New (but not new to low carb) turning point
 

Hi everyone

I'm not new to low carb.. Back in 2008 I lost about 13 pounds low carbing (didnt follow strict atkins) and have bounced around with about 10 pounds down then back up to about 143 ever since

The bottom line is that I've never done a true induction and I have wanted to take the kind of easy way out - dabbling in other programs (including CAD) but I know that to really achieve my goal of mental clarity, not obsessing about food all the time (this is the worse for me) and achieving the best physique for me (which I think is about 130 pounds I'm 5'4 and not a small framed person) - I need to commit to this program and get the cravings, energy stuff in balance through following the program properly

Question - Coffee - I really love coffee and have a minimum of 2 but up to 4 cups a day..

I need to reread Atkins book again but I know that caffeine is not good..

Did you guys stop drinking it? Cut back?? take it black??

at the moment I have it with milk.. I'm thinking 2 a day max with a dash of cream (the milky ones i'm having at the moment i'm probably craving the milk/carb hit as much as the coffee itself?)


BUT if this is something that in everyones experienced wisdom is not a good idea I'll commit to cut out the habit..

THANKS

:wave:

Some people do fine without dropping caffeine and some do not.

If you decide to cut the caffeine you might be better to do it gradually, by mixing decaf/caf by maybe 1/4 decaf & 3/4 caf then increasing the ratio of the decaf till you are down to all decaf to avoid caffeine withdrawal symptoms.

Using cream instead of milk is perfectly 'legal' for induction.

I'm a coffee addict. Not addicted to the caffeine, just the routine of every morning having my coffee before work. I have a large coffee in an extra large cup, and then top it up with whipping cream- there's got to be at least a third of a cup of cream in there... my co-worker thinks it's disgusting, but I love it.

When I was seeing Dr. Eric Westman as my regular doctor we were talking about caffeine and he mentioned that his experience was that some people are more sensitive to it than others. He found that women, especially, became more and more sensitive to it as they grew into middle age and that sensitivity manifested itself in an insulin spike from caffeine alone. That's why it seems to affect some people and has been suspected in stalls.

Just something to think about.

I was a tea and diet coke and energy drink addict.

I cut all caffeine for induction and phased in tea, but i mostly drink it decaf now. I did this because I was sick of getting headaches in addition to my usual ones whenever I was unable to get some caffeine in.

Also, I take milk with tea, so I've been trying to reduce my dairy intake (other than cheese) as well. :)

Thanks for input everyone,,, I think I will take advice and cut down gradually

Me too. And I add a ton of splenda. It's like drinking warm melted coffee ice cream. yum!!! I'm still losing, pretty slowly, but the scale is going down. The way I look at it is I might lose quicker if I cut out the diet coke and coffee and cut down on cheese but I get enjoyment out of them. I'd rather enjoy my food and enjoy this way of eating and lose slowly than give up all the things I enjoy and be miserable. But everyone is different. .. .

I love my coffee this way too! When I get my coffee from Tim Hortons I get an extra large with 4 cream. Yeah, everyone thinks this is gross. My friends will usually repeat my order with a questioning or disgusted tone lol. They just don't understand!

In my case, coffee with heavy cream, with a spoonful of coconut oil and/or a spoonful of unsweetened cocoa, satisfies me for hours. I also don't have a problem with losing while drinking coffee.

Like grains and dairy, caffeine can be a very personal issue. Since I don't use sweetener, and use high fat additives, and healthy (there's tons of antioxidants in coffee and cocoa,) this is a low carb snack I find very satisfying, especially as the weather turns colder.

The only way to know is to try it both ways, and see how your body reacts. I have seen people realizing they used caffeine to counter sugar crashes, and when they got rid of the blood sugar seesaw, they no longer felt coffee was something they HAD to have.