and appreciate my coffee more than usual if I put in some effort, plus the taste is superior.

Rocklizard

Coffee is my little helper, so I can't imagine being without it. One or two cuppa a day.

I use s soy creamer that is better than cream, and you're talking to someone who ADORES her dairy. I'm about to try to make the switch to stevia (if I can find one that doesn't taste like anise) or agave, or maybe back to sugar. I have been using splenda, but I've had a health scare and feel I should give it up. I'm sure it's all hooey about it being a problem, but I can't bring myself to take a chance. (Personally I HATE all the bad information out there about food, to where nothing is safe to eat, because I LOVE to eat. LOVE LOVE LOVE it.)

frenchybowiggler

Artificial sweeteners are very bad for you. Stevia is natural which is actually a plant...much better for you! I love stevita from the health food store... much healthier!

gigglepot88

im struggling to cut coffee out! i tried without sugar but cant... im getting really bad head aches from it.. any suggestions help! and equals and splender tast horrible.

Chood5

I have a Keurig and drink 3 cups of coffee a day with heavy cream. I love my coffee!

princessdracos

I can't count my coffee consumption in cups...I'd have to figure it up by pots. I used to think my dad was crazy when he'd be mowing in 100 degree heat and ask me to get him a cup of coffee, but now I drink it without regard to the weather! When I was finally diagnosed as diabetic (I say finally because for awhile I was the only non-diabetic in my family), I needed something that tasted good to replace sugared sodas, and coffee was it. I switched to grinding my own beans, I rarely add anything to it when I make it at home (but some restaurants and friends' houses are another story), and I don't beat myself up over drinking it like I would a sugary drink. I've never been overly sensitive to caffeine, so I drink it morning and night. It works for me. Figure out what works for YOU!

coconutbuNZ

I will never ever give up my morning coffee but I have stopped drinking the stuff nearly all day long! (no wonder I hardly ever had a good night's sleep). Well done you for cuttin out the sodas! That in itself is a really good change and your body will thank you for it

LilGiselle21

Not cutting back the coffee I use honey instead of sugar and 1% milk instead of creamer

valroys

I drink my coffee black and try not to drink it after noon, the reason I try to cut back on coffee is the jitters it can cause make you think your hungry and than you eat more, coffee is not bad for you, but overeating is!:drinker: :drinker:

littlepinkhearts

I have no intention of cutting coffee out of my day. It's what keeps me going when I don't wanna go.

spookiewon

How many of you have been able to cut coffee out of their diet??? How did you go about doing so? I cut soda out completely, I used to drink a 20oz. bottle of Diet Pepsi every day thinking it was ok because "diet" has no sugar, no carbs etc. I have not been able to cut coffee out.

I drink one small pot of those personal coffeemaker size each day with 2% milk and either 2 Splenda or 4 sugars. I'm wishy washy about Splenda because of all the negative feedback about artificial sweetners. The sugar I'm not so keen on either advice input?

Not sure if I continue drinking coffee out of routine or habit or if it is the actual addiction to caffeine.

Please offer your input/advice.

Thanks all!

Why would you need to? Coffee isn't bad for you. In fact, it's GOOD for you. Try stevia rather than the Splenda if that bothers you, stevia is as natural as sugar. A little 2% milk isn't unhealthy either.

spookiewon

I switched from sugar / chemicals to xylitol (birch sugar) years ago, and do not regret it one bit. Check out this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylitol#Medical_applications

Also, if you're worried about the calories, try drinking it black from time to time. I thought I'd hate it, but I love it! I still love it with cream and xylitol, though.

And if caffeine is your concern, find a good decaf. The one I currently love is Kicking Horse Coffee's Decaf blend. It tastes great!

Furthermore, I'd advise you go with a French press, grind your own beans fresh (weigh them for consistency!) right before brewing. I find I enjoy and appreciate my coffee more than usual if I put in some effort, plus the taste is superior.

Xylitol is actually a sugar alcohol, and it has some amazing health benefits aside from just sweetening. It's known to reduce tooth decay, for instance, and might help with overgrowth of other bacteria as well.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15641497

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7918760

While I appreciate that you appreciate your coffee if you put in a lot of effort and create a ritual surrounding it, I will continue to use my Kuerig for simplicity, because if I had to do what you do for a cup of coffee, I'd never get one. I don't drink coffee in the evening at home because I have a sleep disorder. During the day at work I am interrupted and busy, and I'd never finish making a cup of coffee your way. If I can drop in a k-cup and press a button I might actually get to drink it before it gets cold.

Oh, and coffee without caffeine...no thanks. I've got a k-cup that came with a sampler pack two years ago and it just sits in my k-cup rack... Not gonna drink that sucker but I feel guilty throwing it out...

BaconMD

I switched from sugar / chemicals to xylitol (birch sugar) years ago, and do not regret it one bit. Check out this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylitol#Medical_applications

Also, if you're worried about the calories, try drinking it black from time to time. I thought I'd hate it, but I love it! I still love it with cream and xylitol, though.

And if caffeine is your concern, find a good decaf. The one I currently love is Kicking Horse Coffee's Decaf blend. It tastes great!

Furthermore, I'd advise you go with a French press, grind your own beans fresh (weigh them for consistency!) right before brewing. I find I enjoy and appreciate my coffee more than usual if I put in some effort, plus the taste is superior.

Xylitol is actually a sugar alcohol, and it has some amazing health benefits aside from just sweetening. It's known to reduce tooth decay, for instance, and might help with overgrowth of other bacteria as well.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15641497

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7918760

While I appreciate that you appreciate your coffee if you put in a lot of effort and create a ritual surrounding it, I will continue to use my Kuerig for simplicity, because if I had to do what you do for a cup of coffee, I'd never get one. I don't drink coffee in the evening at home because I have a sleep disorder. During the day at work I am interrupted and busy, and I'd never finish making a cup of coffee your way. If I can drop in a k-cup and press a button I might actually get to drink it before it gets cold.

Oh, and coffee without caffeine...no thanks. I've got a k-cup that came with a sampler pack two years ago and it just sits in my k-cup rack... Not gonna drink that sucker but I feel guilty throwing it out...

It really doesn't take that long to do, but I understand what you're saying. I used to be lazy about my coffee too. I have two Keurig machines and a ton of K-cups. This is about half of my stash:



(Edit: looks like the pic gets cut off on this forum too, so you're really only seeing about 1/3 of my collection, haha).

But sadly, all of this is being neglected now that I've seen the light - or tasted the bean. It's still good coffee, but I tried one of my favorites yesterday after a week or two of only French press, and I noticed quite a difference.

But I won't convince you - and I'm not trying to - just saying, I understand. Too bad I didn't know you in person, because I wouldn't mind parting with a few handfuls of my K-cups.

For what it's worth, I haven't tried a good decaf on Keurig, and I've tried a lot (a couple were OK, but not great). So you may as well toss it.

Anthonydaman

I don't cut them out. Diet soda and coffee are great for losing weight. In my opinion their benefits far out-weight their setbacks.

Agreed

ashley67203

I stopped drinking coffee regularly a few years ago. I drank 5-8 cups a day and had since I was a teenager. I was able to get that down to 2 cups a day but couldn't go cold turkey so I started drinking black and green tea instead. At first I needed 2-3 cups of tea to replace one cup of coffee but I gradually dropped that down to 2 cups total for the day. This took several weeks but it was painless. Now usually I drink 1-2 cups of plain jasmine or green tea in the afternoons because I want it - but I don't need it. I still have coffee every once in awhile but now that my caffeine dependency is gone I'm able to use it as a tool instead of a crutch.