Caffeine to combat hunger

Enny2405
Enny2405 Posts: 97 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I found that on the days that I had a Sugar Free Red Bull in the mornings that I eat a lot less. Drinking them is a bit hard to stomach early in the morning due to the unique taste. I went to the Chemist on the weekend and purchased some No-Doz Plus (100mg Cafferine + B Vitamins) and have started taking half a tablet in the mornings and already found that they help keep my hunger a bay a lot more (and keep me a little more alert :wink: ). I cannot stand the taste of coffee :tongue: so never had a caffeine addiction but thought this is a calorie free way to try and control my eating. Anyone else use caffeine for this purpose?

Replies

  • pineygirl
    pineygirl Posts: 322 Member
    I have but not in a healthy way at all. I used to substitute coffee for food at work all day. I'd have coffee for breakfast, coffee for lunch and coffee in the mid afternoon, and maybe a cup on the way home. This way I didn't have to eat. It kept my from feeling hungry at all. I also gained weight this way because I'd binge when I got home, and also on weekends when I was bored and didn't have any reason not to eat.

    So yes caffeine can be an appetite suppressant, as most stimulants are. But I think learning how to eat right and have self control is a better way to lose weight and keep it off.
  • JavaSparrow
    JavaSparrow Posts: 51 Member
    I don't substitute coffee for meals often. If i do, i make sure to actually eat other meals and small snacks to prevent overeating at night. Or eat a snack with my coffee :3
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    This makes sense. It's a stimulant. Remember the stacker pills they used to combine caffiene and ephedra mind you they destroy the heart, but they killed your hunger. Who knows what damage I did to my heart with those things.
  • RepsnSets
    RepsnSets Posts: 805 Member
    I can drink a strong coffee before bed and it has no effect on me. Also doesnt supress my hunger :( lol
  • tanzz9
    tanzz9 Posts: 37
    I too have used coffee as a meal replacement previously. It's part of the reason I put on weight! I did it without really thinking, looking after a baby meant it was easier for me to have a coffee than it was to have a meal. I would go all day without anything but coffee, but then i would be starving at night and eat too much, and if course it was always the wrong food too.

    I am now making a conscious effort to eat more, and drink less coffee.
  • AmeliaIrene
    AmeliaIrene Posts: 8
    I hate the taste of coffee, too, but have recently been trying to choke down a cup mid-morning to help sustain me until lunch. I go to the gym in the mornings (around 6 or 7) and am at work by 7 or 8, so when I have breakfast there is a BIG gap until lunch. I find that if I can drink a cup of coffee around 9:30/10 it helps me not be starving for lunch. Then, when I get to lunch, I don't stuff my face.

    I absolutely HATE coffee, so I'm not too nervous about abusing it. Has anyone been successful using it, in SMALL quantities, to curb your appetite?
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    Add some ephedrine to that caffeine to really kill your hunger
  • jerber160
    jerber160 Posts: 2,607 Member
    I hate the taste of coffee, too, but have recently been trying to choke down a cup mid-morning to help sustain me until lunch. I go to the gym in the mornings (around 6 or 7) and am at work by 7 or 8, so when I have breakfast there is a BIG gap until lunch. I find that if I can drink a cup of coffee around 9:30/10 it helps me not be starving for lunch. Then, when I get to lunch, I don't stuff my face.

    I absolutely HATE coffee, so I'm not too nervous about abusing it. Has anyone been successful using it, in SMALL quantities, to curb your appetite?


    any special brand you hate? I'm having some nice italian right now with a shot of frangelico.. gnite all
  • RobynMWilson
    RobynMWilson Posts: 1,540 Member
    Meth is effective too. Add chain smoking and you're good to go!
  • Bettyeditor
    Bettyeditor Posts: 327 Member
    I don't understand the question. Why would you want to curb your hunger?

    If you are hungry, eat. :) The body gets hungry for a reason. If you eat a healthy normal diet with good protein/carb/fat balance and especially if you use snacks between meals so that you eat every 2-3 hours you can eat fewer calories than you burn and lose weight and never be plagued with ravenous hunger, you will just have the natural rhythm of gentle hunger and satiation.

    {Edited}

    OP: My apologies. I didn't read your questios carefully enough and I assumed you were trying to skip breakfast but not be hungry. :P Again: my apologies for making assumptions.

    You have a totally valid question about what to do at breakfast to set yourself up for a day of healthy eating and appropriate hunger. I find that when I eat breakfast right away after rising and eat at least 20 g of protein, I have a good eating day and only mild hunger at the right times. Of course, I also drink coffee with breakfast and take B vitamins so those things might be helping me too. LOL But adding more protein certainly made a noticably difference for me.
  • Tricialew32
    Tricialew32 Posts: 96 Member
    When I get too hungry I drink coffee....and 4 eggs....sometimes nitrate free bacon or two giant homemade pork sausages and grilled eggplant. Seriously....just eat!
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    I don't understand the question. Why would you want to curb your hunger?

    If you are hungry, eat. :) The body gets hungry for a reason. If you eat a healthy normal diet with good protein/carb/fat balance and especially if you use snacks between meals so that you eat every 2-3 hours you can eat fewer calories than you burn and lose weight and never be plagued with hunger.

    I think the real question you need to ask yourself, is why are you trying to ignore the natural, healthy request from your body for fuel and nutrients known as "hunger"?

    Oh simply eating every 2-3 hrs curbs hunger and you will never be hungry ever? awesome
  • smuennink
    smuennink Posts: 3
    Caffeine actually makes me eat more I have noticed. I thinks its better to eat healthy and work out. :smile:
  • Enny2405
    Enny2405 Posts: 97 Member
    Maybe I should have added that I am not skipping meals or replacing them - I just found that the caffeine helps me go a bit longer between snacks and when I do snack - I find I eat a little less as I am not as hungy. Thank you for your feedback & comments.
  • Docmahi
    Docmahi Posts: 1,603 Member
    There is nothing unhealthy about caffeine - as long as your aren't getting rebound vasodilation headaches I don't see what the issue is. I used caffeine pills routinely during the basic science portion of med school and it did curb my hunger to a degree - that being said you may notice that effect now but you will build a tolerance to them so I would cycle off caffeine for one week after a big block of exams or something.


    It's a stimulant, be wary of its tolerance and rebound headaches. But if you are hungry then eat - in my personal experience my body adapted to the appetite killing effects pretty quickly

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