I'm in grad school, I work full time and I need to exercise 6 days in a week to be normal. I rely on coffee possibly more than I should.
I've recently started to taking it without sugar, but I need a little flavor. My favorite is hazelnut from dunkin donuts (either brewed at home or in the store).
I think its fine as long as you're not living on 5 cups a day.
every time I start dieting, I tell myself I need to give up coffee. While I can drink it other ways, i really like coffee with non-dairy creamer; I tell myself time and time again that I need to stop drinking my calories or that I should learn to live without the caffeine.
And then I laugh at myself and make another pot. I drink one, maybe two cups a day. It keeps me sane. i can give up chips, cookies or maybe even chocolate. But coffee with creamer is my one thing that I will always make room for in my calorie budget.
Yeah, I prefer it with creamer so I am cutting it out for now in hopes that I'll get to onderland faster. I'm just not into drinking it black. I tend to want it more in the winter, anyways.
I have to have it! In the past could easily down 2 pots on a night shift or 1 pot on a rough morning. Now, I make it a point now to only drink what I need to get that good buzz and focus more on water after that.
I find I am just all around more successful with at least some coffee in my day. I have more energy and can skip the snacking. I have compromised though, Sugar is replaced with 2 packets of Splenda and my 'splash' of creamer is now 1 TBS of FF International Delight.
Like others here, I wouldn't even think of giving it up. I've had my daily large cup (half coffee, half heated 1% milk) since I was like... 11. I've gained; I've lost, but the daily cup o' joe is a constant. In fact, when I heard that one must give it up for gastric bypass, I chucked that option right into the burn pile!! I'll give up chocolate, wine, desserts, steak, potatoes, pasta... but keep away from my coffee!!
I say, if a) it doesn't give you cravings; and b) you don't suffer from some health problem that is aggravated by caffeine; and c) you don't drink it with a ton of stuff in it that adversely impacts your weight loss efforts, then there is no reason to give up something you enjoy so much!!
I think the thing that causes the weight gain is the caffeine because it can slow weight loss and make you hungry. But if you like it then you should drink it. It is better than things with actually calories
Love my coffee!! I drink 4-6 cups a day, no cream and no sweetner. It is usually a very bold coffee like KONA or similar.
In the past week I have stopped drinking diet soda. Never thought I would stop drinking them. I usually drank 10 to 12 cans a day. I guess that was a little obsessive on my part. The surprise to me is that after a week I no longer have a desire to drink them.
Larry,
------------- You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.
You're on your own.
And you know what you know.
You are the guy who'll decide where to go.
~Dr. Seuss
*raises hand to be counted* another coffee-lover here
I drink about 3 large mugs of coffee a day - most of it a blend of regular and decaf.
The coffee itself it not negotiable.
I put whole milk in it - no sugar. I use about a cup of whole milk per day in my coffee and count the calories (that's about 150 calories).
When I absolutely have to - when I need to shave calories from my diet and can't do it anywhere else - I'll consider going to 1% milk. But low-fat or non-fat milk doesn't react with coffee the same way. Milkfat has magic chemistry that makes coffee smooth and creamy; non-fat milk just makes it watery.
So I'm hoping to get along with my whole milk as long as I possibly can. So far, so good ...
Coffee helps me in that it makes my life worth living. I have my 2 cups in the morning that I look forward to like a child on Christmas. A little 1/2 & 1/2, a little sugar and I am reborn.
Exactly what seagirl said. Its what I look forward to. I actually get excited when I wake up, and look forward to my morning coffee. I drink it 99% of the time with fat free coffee mate, but if I treat myself, like if we are out, I'll add half & half...it can seriously make my week.
