Caffine
 

Hi everyone. I am new to this forum and I am so glad to have found you. I have been on MRC for 86 days and am down 42 lbs. This is my second go round with MRC, I quit a few years ago due to some stress in my life but I love this program, it works so well for me.

My question, I love coffe and tea and love my caffine but lately my loss has really slowed, only 1lb this week, what is the reasoning behind the no caffine rule and could it be the culprit of my stall?

Thanks
Sherral

Hi,
I have not given up caffeine on program (I know this is a no-no). There are different theories for why they don't want you to have it. 1. People tend to put cream and sugar in their coffee and it also triggers a "snack" with the coffee. 2. The appetite suppressants/supplements have caffeine and they don't want you to OD.

You may just be going through a natural plateau. Several times during my loss, I would go through 1-2 weeks of little/no loss despite eating on plan, followed by a 3lb loss the next week. The body doesn't lose at regular, linear intervals. Good luck!

at my food class on friday the counselor told us we can still have one cup of coffee or one diet soda with caffeine a day if we like, it doesn't have to be off limits so maybe that varies center by center but I had already weaned myself off of it during preconditioning so I don't want to go back because I'm feeling really great these days, but it's good info to know! :)

I never really gave up caffeine, but I did reduce it significantly. I always allowed myself one mug of the real thing in the morning, but after that I went to decaffeinated. Truth is, that with all the water, it didn't leave much room for anything else anyway. But for me, this just seemed to allow me to sleep better and help keep my blood pressure in a normal range for the first time in YEARS! So that made it worth it to just keep it limited!

I never gave up caffeine either (from diet soda) and it never did a thing to my losing the first time. I have always only drunk decaf for coffee so that didn't matter so much to me as my diet mt dew did! lol

I never gave up caffine either and infact also use sugar free coffeemate in my coffee. Everyone's body reacts differently to food items. Looking at how well you are doing I doubt it is the caffine. The only way to REALLY know is to switch to decaf for a few days.

I asked about why no cafeine and was told that it can bring on other cravings and make you hungry. I heard this was true with diet sodas but I have not 100% given up cafeine all together. I might have just one drink a day (diet dp or tea) but thats it. :)

It frustrates me that different centers say and do different things (my center NEVER has many specials besides me having to buy a ton of supplements that I don't want to do).

Thanks everyone! Iced coffee is my addiction, but I will keep it to just 1 in the afternoon.

Not a big deal for me
 

I fought with myself for months over the caffeine issue. I decided to continue having my two cups of regular coffee in the morning, and stay decaffeinated the rest of the day. The big thing for me pre-MRC was regular Coke (in the red can) and regular coffee with flavored creamer.

I'm like Joy, I sometimes don't even finish my second cup of coffee in the morning because I'm already getting into the water. When I first started MRC, I drank my coffee black for a short time, then started adding Splenda. Later I discovered Splenda Flavors for Coffee ... it is so great to still have that note of French vanilla, it has completely taken the place of flavored creamer in my life. My issue with the creamer is that it's available in sugar-free or fat-free, but not both. Finally I decided to do without.

I have not found that those two doses of caffeine make any real difference at all in my weight loss. I am "knocking on the door" for losing 50 pounds, hopefully by the weekend, and I am very pleased. In the long run I do some things just to keep myself from running amok, and my coffee is one of those things. After 6 months on the program, I find I stray fairly frequently, but I always make corrections for the next several days if I do. Yes, my losses would most likely be much faster if I was more religious about it, but I'm working on a lifestyle change, so this is really the way I want to live from now on.

Make sure your iced coffee doesn't have added milk, sugar or creamer. It might be tasty with the splenda flavors that were mentioned.

Thanks Debi, no problem. I like mine black with sweet and low. Sometimes I brew the flavored coffee as a special treat.

Good luck on getting your 50! I hope to finally reach mine today at the weigh in.

What a great idea. I forgot about flavored coffee!

Helen - You are so right about "Everyon'es body reacts differently". Keeping completely off caffeine is the only way I can stay on plan. It really drives my cravings.:(

I think they have the rule because it reduces your liquid options by SOO much - it pretty much forces you to choose water at every turn.

You go out to eat and most diet sodas have caffeine, so you get water... you cut out coffee which also cuts out the cream and sugar.

I've never found any evidence of it impacting weight loss, I think it's about making clear rules to encourage good behavior.

OK, so I decided to look up some information on-line and found an interesting article on Caffine and weight gain. Some interesting information, I will definately be cutting back. Here it is:



Caffeine and Weight Gain
Coffee only has 9 calories per cup, but before sip that hot, steamy brew it's important to know the relationship between caffeine and weight gain. Drinking that coffee or other caffeinated beverages can sabotage your efforts to lose weight.

Relationship Between Caffeine and Weight Gain
If you drink caffeinated beverages throughout the day you may actually be causing yourself to eat more. That's right. If you're struggling to lose weight, it may help you to kick the caffeine habit. Here's why:
Food Cravings
Do you wake each morning with new determination to eat healthy and within your calorie limit only to find yourself snacking or eating more at lunch that you had first planned? Limiting your intake of caffeine can help control your food cravings to stay within your dieting goals.
Caffeine affects cravings for food because it raises the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol raises heart rate, blood pressure and tells your body to increase its energy stores. This results in the body craving sweets. So if you're wondering why you snacked on cookies in the afternoon, it could have something to do with that coffee you drank with breakfast.
Appetite Stimulant
Low blood sugar known as Hypoglycemia occurs when blood glucose levels drop. When this happens, your body doesn't have enough energy to perform regular activities because glucose provides important fuel for your body. The main dietary sources for glucose are carbohydrates like:
Rice
Potatoes
Bread
Tortillas
Cereal
Milk
Fruit
Sweets
Drinking caffeine can trigger hypoglycemia. The body’s reaction is an increased appetite and cravings for higher calorie foods. The more caffeine consumed, the more your body urges you to eat.
Stress
Caffeine is known to make people feel jittery, but its affects go beyond that. The stress caused from drinking caffeine can be:
Physical
Mental
Emotional
Caffeine-induced stress can actually interfere with how you feel about yourself and trigger emotional eating or a need for comfort food. This correlation between caffeine and weight gain is another good reason to consider weaning yourself from caffeine to reduce stress hormones that result in emotional eating.
Cortisol Levels
As mentioned earlier, caffeine can raise cortisol levels and it's important to take a closer look on what this means because raised cortisol levels can leave you feeling anxious, fearful and even lashing out at in frustration and anger. It diminished feeling of well being and can even lead to feelings of depression and affect your ability to communicate and learn. Prolong cortisol levels can:
Lower your immune system
Slow thinking
Generate blood sugar imbalances
Raise blood pressure
Weaken muscle tissue
Decrease bone density
Increase fat in the stomach areas
That's right! Increased belly fat can be the result of elevated cortisol levels. Decreasing caffeine intake combined with regular exercise can help you reach that goal to a flatter stomach and better overall health.
Caffeine and Insulin Resistance
Studies show that caffeine also contributes to insulin resistance. When this happens glucose and insulin builds up in the blood. It's common knowledge that drinking coffee can also cause insomnia and sleep deprivation. Both of these conditions are related to insulin resistance and insulin is a metabolism hormone. It affects every cell in the body. Insulin:
Regulates blood sugar
Controls the storage of fat
Helps direct the functions of amino acids, fatty acids, and carbohydrates
Regulates the liver’s synthesis of cholesterol
Affects appetite control
Affects kidney function
A consistent elevation of insulin presents other possible problems including:
Raised blood pressure
Raised cholesterol levels
Stores food as fat instead of using it for fuel
Causes kidneys to retain excess fluid
Damages arteries
Elevates triglycerides
Changes protein into sugar and fat
These are the problems your body faces with insulin resistance. Breaking the caffeine habit can help to lower the risk to insulin resistance and as a result help to manage your weight.
Give Up Caffeine
Don't let caffeine sabotage your efforts to lose weight. Limit your caffeine intake and you'll have better control over your appetite. Instead of a cup of coffee learn to drink herbal teas, water or drink a smoothie made with fresh fruit..

ladystar....thank you so much for the info on the splenda flavors for coffee I went out and bought the vanilla last night and it is great!!! I have been OP for 6 weeks now and my coffee is the only craving that has not subsided! I was soo happy with my cup of coffee! thanks again!!!!