Hi y'all (no I'm not from the South, I just like to say y'all). Who knows the real deal re caffeine? Atkins says it MAY lead to carb binges. I only have 1 or 2 cups in the morning and that's it. I have no carb urges resulting from that. Are there any other reasons why caffeine should be avoided? Schwazbein also prohibits it, but I don't know exactly why. This is my first post and I must say I find the whole thing confusing, but I'll keep at it. Somebody please take pity on me and reply! Thanks - Diane

Strangely I don't experience any effects from caffeine until I give it up and then I want to eat anything I can get my hands on for a couple of days. This indicates to me that there may be something to the caffeine-appetite link (but I'm not quite sure what! ).

Caffeine affects everyone differently. Atkins said caffeine could cause your blood sugar to spike leading to cravings. I just drink decaf coffee now because I didn't want to chance it, but there are plenty of those on this forum that didn't give up their caffeinated coffee and have not experienced any cravings. If the caffeine doesn't affect you, continue to enjoy!

I drink 1 1/2 cups of coffee in the morning and sometimes one in the afternoon if I am tired. If anything, for me, it is an appetite suppresant. I have to be careful not to drink that afternoon coffee too late or it interferes with my eating dinner. It has had no effect on my weight loss one way or the other.

I know one point that Atkins may or may not have pointed out, which is that it is a diuretic. Since hydration is so important to this WOL (large amounts of protein have the same effect, thus the large weight loss in the first few days of induction) it is important to drink extra water to counterbalance that effect. Try to drink an extra 2 glasses of water for every cup of coffee.

In terms of caffeinated sodas, they have their own list of problems which usually have more to do with artificial sweeteners than with the caffeine.

Hope this helps.

Jones