Whiskers

For dieteing (weight loss), what is the real story on caffeine?

Most diet aids and suppliments have caffeine in them because caffeine is supposed to increase the metabolism.

Sources (including Weight Watchers) say no caffeine because it makes your metabolism wacky.

If you are dieting, it is ok to have caffeine? I am not talking about a Starbucks double mocha fattie latte, I am thinking like a cup of coffee with an Equal packet and skim milk or a diet coke.

chef chris

I'm sure it's like any other drug, after your body gets used to it, what good will it do? Might even make it harder for the body to compensate & straighten out the metabolism.

Doc.Booty

Yes it's fine. I wouldn't treat caffeine like a magic weight loss pill though.

youngTL

Also watch out how you're taking it in. The coffee stains on your teeth or the oral problems caused by carbonated beverages (pitting/etching over time), might not be worth your while.

Xpditor

Caffeine is a stimulant and messes with your metabolism. If you are trying to gain or lose weight, it is detrimental. It lowers blood sugar and makes you feel hungry. However, a cup of tea or coffee a day is not a big deal.

Diet sodas are another story. Mucho caffeine.

I recommend against it on the Lakes Plan.

The scientific backup for this position is given in The Schwarzbein Principle by Diana Schwarzbein, M.D. ( www.hcibooks.com) It goes into as much detail and research as you want to read.

ric

X is correct. It acts as a metabolic stimulant. THe result is that it stimulates your body to rush around consuming the availble energy sources. When it exhausts the available resources, your body feels sleepy and tired, and goes for - you guessed it - another cuppa. That only sets up a higher spike and a deeper energy trough. If you use sugar with your coffee you only exacerbate the problem. If you try to supply energy to your body by consuming snacks (that nice fast-acting candy bar) you risk turning your metabolic system into a rollercoaster with your energy careening around with little or no predictability.

It is really really risky to use caffiene as a stimulant to enhance weight loss....... it only screws up the process of a consistent weight reduction program, which is to eat less and exercise more, gradually retraining your body to function with greater economy and efficiency.

caffeine in coffee is tough, caffeine in carbonated beverages can be compounded if you get the "non-diet", reinforced with high fructose corn syrup as a sugar additive. Then you have a nice "cocktail" of stimulant and energy source, but your body tends to metabolize them at different speeds, thus - again - screwing around with your metabolic balance.

Some claim that caffeine in tea, while higher than coffee, is less accessible. In addition, green tea is high in antioccidents, and thus has some ancillary benefits. I've switched to a max of two cups of green tea a day at max......

Whiskers

Well, in my case, I was thinking about a cup of coffee with some skim milk and Equal in the morning and maybe a can of diet Coke in the afternoon. And not for weight loss reasons, just to avoid sleepyness....

Xpditor

I'm not a fan of aritificial anythings- especially sweetners. Of all of them, I find Splenda to be the least objectionable (from a nutritional/metabollic perspective).

I endorse what ric said. Of all the caffeine drinks, tea is the least harmful. I drink Salada naturally decaffeinated Green Tea with antioxidants added. It comes in regular, red, or purple- flavored with different berries. It is available on the supermarket shelves with the other coffee and tea.

If you are drinking diet sodas, please stop while you've still got an esophagus.

I haven't mentioned it here before.... but, after extensive study, research, testing, and fine-tuning, I have put together a "plan for healthy living." I am working on publishing it in the future. So far, over 100 individuals have followed the plan with astounding results. This has been medically supervised trials.

I'm not selling anything here. I am not motivated by profit. It is not a diet. Diets are something you go on and then you go off. This is a plan for life and targets eating behaviors more than the foods per se. Foods don't make us obese. It's the why, where, when, and how we eat more than the "what" we eat.

(I shouldn't have gotten started). Anyway.... I don't want to hijack this thread. When the time is right, I will start a new thread on the topic.

I guess you can tell that I'm really into it.

chef chris

:where's the capt obvious smiley?:

When you come up with a pill that fixes the why, where, when & how...put me down for a coupla cases. You may also add to your research that people who cook well are a danger to their own waist & ass sizes...like myself.

Xpditor

Yeah, I hear ya'.

Point being that people focus on the food part- thinking that is the road to success. It just doesn't work for most people. If you don't change the addictive behaviors, folks will go right back to where they were.

And you aren't alone in wanting a pill to fix everything!

My plan deals with those behaviors with proven methods of modification. And it's short and simple. Easy to do without hunger.

chef chris

That's why us Americanos are so damn fat...we want the easy fix...no exercise, no change in diet, etc.

ric

When you're ready to "go public" I'd be very interested. I've done my own ad-hoc work, having had to cope with dietary changes when my pancreas revolted and stopped producing enough insulin......

Whiskers

I would be interested in that book as well. So back on topic..Cafeine = bad.

Xpditor

That's what got me started. My doctor told me I had diabetes. I just barely made the cut, but I was there. I also had Gastro Esophagial Reflux Disease. He said I would have to take "the purple pill" the rest of my life.

Today, I am not even close to having either. I haven't needed medication since the day I began the plan two years ago.

The whole topic of insulin resistance is complex and interesting. It's the root of many problems. The topic is explored exhaustively in Schwarzbein's book. It is new knowledge in the field of endocrinology and fascinating to read.

And, back on topic, caffeine plays a key role in insulin resistance (which, in turn, leads to Type II Diabetes.)

chef chris

I have heard this before. A bunch of the family has diabetes...lucky, I do not.

ric

mine has been diagnosed at Type I, tied to pure capacity for insulin production. I don't have any wieght problems at all (save a need to beef up a bit; 162 at 6'-2"). I have modified my diet to avoid a metabolic rollercoaster and give me consistent energy throughout the day, and I've learned what foods trigger my metabolism to absorb fast vs slow. TO that end, I've backed off caffiene as it triggers the adrenal rush big-time for me. (So do some artificial sweeteners), But - I've never been heavier than 185 in my life, and my best running weight is 160-165, never varies no matter what diet/exercise program I'm on. Am now in fair to good shape due to a 3xweek exercise regimen, but my muscle strength still shows up in lean taut muscles, not bulk. Just my body type.........