I've been doing pretty well overall with my weight loss considering the amount of coffee I have on a daily basis which is about 3 cups with cream in it. I've tried to cut out the cream and go with milk for starters but i find that milk in my coffee just doesn't taste as good so I'm back to cream.
I know that the reason I've been losing weight so far is because I've changed my eating habits, but soon enough the coffee will catch up with me and I'm going to have to banish it in order to lose more weight. I just don't know how to let go. Does anyone have this problem? Or overcome it? How?
You could try to compromise a little, do 1 with cream, and then the next 2 with milk? So you have one good one, but not 3.
I saw some fat free half and half the other day - you might want to try something like that?
I feel your pain... Pumpkin Lattes are out now and we have a coffee shop on the ground floor of my building. I have had two so far this week. I get them with skim milk... so it saves me some fat, but they are SO LOADED with sugar.
Hey, I had a similar problems with caffiene drinks. I would drink about 4-6 cans of diet coke or sugar free energy drinks. For the first few weeks, i managed to drink them and lose weight, but that came to a standstill. I talked to my PT about it and he said it was the caffiene, and partly the sweetners.
Anyway, I found the best way to stop was to gradually cut down and then stop. that way you get less withdrawl from caffiene. It took me nearly 3 weeks to stop but its nw been 6 weeks since I had any so seems to have worked. If you've got strong will power you could try going cold turkey?!
HTH
I am also dependent upon my coffee - I take mine with whole milk, no sugar. I count the calories for the milk - it adds up, I estimate that I use about a cup and a half of milk a day. But until I can't shave those calories some other way, whole milk isn't such a bad way to get them.
When I have to, I will go kicking and screaming to 2% milk. I understand why you are having trouble adjusting to using milk instead of cream - there is chemistry in your cup; the milkfat reacts with coffee and really does change the taste. Lower fat milk products aren't just less rich; there is less of that chemistry to reduce the bitterness of the coffee.
My suggestion, if you can manage it, is to try better coffee - it really does make a difference to the taste, and will make it easier to adjust to using lower fat milk. If you make your coffee at home, make sure your coffee maker is very clean, and buy fresher beans or a higher-end brand. If you get coffee elsewhere, go for a higher-end brand of coffee.
The coffee my partner makes at home - freshly ground Peet's beans, made in a press pot - is so good that I can almost drink it without any milk at all! I've never been able to do that with any other coffee. So try a better coffee if you can manage it, and see if it helps you switch from cream to milk.
Have you thought about cutting back gradually on the cream? How about do half cream, milk and slowly wean off the cream? Another option.....as crazy as it may sound is vanilla soy milk. Or, there are flavored low cal creamers out there that are yummy. But, I really do agree with carter.....the actual coffee can make a huge difference. Finally, if nothing works, then you could always work out extra and cut back on something else to allow you this treat.
Thanks everyone for the great advice! I don't think I can go cold turkey, I'm not that brave yet, but I will try to start off using whole milk instead of cream, and also try to cut out one cup from my day. I think that'll be a good start for me and then we'll see what's next from there on.
Yes i think part of the reason I have still been losing weight even though I binge on coffee is because drinking coffee somehow cuts my appetite and I don't end up eating all that I normally would. So I am probably making up calories with my coffee that I am not getting elsewhere...
on another thread some people mentioned fat free half & half is pretty good and only 20calories for 2tbls.. might be something to try. Haven't tried it myself, but I think I will be soon.
Happy National Coffee Day,
I like my coffee too. There certainly is fat free 1/2&1/2 and I have used it in the past.. I have used the real stuff while I was losing w/ Splenda. We all get to chose what we keep and what we don't. I never pour half & half directly into my cup. I always measure it, teaspoon first, cup second. I always record it. No isle of denial. Cream didn't make me fat.
Personally I just accept that it's something that I have to allow the cals for. It's beyond the needed caffine to get my day started for me. There is just something about that warm cup every morning that is so comforting I refuse to go without it. I use a ridiculous amount of SF creamer, but like I said, it's planned for. I know that everyday I need 120-180 cals to allow for my coffee. It's pretty sad when I think about it, do you know what I could do with an extra 120-180 cals in my day! But it's worth it, I LOVE my coffee.
I'm a coffeeholic!
