Having a difficult time with coffee!

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cmwanwrjw751
cmwanwrjw751 Posts: 18 Member
in Motivation and Support
I am a coffee addict. I drink coffee all day. With 3 young children at home (the older two are out of school for the summer) coffee is the only thing that gets me through the day sometimes. I've lowered my intake to 5 cups a day and lowered the amount of sugar I put in it. I need some advice on how to further cut out coffee and the sugar that goes with it.
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  • minniemoo1972
    minniemoo1972 Posts: 295 Member
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    Artificial sweetener and don't cut the coffee. ...why cut coffee....medical reason you need too?
  • abitofbliss
    abitofbliss Posts: 198 Member
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    Hello - I was in a very similar boat until the beginning of this year. I would drink coffee all damn day and love it. To be perfectly honest, once I started to track all of my calories in MFP something happened. I added my 2 small creamers into my diary and realized each one is 25cals. I would use 2 per cup and drink between 5 - 6 cups a day. Once I realized I was adding 250 additional calories just by drinking coffee I quit cold turkey and haven't had any since. I didn't have any headaches or problems which I imagine some people may experience but I did not.

    Since then, I have craved a cup sometimes. And I am even considering having 1 cup per day before my workout for extra energy but even so - I thought it would have been the hardest thing ever. It wasn't. Now I drink a gallon of water and maybe 4 - 5 cups of green tea a day.
  • Cchioles
    Cchioles Posts: 276 Member
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    Slow And Steady! Even If It MEans Cut Out Only Half A Cup At A Time For A Week Or Two, Than Eventually Switching To Decaf, Or Maybe Tea Instead... Just Be Mindful Of Your Choices And Youll Get It Cut Down In No TimE
  • gc384
    gc384 Posts: 33 Member
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    I need at least 3 coffees before midday then Im good. No real reason to cut it out. Ive stopped drinking sodas completely so one small spoon of sugar in my coffee isn't a big deal. I think it is all about finding a balance.
  • quiarga
    quiarga Posts: 408 Member
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    Do you have a single serve coffee maker or do you make a whole pot every day? Cutting back on the amount of coffee I make, means I'll drink less. I use a french press every morning and it's two full mugs of coffee. Some days I drink both and some days I only drink one. Also, several years ago I switched to a sugar free creamer and measure it with a little measuring cup I saved from a liquid Tylenol bottle. 15 ml per serving, and its enough. Usually if I have a second cup, I don't even add more creamer. Getting a flavorful delicious coffee is all you really need! If you need a pick me up throughout the day do something to get your heart rate up for a few minutes. It's more effective than the coffee anyway!
  • prettyleelee
    prettyleelee Posts: 236 Member
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    I have a huge problem with this as well. I love coffee and I love Sugar oh so much. I found it is a huge driver to my sugar cravings. I am trying to completely cut it out unfortunately I hold weight in my stomach and it is from my sugar intake.
  • recaldwell
    recaldwell Posts: 1 Member
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    If you're really after that caffeine fix (like me), you can try green tea or those water enhancers with caffeine. Crystal light, Propel, even Walmart and Kroger have their own versions and I would think other stores do too.
  • cmwanwrjw751
    cmwanwrjw751 Posts: 18 Member
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    quiarga wrote: »
    Do you have a single serve coffee maker or do you make a whole pot every day? Cutting back on the amount of coffee I make, means I'll drink less. I use a french press every morning and it's two full mugs of coffee. Some days I drink both and some days I only drink one. Also, several years ago I switched to a sugar free creamer and measure it with a little measuring cup I saved from a liquid Tylenol bottle. 15 ml per serving, and its enough. Usually if I have a second cup, I don't even add more creamer. Getting a flavorful delicious coffee is all you really need! If you need a pick me up throughout the day do something to get your heart rate up for a few minutes. It's more effective than the coffee anyway!

    I have the coffe maker that has a single serving side and a full pot side. I usually make a full pot in the morning because my husband will have a cup while getting ready for work and then will fill his travel mug too. I started trying to use stevia instead of sugar but it has a horrible metallic aftertaste.
  • cmwanwrjw751
    cmwanwrjw751 Posts: 18 Member
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    Thank you everyone for the suggestions.
  • cmwanwrjw751
    cmwanwrjw751 Posts: 18 Member
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    recaldwell wrote: »
    If you're really after that caffeine fix (like me), you can try green tea or those water enhancers with caffeine. Crystal light, Propel, even Walmart and Kroger have their own versions and I would think other stores do too.

    I will look into those. Thanks!
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    minniemoo1972 wrote: »
    Artificial sweetener and don't cut the coffee. ...why cut coffee....medical reason you need too?

    ^ This. Do you have a reason you need to cut it out entirely?

    I am for sure wary of having too much caffeine, and for me 5 would be too many - jittery and no sleep at that level.

    Just keep cutting back gradually, and start acclimating your taste to less sweetener, or artificial sweetener. I am now able to put one TBL of sweetened creamer in per cup, so one cup is 35 cals. Then I have mint green tea for any further cups, which is zero cals and less caffeine. I know lots of people who over time came to enjoy their coffee black. It really is about baby steps - every week a little less coffee, a little less sweetener cals, until you get to a level you're comfortable with. Good luck!
  • beauarmstrong75
    beauarmstrong75 Posts: 2 Member
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    silk makes an almond creamer with hazelnut flavor that only has 15 calories a serving
  • Pattycake755
    Pattycake755 Posts: 59 Member
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    I used to drink coffee ALL day. I am not sure if I drank under 5 cups a day! In the last two years I slowly cut down on the white sugar and cut out ALL other sugary drinks and I lost 18lbs without trying. Then when I joined MFP in March 2016, I started drinking coffee without sugar and with one serving or 1/2 serving of a flavored cream. I had to ask myself: "Do I really want to keep coffee in my life?" I did. I l love to have coffee. At first it was bitter to me without the sugar, but as I cut out sweets and other junk food, the cream in my coffee became sweet enough.

    Black Coffee has zero calories. Sugar and cream have calories. I log my coffee and my cream every time I drink it. Logging it will help you to see how many calories you are consuming drinking coffee. Eventually, you will decide if the coffee is worth the calories. The calories usually stop me from drinking more than two cups.
  • MoveitlikeManda
    MoveitlikeManda Posts: 846 Member
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    i used to drink around 18 mugs a day, all with 2 sugars in, im now down to 5 mugs a day and they have half a sugar in and as of next week I will be cutting out all the sugar.

    it was hard at first but you really do soon adjust to the less sugar (inless your my husband who has 4 sugars in a small mug of tea...its like vile lol)

    I now cant tell the differnce from my half a sugar coffee to how i used to have it and if my husband forgets and puts 2 sugars in its way too sweet for me and i cant drink it.

    if you really cant drop the sugar try sweeteners there are loads you can try till you find the one you like ( i didnt like the taste hence cut down instead)
  • DKG28
    DKG28 Posts: 299 Member
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    a really good cup of coffee is not bitter, but our average everyday stuff tends to be so I use 2 or 3 drops of liquid sucralose. No noticeable artificial taste with the concentrated form I use, unless I put too much. I use 2 TBSP fairlife 2% milk for 15 calories. I find fairlife milk to be a bit thicker and richer in texture as regular milk, and it contains more protein, cause it's filtered in a certain way. The purpose of milk in coffee is to cut the acidity. non-dairy creamers don't seem to do that. I put just enough in for it to do its job. For extra flavor, to more resemble the fancy lattes, but not add calories I add a few drops of vanilla extract.
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
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    junodog1 wrote: »
    Get a good coffee and drink it black.

    Yep. Coffee is just 5 calories even at a place like Starbucks. Coffee flavored milk and cream can be several hundred calories. Drink coffee.
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
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    If I were to give up coffee, people would get hurt.

    Luckily I enjoy mine black. If I were you I'd just transition to artifical sweetener. You can do a gradual mix to help your palate adjust as needed.
  • cmwanwrjw751
    cmwanwrjw751 Posts: 18 Member
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    MissusMoon wrote: »
    If I were to give up coffee, people would get hurt.

    Luckily I enjoy mine black. If I were you I'd just transition to artifical sweetener. You can do a gradual mix to help your palate adjust as needed.

    I feel like that too. I love the idea of a gradual mix. I will try that. Thank you!
  • RoseTheWarrior
    RoseTheWarrior Posts: 2,035 Member
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    I feel that 5 cups a day may be a bit much, but 2-3 cups a day is perfectly fine. No reason to cut it out completely. Personally, I have my morning coffee black, and one cup in the afternoon with real sugar and cream. It's my daily "treat" because I LOVE COFFEE. I used to drink pot fulls, but my nerves can't take that any more. It can cause hypertension if too much is consumed I believe.

    P.S. Decaf is gross.

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