Coffee coffee coffee! Is it packing on the pounds?

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Replies

  • ashleyjohnsondo
    ashleyjohnsondo Posts: 1
    Measure exactly how much cream and sugar you are putting in each cup per day. This is the only way to retrain your mind to accept that its probably not worth the amount of calories you are taking in and thus sabotaging your weight loss goal. It is estimated if most Americans would drop the equivalent of one regular soda per day(about 140 calories) they would drop 15 lbs in a year on average. You are most likely drinking this many calories in that much coffee. With growing insight into the calories, eventually it won't taste as good as it does now.
  • FlaxMilk
    FlaxMilk Posts: 3,452 Member


    I have the activitey set as low as it can go until I set myself a regular routine.
    I think I have it at 1.5 a week?

    I strongly encourage you to set it to at least lightly active and 1 lb a week. You can add on exercise calories too. Think of it this way: you can't take care of the little ones properly if you are burned out, and the first few years are hugely important. They are more sensitive to how mom is doing than we give them credit for. They have to keep an eye on their caretaker, their survival depends on it.

    I'm not someone who hates 1200 calories by the way, that's my calorie goal as well. I'm not going to tell starvation mode at you. But for you, it really seems you are not getting what you need. Do you mind sharing your weight? It's hard to tell you what you should eat without that. If you don't want to share, that's cool, but please consider running MFP with the settings I suggested. You will lose weight on whatever comes up from the changes. MFP works, without all the going to other websites to calculate this and that or following this user's or that user's special programs and spreadsheets. Keep it simple.
  • slenderbecky
    slenderbecky Posts: 14
    I found that for me, coffee negatively affected my weight loss in a couple of ways:

    1. I never liked it black, and always added plenty of calories & sugar to it.
    2. It made me crave more sweets.
    3. It made me capable of getting by on less sleep, so I'd be in a chronically sleep-deprived state and always needing it. Being short on sleep negatively affects weight loss in itself, and also when I'm sleep-deprived, I'm more likely to seek comfort and stimulation in foods.

    As far as coffee addicts go, I was pretty light - one or two large mugs per day. But since quitting coffee I find that I just can't make myself stay up as late at night, so I'm getting more sleep, and I wake up with a lot more energy and have more energy throughout the day.

    If you want to wean yourself off of it, do it gradually so that you don't get headaches...I went from 2 cups coffee per day to 1 cup coffee + 1 cup black tea, then to 2 cups black tea, then 1 cup black tea + 1 cup herbal tea, and now I'm to 1 cup green tea + 1 cup herbal tea. I'm almost totally off caffeine and I'm sooooo happy I made the switch, and haven't had a single headache in the process!
  • Jenny_Taylia
    Jenny_Taylia Posts: 540 Member
    Large double double please!! Im addicted to coffee. And I just cant drink it with milk or skim milk instead of cream..Just cant stand the taste! I try to make it at home instead of going to Tim Hortons but it doesnt help having the place across the street. How much is coffee effecting my weight loss? I drink about 2-4 a day

    It's all about what you put in it!! I've been using coffeemate powdered creamer instead of half n half, that along with a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and sometimes a wee bit of almond extract. It comes out to about 58 calories. I limit myself to 2 cups a day....so this doesn't cut into my calorie allowance over much.


    Months ago I was drinking 3 or4 coffees from Timmies a day but I now drink more from home. I get coffeemate cream as well but the Coffeemate double double kind so I dont have to worry about adding sugar.
  • adriadawn19
    adriadawn19 Posts: 174 Member
    according to what i found online there are about 150 calories in a medium double double at tim hortons which means if you are drinking 3-4 a day that is any where from 450-600 calories a day. maybe you are consuming more calories than you realize...
  • Treece68
    Treece68 Posts: 780 Member
    Some days I drink half my calories in coffee drinks and vitamin water. Those days I usual trade coffee drinks for food not relay healthy but sometimes it happens. If you do it every day and stay within your calorie range how much can it hurt as long as you drink some water too. And add in an orange or something lol.
  • gsmithnp
    gsmithnp Posts: 139 Member
    Give up coffee?!?! BLASPHEMY!!!

    Seriously, I refuse to give up my coffee. That being said, I have dramatically cut back on the amount I drink, and switched from regular creamer (liquid kind only--powdered creamer is only for dire emergencies for me) to low-fat. I have also gradually reduced the amount of creamer that I use. Maybe someday I'll be able to drink it black.

    I did give up my Starbucks habit. I've come to realize that I have to treat Starbucks like a recovering alcoholic does a bar: I can't even let myself go near it. Even though I switched from a grande white mocha to a tall skinny vanilla latte (and at 90 calories I don't think that's too bad). It was the banana bread that would get me. I LOOOOOVE their banana bread, especially when it's fresh. But at 490 calories and $4 a slice it was breaking my wallet and my waistline. I think it's been 3 months now and I've gone there once. Now I'm making my own coffee at home and staying away from that vile, wonderful place.
  • healthynotthin
    healthynotthin Posts: 223 Member
    I weigh 116 pounds and drink at least two cups of coffee per day.

    Just make sure it fits into your calorie goals and you'll be fine!
  • Gramps251
    Gramps251 Posts: 738 Member
    Some days I drink half my calories in coffee drinks and vitamin water. Those days I usual trade coffee drinks for food not relay healthy but sometimes it happens. If you do it every day and stay within your calorie range how much can it hurt as long as you drink some water too. And add in an orange or something lol.

    Truely bad advise.
  • whodatlixxie
    whodatlixxie Posts: 32
    The headache may not be a migraine - may be caffeine withdrawal. Slowing reduce caffeine over a period of time!
  • VeganZombie13
    VeganZombie13 Posts: 297
    I drink coffee everyday an I'm still losing weight.
  • BrunetteRunner87
    BrunetteRunner87 Posts: 591 Member
    I drink lots of coffee (I love the taste). I feel like life is to short not to use cream, so I just make sure it fits into my calories for the day.
    When I drink at home I've been using Over the Moon milk. Very creamy and I feel like I don't need as much.
  • Pixi_Rex
    Pixi_Rex Posts: 1,676 Member
    Go to tim hortons.ca figure out the nutrition on that double double multiply by 4 and see the calorie count. - and it depends on size. I was at 2-3 XL's (the new XL's - you know the bigger ones)

    That is what stopped my from drinking double doubles. I dropped to a 1 and 1 and then to a 1 milke 1 sugar and thenevenatually just to black and honestly I now prefer it that way. It takes time to get used to it but it is so worth it. It saves so many calories.
  • MommaKit79
    MommaKit79 Posts: 852
    If you're putting two tablespoons of half and half into each coffee, at 40 calories, then you are adding between 80 and 160 calories per day through cream.


    Im having a hard time getting the calories. My problem isnt that I eat too much is that i dont eat enough and when I do eat its junk. I had two visalus shakes yesterday 2 coffees and dinner and still only got up to 800 ish cals. :S


    Very tired 24/7 and very low energy...I have 4 little ones and the baby doesnt go to sleep until around midnight and then I finally get my ¨me time¨ for an hour. I need to fix that I know.

    If I go a while without coffee I get a bad migraine and by the 3rd sip of coffee the migraine is gone.

    ^^ Understand completely!

    I had a good friend of mine with the same problem. It is rough but, all the coffee that you drink could actually be making you MORE tired. She was forced, by the Dr, to cut out coffee completely for awhile and after the first inital impact of withdraw, she felt much better.

    Start cutting your coffee back a little bit at a time or start doing some HalfCaf.. YES, you are addicted to caffiene!! I have that problem too but, I dont drink nearly that much. I have since limited it to in the morning. The migraine is part of Caffiene Withdraw! I noticed it takes a couple days for it to hit me now and not just a day since I cut back.

    I am not saying get rid of coffee completely but, you have to start cutting back. I dont think I could EVERY completely give it up but, I notice on the days I have more caffiene, I "fall" much quicker and sooner then on the days I dont.

    GOOD LUCK!!!!
  • Shayztar
    Shayztar Posts: 415 Member
    According to Google "Tim Horton" is a USA & Canadian coffee and doughnut chain - across the road, huh? Have you considered moving?

    Hehehe Hahaha! As a fellow Canuck, I can confirm that there is NO WHERE you can move without a Tim's being across the street! LOL

    On my 10 minute drive to the mall, I pass 3 walk-in Tim Horton's and 4 drive thru Tim Horton's at various Petro Canada stations. Quite literally cannot avoid them. That's like a crack-head walking past 7 dealers with large neon lights on the way to work.

    To the OP. If you can fit the coffee in your macros, then there shouldn't be any problem with it. It just means that the calories you could have used towards eating clean and healthy foods is being used up to drink nasty fats and sugars.

    I am also a coffee addict (3 cups a day usually) but I slowly made the switch from double-double with cream and sugar to a pack of sweetener and 1% milk for colour. Took 9 months tho. LOL When I get to maintainance, I plan on dropping the sweetener and adding back a little real sugar.

    Good luck!
  • s_wicked
    s_wicked Posts: 28 Member
    [/quote]
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    If I go a while without coffee I get a bad migraine and by the 3rd sip of coffee the migraine is gone.
    [/quote]

    sounds like caffeine addiction. my friend went through it with mountain dew. I think its time to slowly back away from the coffee!!!!
  • lbenson83
    lbenson83 Posts: 10 Member
    Just drink it without cream/milk. And I mean, be persistant. You will drink it this way and you will like it.

    It's what I did. And now sometimes I put some milk in or go and get a skinny vanilla latte or something (like once in the past 6 months) and it was a nice treat.

    I am sat here drinking coffee without anything for 0 cals. Woman up. ;)

    I have been drinking my coffee without any cream or sugar for two weeks and i am starting to enjoy it more.
  • SomeoneSomeplace
    SomeoneSomeplace Posts: 1,094 Member
    If you're getting a double double you're hardly drinking coffee you're drinking sugary cream with a little bit of a coffee flavor.

    Maybe get your caffeine some other way?

    If you need that much cream to get rid of the coffee flavor you aren't really a coffee addict and you're consuming a ton of sugar, fat and calories in a liquid form which I always advise against.

    I get and enjoy my coffee black. I love black the taste of it and the only thing that suffers because of it is my wallet lol

    Also maybe if you're at Dunkin Donts or Mcdonald's they have sugar free flavors all of Dunkins minus the syrups like Pumpkin and Mocha & at Mcd's sugar free vanilla they all have no cals my favorite is the Coconut at Dunkin
  • bsuew
    bsuew Posts: 628 Member
    I like coffee but have found that the powdered creamora works and I add Torani sugar free classic hazelnut and/or vanilla flavorings . I don't have to use much creamer that way and it's really good!
  • giggitygoo
    giggitygoo Posts: 1,978 Member
    I have no idea what a double double is (in CA that's the name of a 2 patty 2 cheese burger), but I can bet that you would save a lot of money if you started making these at home.

    I drink homemade lattes daily (sometimes twice). They're 79 calories, and save me $3.50 a piece. That works out to a savings of $1596.87 A YEAR, assuming 25% of the time I will have 2. My guy drinks just as much or more than me, so we can safely double that number.

    It took me a while to get used to the taste of steamed milk and espresso over sweet cream and coffee, but I MUCH prefer it now.
  • atsteele
    atsteele Posts: 1,358 Member
    If you want to start a riot, just mention that people shouldn't drink coffee or that they are drinking it the wrong way.

    Personally, I'll give up my coffee when you can pry it out of my cold dead hands. ;)
  • pichild
    pichild Posts: 72 Member
    Like you I can't loose the cream in favor of skim or regular milk...when I started on MFP I was fitting it into my day at 367 calories for a 32 oz cup...I then switched to a fat free creamer and sugar and splenda...when I determined that low fat was not going to be the most productive for me I went low Carb ...I use the sugar free French vanilla liquid creamer from international delight with 1 pack of splenda about 2 tblsp for my 32 oz coffee and have reduced my calories from 367 to 44...in the past week I added sugar to see how it affected the taste and it really doesn't... that being said...I follow a lower Carb plan so the 4 grams of fat in my coffee don't really hurt me...I recommend finding the diet that works for you...I am not typically a big eater and previously was getting most of my calories in liquid form...when I got rid of the sugary sodas in favor of diet or water I dropped a bunch of weight... now I get most of my calories from food...generally speaking I do not eat the recommended calories from MFP but without the drinks I rarely go over...this works for me...find the right path for you and follow it...develop a support system here on MFP and keep on tracking...without my support system here I would have quit 20lbs ago when I got stalled...good luck to you in your journey.... feel free to add me
  • morseck
    morseck Posts: 9 Member
    You can do yourself a favor and turn the coffee into nutrition. It sounds wacky I know, but I have, for about 3 months done this. I would, in my past, have a coffee in the AM with milk/splenda. I exchanged the milk and splenda for a scoop of Whey Protein. It add sweetness, flavor and creaminess. Now it is a, less than 150 calorie, breakfast!
  • pwnderosa
    pwnderosa Posts: 280 Member
    Skim milk & a nice selection of sugar-free Torani syrups for me. My coffee calories have gone from about 200-250 to about 50-75 per cup now. I also do half Caf/Half Decaf now since my hubby had to reduce caffeine on doctor's orders. I'm quite used to this now and really glad I changed my habit, that way too much of my daily calorie allowance gobbled up before breakfast for me!
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    If you want to start a riot, just mention that people shouldn't drink coffee or that they are drinking it the wrong way.

    Personally, I'll give up my coffee when you can pry it out of my cold dead hands. ;)

    :drinker:
  • cbrunger
    cbrunger Posts: 10 Member
    no worries. i drink coffee all the time. it's not the coffee it's the cream. sugar free flavored creamer seems to be the lowest in calories that i found. even lower than fat free. but it depends on what you need the most to be cut out of your diet. i keep one at work and one at home. keep enjoying that coffee!
  • ihave42cats
    ihave42cats Posts: 37
    i can't live without coffee...therefor i don't log it. but i have made major changes. i used to drink half a cup of coffee with 1/4 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of heavy sugary flavored cream.

    i recently switched to 6 oz of coffee with 2 oz of low fat milk. i drink 2 cups of it on a work day, and x cups of it on days i don't work. i keep my weight loss goal at 2 lbs, but expect to loose maybe 1 lbs. i hate giving up calories for coffee.
  • hughtwalker
    hughtwalker Posts: 2,213 Member
    I gave up caffeine for 3 months

    No headaches

    Didn't sleep any better

    Didn't feel less apprehensive about "stuff"

    Back on the caffeine enriched brew - utter contentment


    We tend not to put cream in ours over here, maybe this helps
  • blakejohn
    blakejohn Posts: 1,129 Member
    just had a cup
  • mmmandax
    mmmandax Posts: 5
    coffee addict as well! don't know about you, but i'd rather have a really good, just the way i like it cup of coffee than one that's been modified to be lower in calories just so that i can have it as much as i normally do. yes, weight loss is about making healthy swaps but there are some things that are meant to be enjoyed as is! you only get one life girly, have your coffee and maybe try half cups of coffee if you think two cups would be too painful instead. four half cups or two full cups, same amount but it wont feel like it if you sip it slow. mind tricks and moderation can be well worthwhile. (:

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