Caffeine Questions on Atkins...

[Luvinit]

I know that the Atkins book says on induction that you should give up caffeine....however...there is NO way I could do both.

My question is in order to be successful on Atkins....do I have to give up caffeine eventually??? I see alot of posts regarding how hard it was to give up the coffee...why do we need to put ourselves through this all at once...does it really make that much of a difference with the caffiene if we are talking about carbs??

I thought Alex told us it was okay to drink diet coke??? I have cut down some, but I don't think I will ever be able to give it up.
It has been working for me with the caffeine..and I almost want to tell new Atkins people to wait to give it up...one step at a time.


Can someone PLEASE set me straight??

Thanks
Tracy

 

[glo]

It has not really affected me either way...for lent I gave it all up. I have gone back to one glass with dinner with my cream in it I think it does affect some people, and I also think that part of it is to eliminate a substance that really is not that great for you.

If you are loosing go for it!! I would not change anything. Alex lost his weight drinking quite a bit of it!

 

[CarolMN]

I started induction last Sunday and so far I haven't given up regular coffee. I do plan to switch to decaf at some point, but will do it gradually over time.

In the past, I have gotten fairly severe headaches when I quit coffee "cold turkey", so I decided to focus on one thing at a time. I'll work on eliminating regular coffee after I'm comfortable on Phase II. Induction all by itself is challenge enough for me right now.

I don't think the coffee is affecting my weight loss so far. I did resolve to be absolutely sure to drink all of the recommended water, though. I've been dringking a glass of water before every cup of coffee, so I think I've actually been sort of "tricking" myself into cutting down the coffee anyway. It's pretty hard to add 8 glasses of water to all the coffee I usually drink without taking up permanent residence in the bathroom!

 

[Dizzy-Disney4]

Well, I did switch to Maxwell House Lite coffee. It has half the caffine of regular coffee and its not too bad.

 

[Rhonda]

I've never given up caffeine - and it hasn't affected me at all. I think everyone's body is different. Some can handle caffeine, others can't. The same with Nutrasweet. It makes me stall, and I've heard others say that too. But some people aren't affected by it at all!

I guess you just have to experiment!

 

[wovenwonder]

Caffeine stalls some people. Since this woe I have noticed that I am extra sensitive to caffeine. I try not to have it anytime from afternoon on or I have problems sleeping.

 

[kdibattista]

I did not give it up completely but I did cut back from 6 cups a day to 2 - 3 cups. It has not affected me at all. I could never drink decaf either... I would rather not have it. YUCK!!!!

 

[airhead]

I've been drinking 2-3 cups every day. it has not stalled my weight loss. I gotta have it!!

airhead

 

[Kelsie]

I've lost 17 pounds since April 1st and didn't give up my coffee or diet coke.

 

[Luvinit]

Thanks guys...I am not ready to give it up...I don't think I will be able to anytime soon either.

I was thinking pople who are starting induction and are really having a miserable time should consider not stopping caffiene cold turkey...now I see it can work!!

Tracy

 

[CarolMN]

Just reread the Rules of Induction (from the Atkins website). Here's what the "rule" about caffeine says:

10. Avoid coffee, tea and soft drinks that contain caffeine. Excessive caffeine has been shown to cause low blood sugar, which can make you crave sugar.

That may be why coffee hasn't hurt me - I have to worry a lot more about high blood sugar than low blood sugar. Anyway, if you don't get the cravings (mine pretty much went away after the first 2 - 3 days), or can control them, it doesn't sound like caffeine will negatively impact success. I know caffeine isn't all that good for me, so I will quit, but it will be a lot easier once Atkins becomes "natural" for me.

Good luck from one caffeine addict to another!

 

[nativetxn]

I never gave up my coffee and Wilgus never gave up his Diet Dr. Pepper.

I searched and searched my Atkins book about this and I don't find anything about stalling, Jody.

All I can find is that Atkins says that caffiene <i>may</i> cause spikes in your blood sugar which, in turn, <i>may</i> trigger cravings.

I don't have cravings and neither does Wilgus. So, Tracy, all you can do is try it and see what happens with you. Everyone is different.

Let us know what happens