Drinking coffee instead of eating?
 

I tend to eat A LOT at night and so I thought to myself, "What could I do instead of eat food? Drink coffee!" I didn't get into coffee until my boyfriend got some Starbucks from his brother. We tried it and now I can't function without coffee in the morning (omg, I sound like an old man!). It's weird, coffee gives me that boost of energy and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

So, what I'm asking is: could coffee be an acceptable substitute if I'm having a late night craving for food?

The caffeine and stuff might not be the best as a late night snack. It may not prevent you from going to sleep, but it may keep you from getting a good deep REM sleep. I always get up at like 3 or 4 and can't fall back asleep. And it also depends on the type of coffee you're drinking; is it Starbucks? Is it with lots of cream and sugar? I think you'd be better off drinking a huge glass of water and seeing how you feel instead. At least that has no calories and no caffeine.

I don't know about late night, because of the caffeine, but if you go for a decaf option I totally think it is a good idea. For me, I have found having a coffee in the afternoon helps me from getting all snacky at that 2-4pm period. My stomach feels full after drinking it and it usually takes me a good 15 minutes to make it, and 30 minutes to drink the coffee.. enough time to get over that bingey type of mood. Amazing job on the weightloss!

If you're eating well, and if it doesn't wreck your sleep or give you heartburn, it's great.

i use coffee in the mornings and uncaffeinated herbal teas in the afternoons and evenings.

I suggest herbal teas instead of coffee :) They are very soothing to drink as well :) Just don't load them up with sugar.

I second the herbal tea in the evening.

There are lots of great decaffinated ones. And they are soothing and taste great. Chammomile is my fave, a cup of that and one cinnamon graham cracker makes a nice late evening snack.

The Chammomle is soothing and the cinnamon graham is a nice treat, that doesn't totally blow the calories.

I also have cinnamon apple, orange, lemon/ginger, raspberry, eggnogg, gingersnap and a number of other flavored teas. A nice change of pace.

My great grandmother was a great tea drinker, mostly at night as a soother. I remember drinking tea with her, along with the graham crackers or 2 plain crackers. 2 was always the limit, ??

But it reminds me of good times, calm, relaxed, and then you hit the hay.

sometimes I find that any hot drink (esp with milk in it) gives me the feeling of having something to eat, or satisfies that need to eat something. Decaf coffee, low-fat hot chocolate, decaf tea with milk could all do the trick....

would keep it decaf though. caffeine takes 6-8 hours to leave your system. a good uninterrupted sleep is important and good for you!!

~CGH~

Don't drink coffee late at night because you probably wont be able to go to sleep. My late night snack is always grapes or yogurt but I drink coffee every morning

Only you know your own tolerance to caffeine and the number of calories you add to your drink. But if you're not overly sensitive to the caffeine (I know i can drink a diet coke and sleep 10 minutes later) and keep the calories low, its not a bad plan, esp. as a replacement for higher calorie foods.

Maybe decaf if you think the taste is OK, but too much caffeine is a bad thing. I second the tea idea in the evening. I sometimes have a cup or two of coffee in the morning or afternoon to get me going. I suggest just filling up on any liquid. Lately I have some greek yogurt to fill my tummy in evenings.

I am not bothered at all by caffeine no matter what time of day I take it. I also find coffee soothing and tasty, and for me it is a great substitute for snacking in the evening. I use no sugar and try to be as sparing as possible with the creamer to save on fat/calories. I wish I could develop a taste for black coffee.

as with everyone else, i suggest tea. i usually drink peppermint or sleepy time tea. they do fill you up! especially if you drink a couple of cups.

not as much as the way coffee does (it also kills my appetite) but i think its a better substitute

Do whatever works for you! The minimal calories in coffee mean it is rationally a good decision, just see how your body reacts to your new "snacks" :) I personally drink loads of tea every day because I can't stand coffee (bleurgh!)

sbux has 2 teas that i love: refresh and calm :)

I just discovered coffee and tea. LOL! It's only taken 35 years. I swigged about 1/4 cup of coffee the other day because I have no energy. I didn't want to over do it because I don't get caffeine through any other source and besides, I don't like coffee. Just yesterday afternoon I was starving and lethargic so I drank some tea and my energy was renewed and I was full. So maybe there's something to this.

Heck yea! Coffee, tea, chicken broth...all these hot drinks are life savers for me when I'm snacky! I can drink coffee right before bed and have no problems crashing...but then again, I was born addicted to the caffeine.

Coffee doesn't keep me awake either, but I do prefer herbal teas in the evening. There are some teas that help with sleeping that might be great as a late night snack.

Count me in as another one who has substituted caffiene drink instead of food on occasion. For me it's diet Coke, but if I'm going to do it, it's only during the day as I don't usually drink much caffiene so it really revs me up.

This thread is making me want tea... *walks to kitchen*

I am reading a bit more about green tea in particular being good for weight loss, and I am going to start incorporating that into my afternoons and evenings. I'm a coffee gal, but like tea okay, especially in the winter when a warm bevvy is just what you need. I also find that it satisfies my need to feed. And if caffeine is an issue, they make decaf green tea. I especially like the jasmine green tea.

If coffee works for you, use it! But too much caffeine is not good for the body. I personally can't taste a difference between reg and decaf, and I only drink good coffee from local roasters. Another idea, if salt isn't an issue, is bullion. That really satisfies because with very few calories.

Whatever you're doing, keep up the great work!

I would definitely recommend decaf if you're drinking it late at night. But drinking to stave off cravings is something I do a lot. My favourite drink is peppermint tea, and I find I can get three cups out of one tea bag. It fills me up and tastes delicious, but the downside is that I have to go to the bathroom every 15 minutes for about an hour to an hour and a half afterwards (sorry if that's TMI!). Because of the bathroom issue, I can't usually drink it past 8:30, or else I'll never get to sleep properly. I can't imagine throwing a bunch of caffeine into that mix!

So if I were you, I would definitely keep drinking coffee to counter the cravings, but I'd switch to decaf, and make sure I wasn't using a lot of milk or sugar.

If you are sensative the chemicals, skip the decaf. I drink coffee right up till bed time and don't have issues, but like another poster said, I was born addicted. I get terrible headaches if I don't imbibe my daily quota of coffee. Not good. If you can keep from getting yourself addicted, I would. I also love tea, but so much less then coffee...hahaha!

Caffiene is a known appitite suppressent, which is great because it is naturally occuring. But, it supresses your bodies ability to metabolize calcium so if you are a growing kid or a woman over 50 I'd switch to a low caffiene tea. BUT, coffee has a lot of antioxidants in it, which help kill off free radicals in your blood that can cause or feed cancer cells. so, everything basically has good sides and bad sides, you have to take what you like and live with the rest.

Personally, I could probably have an iv drip of coffee in my veins while I sleep and not disrupt my REM cycle, but it is one of those things that I tollerate well.

All taht being said, if it is working for you, great! I also love sugar free hot chocolate at night.

I use coffee all the time (in the mid-morning) to curb my constant, voracious hunger. I'm pretty sensitive to caffeine (even decaf has some) so I don't drink it at night, but no, there's nothing wrong with using coffee to help curb your hunger.

careful with the coffee at night...i used to be immune, but it can sneak up on you....it sucks when youre laying there wide awake at 130 in the morning and cant do anything about it

Like some of the other posters, coffee doesn't keep me up, but everyone is different. When I was smoking I could drink a lot more coffee before getting jittery though. I think it's because my body was used to more caffeine because of the cigarettes or something. Listen to whatever your body says.

I love coffee and I learned to drink it black a few years ago. I would definitely recommend drinking your coffee black if you don't already. That sugar and cream adds up FAST! It was easiest to start with a whole bean version of good brand like Starbucks, but now I'm even drinking ground Maxwell House black. I've found that it has to be strong though. I can't stand weak coffee. And I always get a darker roast which if I understand right, they're stronger in taste but actually have less caffeine because the roasting process reduces the bean's caffeine content. If black coffee is too bitter for you, try adding just a PINCH (it doesn't take much) of salt to the basket with your ground coffee before you brew it. I got that tip from Alton Brown!

Experiment and have fun!!! :D

I drink way more coffee than I used to.

Oooooh Metal Chick, thanks for the salt in the brewing basket tip! I will try that on my next pot. Maybe it will help me learn to drink it black.