being the third day and never did a diet in my life here i am...why ??? because i'm 37 and i have a gut now. So question is I have always had a cup of coffee in the morning (caffinated) then go to work painting houses. I need that caffine in the morning (I think) and had a cup this morning black with spenda sweetener 1 packet. I have already lost 4 pounds and it's almost the third day! Am I taking any chance drinking coffee 1 12oz cup in the morning? was reading about something blood making to much sugar for your body ? not sure where. But I am staying under 20g a day easily. Thanks

Hi there jdfrye, welcome!

Caffeine seems to be one of those YMMV (your mileage may vary) issues. There are quite a few folk here who continue to lose while drinking coffee.

So as you have already begun to lose, I'd say carry on. Just be aware that it can cause problems for some, so if you find yourself no longer losing at some point in the future, it may be something to consider then.

Happy low carbing!

Rosebud

I refuse to give up my coffee!! I had to cut down, but I was more like a POT or two a day... don't worry, for as many that have told me NO coffee, there are just as many that claim it HELPS your metabolism..<shrug> If it doesn't cause you trouble, enjoy!

Atkins says that one of the problems with caffeine is that it can raise insulin levels and cause cravings for carbs. It has not had that effect on me. I still drink my coffee, but not as much. I have to have room for my water!! The bottom line is that if it doesn't cause carb cravings or stall your loss, enjoy!

you know i noticed that i got really shaky feeling yesterday. so looks like i will only drink 1/4 of that. i'll just ease myself off caffeine. but then again maybe not. thanks for your replies. going to walt disney world in early oct including the ship cruise. So want to look my best. Glad you all are here for me!

Wow, you picked the right month for your vacation! I live between Disney and the port, April and October are the absolute best months in Florida!

Also remember that caffeine is a diuretic, so you have to drink not only the 8 8oz glasses of water a day, but you also have to drink another 24 oz. to compensate for the damage the coffee is doing. This is important on Atkins. A ketogenic diet makes your kidneys work extra hard, and they need plenty of water to do their job.

Another 24 oz of water? Umm... not likely. Daily coffee drinkers build up a tolerance to caffeine and its diuretic affect isn't very noticable.

Yeah, it is hard to drink extra water on top of other beverages like coffee. Which is one reason it can be a good idea to give up coffee and tea and wine and soda pop altogether -- when you have nothing to drink but water, it's a LOT easier to get in the requisite amount of water. I never used to drink anything but diet Coke & coffee. Now that I quit everything but water, I find it easy to drink a gallon of water every day. And my skin is looking better -- no bags under the eyes in the morning, more of a glow, etc. But yeah, giving up coffee can be almost impossible -- when I did it, I was wondering if heroin withdrawal could possibly be worse.

Hi! I'm another newbie and am also fighting the coffee demon. I really LOVE my java and it feels like my only real "luxury" right now. I grind my own beans every morning (coffee snob-sorry) so I went down to my roaster and got a pound of my favorite Guatemalan Fair Trade Shade Grown--only in the Decaf version. I mixed my remaining caf beans with decaf, and so now I am drinking half-caf. As the bean level goes down in the container, I mix in more decaf beans, so that I am gradually going decaf, but fairly painlessly. I'm sure you could accomplish this same thing with any brand/type of coffee you use. Heck, even Starbucks will pour you a half-caf if you ask! Good Luck, hang in there!

Julie

profmom you're smart! Where were you when I was climbing the walls?

Probably standing in front of the fridge trying to tell myself "Dr A. says three cups of veggies...must eat veggies...try to choke down veggies..."

J.

Me too....Coffee drinker. Tryed to quite but decided to.....NOT

Have you seen Trainspotting? When I was detoxing from caffeine, I kept thinking of that sequence where the Ewan MacGregor character is kicking. He's hallucinating, locked up in his room with one bucket for vomit and another bucket for diarrhea. It was almost that bad for me. Totally denbilitating. I *did* continue to work -- or pretend to. Maybe it was detoxing from carbs, too, but god, I don't think I could do it again.

Now that I read all these posts about how caffeine didn't affect success on this diet, I wonder if I went through that agony for nothing.

Rhaazz,
You poor girl, you are killing me...never saw the movie, but I can just see what you have gone through. I got sick too first week or two. I did stop coffee and the soda thing for a while and then went running back, could not stand the feeling of being normal....LOL