3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community (https://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/)

- South Beach Diet (https://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/south-beach-diet-110/)

- - cutting caffeine (https://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/south-beach-diet/163977-cutting-caffeine.html)

cutting caffeine

I drink way to much coffee. I know that it is best to cut down or cut out the caffeine in the ph 1.
What is the best way to do this?
I can't really do the whole cold turkey thing, cause I have to work and I know I'll get the worst headache and other withdrawals. And to be honest, I don't want to completely cut out my coffee. I don't drink sodas of any kind, rarely eat chocolate, so coffee is how I get the caffeine. I do drink teas but usually decaf.
Thanks

I have to admit that this is the one place I parted ways with Dr. A. I never did cut my caffeine down. I drink my coffee black, so no sweetener temptation but I do drink more than the suggested amount. I'm hesitant to suggest someone just getting started should ignore a part of the plan, but that is what I did. I know some Chicks will have concrete suggestions for following the plan though.

I use reg. half n half in my coffee.

I don't drink coffee but I do drink tea as well as Diet Coke. Personally, I've never seen a need to cut back although some people may get cravings from too much artificial sweetener. I drink my tea unsweetened though and have never had problems from too much tea (unless it's late in the day and find it hard to sleep at night).

The way I cut down? For each cup of coffee or diet soda, I have TWO bottles of water.

By the time I am done with the water, I am so full I don't want the next cup ;) I used to be a 6-7 diet soda/coffee a day girl. Now? If I have 3 total it's a lot!

I also didn't cut back on coffee.... but a few weeks ago I just didn't pick up my decaf at night, and the next week weighed in ten pounds lighter. As soon as the decaf was reintroduced to my diet that weight came pounding back on. Not sure if the two are related, but I have been reading Insulin Resistance Diet plan and they talk about artificial sweeteners, and caffeine, and how they effect the IR. I just put my morning pot of coffee on and instead of loading the pot to my usual 6 cups (which ends up being three mugs) I put it to four. and last night I drank tea instead of decaf.

I was so mad at myself last night. I drank way too much yesterday, think I made 3 pots-about 4-6 cups each pot-thru out the day. Argh!!
I couldn't get to sleep and I had to get up and go to the bathroom 3-4 times before I finally dozed off.
I had a bladder sling surgery backin Sept and it's just not the same.
Definitely need to cut back.

Dr. A recommends that we don't drink more than 2 servings of caffeinated drinks (coffee, tea, soda) a day. The reason? Because caffeine affects your insulin production and, thus, can affect your blood sugar.

Here's a description of what the earliest research (from this article on WebMD) found in 2002:

Quote:

Caffeine is one of the most widely used "drugs" in the world. And now researchers have found that caffeine affects how well insulin -- the hormone that regulates blood sugar -- works in the body.

Caffeine is able to enter the brain and directly increase blood pressure and stimulate the release of stress hormones. These hormones are known to affect insulin and blood sugar in the body. So the researchers investigated whether caffeine has any harmful effects on blood sugar metabolism.

Lead researcher Gerben B. Keijzers, MD, and colleagues gave either caffeine or a placebo -- through a vein in the arm -- to 12 healthy volunteers. They then measured blood levels of insulin and stress hormones.

The caffeine was given at a dose of 3 mg per kilogram. For a 120 pound woman, that's equal to 160 mg of caffeine. For a 170 pound man, that's 230 mg.

The researchers then calculated insulin sensitivity. This is a measure of how well the body is using insulin. When insulin sensitivity goes down, this indicates that your body is less able to take blood sugar into the cells to be used for energy.

Caffeine decreased insulin sensitivity by 15%, a significant decline compared to placebo. Plus, stress hormone levels in the blood increased with caffeine. Blood pressure increased to a small degree as well.

A brewed 7 oz. cup of coffee has about 100 mg of caffeine. A 12 oz. cup of iced tea has 70 mg...

More and more research has come out on this over the past four years since I started SBD. Here are links to a few articles; there are many, many more out there.

Researchers link caffeine, blood sugar spikes

Effects of Caffeine and Coffee on Diabetes, Insuln Resistance Syndrome & Hypoglycemia (be aware that this is written by a group that sells caffeine-free herbal coffee, so they have a vested interest in your thinking caffeine is bad. Still, they offer links that appear helpful, including a quiz to see if your caffeine intake is too high.)

Caffeine Tied to Blood Sugar Problems But Don't Be Too Quick to Blame Coffee (some of the properties in coffee might help)

Diabetes Sufferers: Beware Of Caffeine

Diabetics advised to avoid caffeine; new study shows radical blood sugar effects

CAFFEINE BLOCKS INSULIN

Caffeine Can Decrease Insulin Sensitivity in Humans (full text of a study with a small group--21 people--that showed caffeine reduced insulin sensitivity in healthy humans)

The Caffeine Roundtable: Is it time to jettison the java? (interesting, lengthy discussion that may have some bias)

This article reviews a study done on caffeine and sugar, when ingested together, but I think it still has some pertinent facts. Here's a snippet from the article:

Quote:

Caffeine affects the brain in two ways, explains Dr. David Kerr, consultant physician at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital in Bournemouth, U.K. "It drops your blood flow in your brain and at the same time it tells the brain to demand more glucose (sugar). So it has this dichotomy, and the end result is that the brain thinks it's getting less sugar than it actually is... Now we're not talking about a huge dose of caffeine here, we're only talking about 2 to 3 cups of coffee."

Opinions on how much effect caffeine has vary, as do recommendations--some people advice that only people with Type 2 Diabetes or hypoglycemia need worry, while others say that it can affect all of us.

Here are a couple articles with varying opinions:
Caffeine: Does it affect blood sugar?

Caffeine Boosts Insulin Resistance Regardless of Exercise, Weight Loss

End Result: Be aware of your own body and how you react. If caffeine seems to be making you crave, you definitely should try cutting it out. Dr. A gives tips in the book (one of them is to try drinking half caf and half decaf when you drink coffee), but I think Jenne's is a great one!

As for ways to lighten (add cream) to your coffee, check out these threads for tons of great SBD-safe ideas (and reasons why you shouldn't be using creamer):
Coffee drinkers : what is your fav brand ? fav creamer ?
coffee creamers??

Please do avoid regular 1/2 and 1/2, Oh 2 Be Me. It's really bad for your heart, as Dr. A explains in the book.

oops. I guess it would help if I cut back on my caffeine, too. I work in a coffee shop, and i wake up at 4 am every day to get there. I have been known to consume 8 shots of espresso by 10 am on a regular basis. more later if i don't sleep in the afternoon. I don't use sweetener, just half and half, the real kind, and even then just a splash. I never really thought about it affecting my blood sugar, but that would help explain why some days for no reason that I can tell, I have no control over cravings. Like today, I have been a binging fool, and i also had a lot of coffee this morning.

Laurie, that's alot of information! I'll have to look it over.
I know caffeine is bad for fibroids, also. I know if i drink too much, mine b**bs hurt.
I've done alot better today. This morning I drank a couple cups here at home. When I got to work, I went to starbux and got a cup of ginger green tea instead of coffee. I knwo it has caffeine in it but green tea I think is beter for you. adn then when I got home I fixed decaf.
I've tried other creamers in my coffee, they are yuck. I dont' liek the artificial sweetener taste adn it gives me a headache. The low/non fat stuff just doesnt' taste right. Just gotta keep working on it.

I drink hot tea, not coffee, but my favorite cream is half & half, too. I've figured out that low fat evaporated milk is pretty good. Might give that a try.