What do all the coffee-drinkers out there do during Induction? I realise the aim is to get off the stuff, but how do you manage? (my husband is about to start, and is a little hesitant about losing his morning java...)

Is it okay to get off it gradually? What about milk - would it be okay to use a small bit of soya milk rather than cream (he hates it with cream - he says it's bitter). What has worked for you?

Thanks in advance
Dawn

I tried to give up my coffee. I got terrible headaches during induction that only went away when I finally broke down and had caffeine. Would the headaches have passed? Probably, but after a week, I gave up (so call me weak ).

I have 2 big Dunkin Donut mugs of coffee each day, made with heavy cream and one packet of Splenda. Of course, like any food in this WOL, it's YMMV thing. What works for me may not for you, and vice versa. I wouldn't use soya milk if I were you, it's got a lot more carbs, and not sure about sugar content, so I will not comment further.

Can't give up my coffee either, but I've changed over to half & half and sweet & low. Count the carbs in the half & half and sweet & low and have started limiting my coffee. Used to be an all day drinker. Now I find that the earlier in the morning I start trying to get my water in the less coffee I'm drinking.

Hi,

I'm a newbie myself & was just wondering about coffee! I read a comment in one of the journals, that was posted by a mentor that said that Atkins recommends giving up coffee and cheese I can't eat too much cheese anyway (I'm allergic to casein) but I do eat feta & other goats milk cheeses, and I've begun to love my cup of decaf coffee w/cream each day!

I used to not drink much coffee - I can't handle the caffeine in regular & the decaf doesn't taste as good. I'd sometimes get a decaf minty-mocha made with soymilk (Yum) but NOW, since my Naturopathic Physician has told me that coffee is good for my digestion & I should drink decaf coffee at least every other day (I'm AB blood type and therefore have a more alkaline balance to my stomach acid.) I've been using the decaf coffee w/cream (usually a decaf Americano from Starbucks!) as my daily treat.

So whats the deal? No coffee at all? Or is Atkins just advocating getting off caffeine?

TIA for clarification.

I'll pass this post on to my husband! Thanks for your input!

Monica - I know Atkins wants you to restrict caffeine (coffee) from the book, but the only reasons I read that you should limit cheese is:

1) because of the carbohydrate content (you should try to keep it to about 4 oz a day, as it still has carbs in it), and

2) if you are prone to candida (yeast infections) as cheese may aggrevate it and then it should be avoided.

(if someone can correct me on this, please feel free


I think Atkins just wants us to stop the caffeine, but I don't think he's opposed to decaf coffees. I'm not a coffee or tea drinker myself so I haven't been bothered at all by that (I did give up diet coke though, and that was hard enough!)

Thanks!
Dawn

From atkinscenter.com: "Excess caffeine can drop blood sugar levels and leave you craving sweets. If you're addicted to caffeine, you must give it up. The best way to do this is to segue from the high-octane stuff to decaf by gradually adding decaf to your full-force brew until you are drinking straight decaf, which you can enjoy with cream. Water-processed decaf is preferable because it does not use chemicals, as other decaffeinating processes do." -bleh. I'm still not giving up my high-octane coffee, decaf tastes like crap.

I've gotten off of coffee a few times in my life and have found this to be the best way to get off without suffering the headaches.

Buy a pound of decaff and half a pound of regular.

Mix half a pound of each. When you get half way through the mix....add another quarter pound of decaff. Once again.....when you get half way through the mix....add in the last quarter pound of decaff. When it's all gone, if you still want to enjoy the taste of coffee...you will be able to drink plain old decaff.

I'd given up coffee pretty much completely since starting Atkins last September, but on occasion....often for social reasons, I do enjoy a decaff at Starbuck. My experience has been that they have the most flavourful decaff in the marketplace.

HTH
Marlaine

I don't understand why Dr Atkins draws that conclusion - a cup of coffee in the morning is not *excess* caffeine. Sure, if you're addicted, that's not too healthy. But if a cup in the morning makes you happy, I don't see how it could stall you unless you're particularly sensitive. Besides, caffeine is an effective fat burner and increases metabolism.

I'd say if giving up coffee makes your hubby leary of starting, keep the coffee. Just switch to cream and sweetener.

Cheers!
--
Kristine, who drinks decaf during the day but still drinks high-octane first thing in the morning.

Kristine.....

I think that this is very much an YMMV issue. For some fortunate folks, a single cup of coffee in the morning would make no difference. For others....with a higher level of sensitivity...it could be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

Everyone of us is different and may eventually need to tweak our LC plan of choice to best suit our body. Having said that....Atkins had his reasons for making his recommendations. He'd had the opportunity to observe his patients and he saw how the best successes were achieved. Same with PP's Eades. They have science and experience behind their ideas.

Marlaine

Thanks for the information. I usually don't eat too much cheese - only 1-2 oz. and at most twice, but it is good to know why I should limit the cheese.

Yah! Glad to hear that I can feel good about holding on to my decaf coffee. Starbucks is definately the best & if you get an Americano, it is made up of a shot of decaf espresso & hot water, which IMO is much better than brewed decaf coffee.

When I make my decaf at home, I usually use about 6 regular coffee beans in with my 20-30 decaf beans, just because the regular smells and tastes so much better!

Here is to great coffee drinking for us all!

A study showing that caffeine is associated with increased insulin response is posted in our Research/ Media forum .. Caffeine bad for glucose/insulin response. It's worth noting though in that particular study the test subjects were given 75g pure dextrose on an empty stomach, in addition to the caffeine .. which was dosed at 5mg per kg of body weight. So a 90kg man (that's 198 lbs) would have received a whopping 450 mg of caffeine in a single dose. The average cup of coffee has roughly 100 to 120mg caffeine in it.

If you're used to drinking 4, 6 or more cups a day, it's a good idea to cut way back. The thing is .. coffee has carbs The average 10 oz mug of coffee has 1.3g carbs in it ... add 1g for a packet of sweetener, and 0.5g for each Tbsp cream you use ... that's 2.8 or more per cuppa .. and yes, that goes for decaf too! At that rate, 4 cups would set ya back 11.2g, and not much left in the daily carb budget when you're on Induction and only have 20g to play with.

Tea is a bit less carby, 0.2 to 0.5g per cup.

Doreen

I recently started having the odd real coffee out rather than decaf. I used to think that decaf was fine, till I had my real coffee. /swoon

These days - most of the time I still drink decaf, but maybe once every couple of days I will make a real coffee. It is amazing how months of no caffine will leave you so open for the full hit of a coffee.

I gave up coffee and sugar shortly before starting Atkins, so I made it through induction easier than most, but I know that I felt 100 times better once I gave up my insane coffee addiction (8+ mugs a day). I think the 50/50 idea is wonderful, and slowly wean down to a managable level.

Best of luck.