coffee

2

Replies

  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    I'm not sure if there's any science to back this up, but I have a harder time losing weight when regularly drinking black coffee instead of herbal teas. Now that I've drastically reduced my black coffee intake, I'm losing weight again. In no way am I saying that coffee is to blame... In my case, I think it's because drinking more coffee, even black as I mentioned, leads me to personally crave less water and crave other junk.

    Probably not, when I feel like eating something and I know I shouldn't, I grab a cup of coffee. If nothing else, the time it takes me to drink it keep me from eating for a while.
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    Coffee is taking up all of your calories? Is that a huge exaggeration, because even with full fat creamer and real sugar, you'd have to be drinking a ridiculous amount of coffee for it to be taking up all of your calories.

    You can 1) try to train yourself to like it without a bunch of creamer in it, 2) reduce the amount of creamer you use, 3) switch to a sweetener instead of sugar, 4) try the reduced fat/sugar/etc creamers to save some calories, 5) keep drinking coffee the way you like but just drink less of it, or 6) cut out the coffee altogether. There aren't any other options that I can think of. The choice is yours.
  • JenniferIsLosingIt
    JenniferIsLosingIt Posts: 595 Member
    its the stuff i put in it and i hate black coffee

    I either use sugar free creamer Italian Sweet Cream is my favorite. I also use Half n Half (its super low in carbs) and When I use the half n half I add splenda. :)
  • freeoscar
    freeoscar Posts: 82 Member
    if you use milk and sugar, try skipping the sugar and heating up the milk (you can do this in the micro at work). heating the milk makes it sweeter, so you may not need the sugar (or at least less of it). plus it helps keep your coffee hot for longer :smile:
  • heathsab
    heathsab Posts: 13 Member
    I also have had this problem. Do you like it to be really sweet, or really creamy? If the calories in your coffee are coming mostly from the sugar you put in, try either cutting back or switching to equal/splenda/whatever 0 cal sweetener you like. (If you try one and hate the taste, don't give up, because I personally can't stand splenda but love equal, so it might be you'll find one you like.) You can also try getting sugar free syrup - Starbucks and Peet's, for example, both have sugar free vanilla syrup that's very sweet but doesn't have many calories.

    If your calories are coming mostly from the milk or cream you put in (and I feel you on that - I love a creamy cup of coffee) then you have a few options. First, if you're using lots of milk, you may be able to cut back the calories by switching to skim milk or 1%. Skim milk is about 80 calories per cup, while whole milk is about 150, so if you're using lots of milk, that could make a big difference. If you're not using that much milk, you may be able to do what I do, which is use a small amount of half and half (very small, like 1-2 tablespoons) in place of a large amount of milk. That way, you get the creamy-ness, but two tablespoons of half and half doesn't actually have very many calories. In the same spirit, you can try flavored coffee creamers. They're often very sweet and about 30-50 cals per tablespoon, so not that bad as long as you aren't using too much, which I've found I don't need to because they're so potently sweet.

    TL;DR it depends where the calories in your coffee are coming from now and what you like in your coffee, but play around! There are so many variations/things you can get in your coffee that you can definitely experiment and find a lower calorie version of the drink that you like.
  • MoiAussi93
    MoiAussi93 Posts: 1,948 Member
    has anyone tried kust switching to tea

    If you load up the tea with lots of cream and sugar it will be just as many calories as your coffee is now. That will only help if you can drink unsweetened tea.
  • Alli720234
    Alli720234 Posts: 1 Member
    I've started drinking it black, but I add some sugar free (no calorie) flavored syrup and one packet of sweetener. That way I have the flavor of creamer without the calories.
  • csofled
    csofled Posts: 3,022 Member
    I use Eight O'Clock K-Cups with International Delights Fat-Free Sugar-Free Caramel or Vanilla Creamer at just 30 cals per 2 tbsp. I like the idea of adding Vanilla Flavored protein powder....might try that.
  • Sweet_Pandora
    Sweet_Pandora Posts: 459 Member
    I enjoy my coffee black.

    When I give up coffee I wean myself off by having half decaf and half regular coffee and do that for a couple of days and then I switch to green tea.

    Without coffee I find I sleep better and I am less agitated.



  • ereck44
    ereck44 Posts: 1,170 Member
    I drink a lot of coffee--I am a night shift nurse. At first when I started drinking coffee I always drank it with a little milk or creamer. One day a friend talked me into going to a coffee house where I had my first espresso. I will never forget getting served a cup of espresso in a really tiny cup like it was TNT or something. Boy, was it bitter! I added a lot of sugar and lemon just to get it palatable. And buzzed????? I didn't go to sleep until the next day. I digress.....after that I started drinking coffee with less and less cream, really started enjoying that robust, fuzzy feeling that I get from drinking it. I now drink it hot, cold, luke-warm.....I am a night shift nurse..... and I like my coffee.
  • marm1962
    marm1962 Posts: 950 Member
    It most certainly can take up all of her calories, depends on what she puts in it and how many cups per day. I laugh when people say they drink a lot of coffee and are only drinking 4-6 cups a day. I had a 42 cup party pot and 1/2 of that is what I used to drink a day and I'm not kidding. Take 20 cups x's 2 tsps sugar...not measured so more likely 3 tsps and you get 640 + calories and then add the creamer, powdered is what I prefer and I never measured just poured it in ....so probably about 5 tsps per cup, at 10 calories per tsp that's 50 calories x 20 cups and that makes 1640 for coffee alone per day. No, it never kept me awake, in fact I slept better then than I do now. Nowadays I drink 2 cups in the morning and 2 cups at night (except in the winter, then I may have 4 at night), 1 measured tsp of powdered creamer per cup -- just cannot bring myself to drink it black.

    So yes, cut back 1 cup every week or so and then slowly cut back on the amount of stuff you put in it. I went cold turkey with the sugar and had a headache for about a week, but now sugar tastes nasty in my coffee.
  • VitaTofuVegamin
    VitaTofuVegamin Posts: 5 Member

    Probably not, when I feel like eating something and I know I shouldn't, I grab a cup of coffee. If nothing else, the time it takes me to drink it keep me from eating for a while.

    Would love if that worked for me. But, no. I have tried that numerous times and find a correlation that when I drink coffee (black), I tend to have to fight more carb cravings throughout the day than if I resist having the coffee in the first place and go for something like herbal tea. I weaned myself from coffee w/ creamer and artificial sweetener or stevia onto black coffee quite some time ago thinking that would take care of the dilemma, but no.
  • meghanduprey
    meghanduprey Posts: 158 Member
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    its the stuff i put in it and i hate black coffee

    In that case, you might as well drink milk.

    why? I use 10% cream and some sugar...180 calories for my coffee...not just one...in my entire morning coffee binge drinking

    I put 1tbsp dried creamer and 1tbsp sugar and it's only 80 cals, what kind are you using? i can't drink it black either :p i have tried my hardest! i'm also a coffee addict and find it hard to hold back but like you i find it takes up a lot of calories so i try not to have more than 2-3 cups, i TRY to have one in the morning and 1 in the afternoon. i'm going to try to slowly cut down on how much C/S i use. i could probably use a little less sugar and be fine. seriously though, i tried black and it was gross to me. i feel your pain!
  • meghanduprey
    meghanduprey Posts: 158 Member
    I'm not sure if there's any science to back this up, but I have a harder time losing weight when regularly drinking black coffee instead of herbal teas. Now that I've drastically reduced my black coffee intake, I'm losing weight again. In no way am I saying that coffee is to blame... In my case, I think it's because drinking more coffee, even black as I mentioned, leads me to personally crave less water and crave other junk.

    i wonder if it's the caffeine? is it dehydrating you? i find i crave salty stuff if i drink too much cofee
  • cavia
    cavia Posts: 457 Member
    Slowly cut back on the stuff you put in it. I am a complete coffee addict and when I started on mfp I realized I was drinking 1200calories/day in coffee (Tim's extra large triple triples all day long). I cut from 18% cream to 10%. After a while I cut the 10% to 5% and I weigh out the sugar I put into my coffee. 2 years later in maintenance I've gone back to 10% because I love the creaminess and have extra calories to play with. I can also drink it black now when I'm at work or out and save the additions for when I'm home. 2 years ago if you told me I'd be drinking black coffee I'd tell you you were crazy. Baby steps, op, baby steps.
  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
    I'm with everyone that says cut back on how much cream, sugar, etc, you're adding. You'll get used to it, really! I've reached the point where I just put a splash of 1% milk in my coffee to thicken it up and cool it a little and that's all I need. Minimal calories and lots of yumminess. Plus it helps curb my appetite! Win all around :)

    ~Lyssa
  • courtneystricker
    courtneystricker Posts: 26 Member
    good morning i went to the store yesterday and bought some nonfat milk and i am trying a cup of coffee with only the milk in it wish me luck
  • ValerieMartini2Olives
    ValerieMartini2Olives Posts: 3,024 Member
    Good god. How much crap are you putting in your coffee? I put in less than a tablespoon of sugar free creamer in my coffee and I'll drink numerous cups a day and still be well under 100 calories
  • mmsilvia
    mmsilvia Posts: 459 Member
    festerw wrote: »
    Drink it black, I still enjoy a cup every once in awhile with cream and sugar but 99% of the time I drink black.

    This is exactly what I do!! I need coffee <3
  • FitForL1fe
    FitForL1fe Posts: 1,872 Member
    Good god. How much crap are you putting in your coffee? I put in less than a tablespoon of sugar free creamer in my coffee and I'll drink numerous cups a day and still be well under 100 calories

    lol real talk, might as well just give up and go get a frappuccino from Starbucks at that point...
  • HollandOats
    HollandOats Posts: 202 Member
    I stopped drinking coffee at work, because I was not moderating the half n half or cream and aside from all those added calories, the added dairy seemed to congest me.

    I now have one large (32oz) iced coffee with Splenda and extra milk from Dunkin (whole) or McDonalds (2%) on my way to work, then I drink black or green tea throughout the day for my caffeine fix, sweetened with one packet of whatever generic aritifcial sweetner is around.

    I often get another 32 oz iced coffee after work :~) It feels like a treat... And I count it as a snack rather than a beverage.
  • jaqcan
    jaqcan Posts: 498 Member
    I use Unsweetened Vanilla Almond milk, splenda, and a little vanilla extract. A whole cup of almond milk is 30 calories. I don't like using it as milk otherwise, but it's great in coffee!
  • courtneystricker
    courtneystricker Posts: 26 Member
    i drink maybe 6-8 cups a day but the problem is that i like the sugar and cream in it i think i like the sugar more than cream and over do it on the sugar and i really like to drink the Starbucks carmel frapacino
  • courtneystricker
    courtneystricker Posts: 26 Member
    i want to try the almond milk idea
  • ncscott11
    ncscott11 Posts: 100 Member
    There are lots of options to have your coffee without it being black. Try a coconut milk or almond milk, they don't have too many calories and you can add a lot. Try switching to a splenda or sweet n low (or something of that nature). There are also fat free/sugar free creamers you can use that are only 15 calories a serving. Also, there a ton of flavored Kcups that are little to no calories you can look into. I could never give up my coffee!
  • FitForL1fe
    FitForL1fe Posts: 1,872 Member
    drinking that much coffee blows my mind unless you're like a college senior or a lawyer or something else with insane stress levels and performance demands
  • kskinnyperfect
    kskinnyperfect Posts: 28 Member
    I drink my coffee black with 2 splendas. Gets the job done and 5 calories tops
  • Nuke_64
    Nuke_64 Posts: 406 Member
    OP, according to your diary, your coffee's are almost 150 calories per 8oz cup. That's more than a Coke. Looking at your diary, there aren't too many coffee entries.

    Yes, you can fit caloric drinks into a deficit diet, but 6-8 150 calorie drinks won't work. It looks like you are trying other options; I hope you find one that works.

    I drink mine with sweetener only, always have, and I don't bother tracking the 6-8 cups I drink.
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    I find black coffee to be a great substitute when I want to consume something but don't want or need food.

    Relevant:
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  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    I'll never understand why people have to screw up a perfectly good cup of coffee by adding a bunch of stuff to it.

    Black coffee, all day, every day.

    (note: I won't begrudge you a bit o' Irish Whiskey in it every once in a while)
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