Doesn't caffeine spike insulin? I wonder how so many people here at the forum report drinking copious amounts of coffee and still have success with low carb. Is it just a thing that may stall some people but not others?

I have recently done a comparison of two almost identical eating days, one of which was a slugging horror, and one where I had energy to spare. I was not impressed to find that the only difference was the inclusion of coffee in the perky day.

I hate to have to include it in my life in order to function. It almost feels too easy. Just like it would be easy to start smoking again! I hate being addicted to anything.

I'm curious to know how many members find coffee to be necessary in their lives, and to know if it causes stalls for any of you.

I've read it only raises your insulin if you're not accustomed to drinking coffee.

If it raised mine, I'd be going around ravenous all day long. If insulin is high, it'll lower your blood sugar which will, in turn, make you hungry. So its an easy effect to see at work.

That makes sense to me Nancy. But my coffee drinking friends often report that having a coffee will in fact allow them to skip a meal or forget about eating. This doesn't compute, in my brain at least.

There have been times in my life where that worked for me, but it doesn't any longer.

Hey Betty, Nancy:
I've read other threads about coffee and it does seem to be an individual thing - meaning whether it stall you or not. Atkins wants you off cafeine but I think Carbo Addict folks are allowed black coffee/tea. I may be wrong so apologies ahead of time if I am.
Personally, I keep it to one mug a day cause it can be rough on my digestive system and I can't handle more than that.
See ya later,
LizzyLC

I must have coffee or tea

Me too. At one point, I felt coffee was necessary for me to function. That was before I was treated for hypothyroid. Now, I'm thinking I could possibly wean myself off of it, if I tried. The problem is that I genuinely like it!

Especially with the coconut oil in it and cream!! Delicious! (darn it)

While I'm not sure if my coffee consumption is part of my nasty, five-month long stall, I'm cutting back.

Why?

Because even if it's not the coffee causing my stall, it could be the cream I put in it.

I can get away with a teensy bit of cream in my tea, but when it comes to coffee - I'm just too generous with the cream. More like..."would you like some coffee with that cream?"

So cutting back (bit by bit) on coffee means I'm cutting back on the cream - which just might be a contributing factor in my ridiculously long stall.

Fortunately, I cannot stand artificial sweeteners, so that's not an issue for me.

I'm gonna cut out coffee altogether if several of my other "tweaks" to get off this darned stall don't work.

I, too...am one of those people who simply cannot live without my coffee. I'm hoping to get it down to just one cup a day though.

Hang in there, and best wishes for your weight loss success.

I have never really been a person who drank coffee enough to refer to it as "my coffee". When I began this thread I was blown away by the result of including it for a day or two and seeing how productive it could make me. The original post was likely an effort to read some responses of people who are successful at weight loss WHILE drinking coffee and to extract from that some sort of permission to do so myself. But, I think that allowing myself to acquire an addiction at any point in my life when I can do without it may be silly.

Thank you! Right back at ya!

Well, honestly - I don't think a couple of cups of coffee a day will hurt your weight loss.

However, if you got into the habit of say...replacing your water with coffee and tons of it, along with all the cream...then yeah, it would create a problem.

I'm not suggesting you "addict" yourself to coffee, just that I don't think a cup or two several times a week will hurt.

What do you put in your coffee? Or did you like it black?

Oh...you might want to try English Breakfast tea - it can be a nice pick-me-up with far less caffeine.

oh heck! I didn't think that you were suggesting that! But I guess that after my 15 year ordeal with cigarettes and a lifetime of addiction to carbs, I am very nervous when it comes to anything that could get the upper hand on me!

I usually drink coffee black when I have it. I will certainly try to keep it to a minimum. I am definitely using it as a drug though. "Damn, I'm tired...let's get a coffee!" (..Keep an eye on that one, BetyLou....you're very prone to getting hooked on feel-good drugs!)

Seriously - I sure wish I could drink my coffee black instead of with tons of cream like I've been doing.

Happy coffee-ing..

I drink a half a pot a day and it didn't seem to hurt me. I drink enough to call it my coffee for sure. The only reason I would cut back is......well ok, I wouldn't.

Everything can be addicting, if you look at it. I personally have days when I dont have coffee, and Im fine. other days I drink 2 cups of coffee, and tea throughout as well as water, mostly to reduce the boredom of water, which Ipound like crazy, about 1 for 1. they give us a nice variety here, green tea, lemon, raspberry, apple cinnamon, english bfast, etc etc.

Idont think its made me stall, recognizing other things as being the culprit. if you look at coffee as a low-level amphetamine, it makes sense that it WOUDLNT stop your weight loss-I mean, look at kate moss. no problems there.

I am a definite coffee addict and am horrified to find out that coffee has carbs! Now I've had to cut down to 2 cups a day. I love having a cup at nite but only if my carbs allow it. Sigh............