Help. Has anyone here been successful on Atkins while still drinking regular coffee? I got rid of the 3 or 4 Cokes I used to have at night but just can't seem to get rid of the 2 - 3 cups of coffee I have in the morning. I think it's the smell as much as anything. I remember going into the A&P with my grandmother and smelling the coffee beans being ground in the grinder. That's one of my favorite smells in the world. But anyway, I only drink coffee in the morning and don't knowingly take in any more caffeine the rest of the day. I'm really hoping someone is going to tell me I can do this and still have my regular coffee. I won't drink decaff after hearing on CNN awhile back that a study found a link between decaff and rhumatoid arthritis. Something about the chemicals used to wash the caffeine out of the coffee. Course, that could pure bs too.

Thanks
Moon

Hi Moon!

Caffeine is one of those YMMV things. I tried giving it up for a couple of months to see if it would make a difference, but it didn't seem to for me so I want back to my couple of mugs a day. I'd say as long as you can continue to lose while drinking coffee, it's not absolutely necessary for you to give it up. Just make sure that you count the carbs. One 8 oz. cup of coffee has about 1 gram of carb (remember, coffee is a bean) along with the carbs for any sweeteners and cream that you add. I love the smell of freshly ground coffee, too, especially some of the flavored varieties.

I've seen many people on here loose successfully and still drink their coffee - it varies from person to person. If you find yourself at a plateau for a few weeks, you may then start thinking about cutting back or eliminating it.

Just be carefull of the sweetener and creamer that you put in there - be sure to count those carbs!

I could not even imagine life without SOME coffee.

I cut way back from my previous levels of up to 10 cups a day (yes I really did drink that much of it). Now I have 2 large mugs in a day. I do not believe it has affected my weight loss at all. I do think the massive amounts I had consumed before was just plain unhealthy... so I am glad I have cut back. I drink my coffee black and I always include it in my carb counts for the day.

When I am at home (like today being a holiday) I may have up to 3 large mugs. It is a "treat" for me to enjoy a good cup of excellent coffee. The smell is definitely part of the enjoyment.

I've been following Atkins for six months and I drink two to three cups of coffee a day. I have lost about 50 pounds in six months. Perhaps I would have lost a little more without the coffee, but I am more than willing to make that trade-off! I need my coffee in the morning!

Here's a quote off of Atkins site:

"Excessive caffeine may cause unstable blood sugar and should be avoided by those who suspect they are caffeine dependent. Everyone should try to avoid caffeine. "

What I read from this is it could cause cravings with the unstable blood sugar part. I don't see here that it would cause you to gain, or even stall.

I don't want to give up my coffee. It's my best friend in the morning. I don't use anything but cream, no artificial sweeteners.

I suppose this would be more of a personal choice, but I just don't understand what the negatives are here.

Thanks everybody. All of you told me just what I needed to hear. I drink my coffee black so I only have to count one carb per cup. BTW what does YMMV mean? Lisa N used it in her post and I can't figure out what the heck it means.

Moon

YMMV means "your mileage may vary." This means that what works for one person may not work for another. We all have to figure out what words for our individual bodies and metabolisms.

YMMV = your mileage may vary

Glad I asked about YMMV. I would never have figured that one out. Is there a page of abbrevations and their meanings somewhere on this site? I'd hate to be saying yup, unhuh and not know what was really going on.

Moon

Here's a link for you to help you decipher all the abbreviations that you're likely to see:
http://www.lowcarb.ca/tips/tips003.html

HTH

I never gave up my coffee either...but I did log it in on Fitday.com as my "morning brew" because I have an 18 oz. mug, use 3 sweeteners and half and half. I gave it an approximate value of 8 gms. of carbs, but I never really finish the cup, so...

That makes me realize that coffee DOES count when it's all said and done...at least for me. And that's quite a good portion of my daily carb allotment. Still, my body seems to be tolerating it, so it really is true...YMMV .