Saturday, April 5, 2008

Sugar, OK, but Coffee, NO WAY!


I knew sharing this decision about giving up sugar, as well as the idea of looking at the possiblities of giving up other "bad habits", could create alot of excitement! But, like I mentioned, I think it's about so much more than just giving up sugar, and I hope to journal all of effects, not just physical....but certainly, it could and should affect my bodyweight and body composition. And I will start to write about that on F&T later today.

But first, the subject of coffee has been brought up numerous times, hmmn...sugar and caffeine....two substances that "get us going" energy wise....or do they? At some point do they work against you? Well, I have no desire to give up my coffee! And I didn't always feel that way, in fact just a few weeks ago I decided to give up my late morning, early afternoon cup. But then I had to question myself, why?

This is why I thought I should.

Isn't it bad for me? No. Coffee has been studied to death and it's never been shown to have a negative effect, in fact it's been shown to have many positive effects. It's as high in natural antioxidants as dark chocolate and green tea.

I didn't want to use coffee as an appetite suppressant....which it can be for me. I wanted to learn to 'not snack' naturally, instead of reaching for that cup of coffee. But, so what! Why worry, why stress? I'm over it. I just refuse to feel bad about an afternoon cup of coffee.

But, I love cream in my coffee, and that just added in another 60-100 fat calories....I know, I know, this is the ridiculous thinking of a crazy calorie counter. Guess what....60-100 calories is not going to make or break me, lol!

The key is that one cup, two cups, doesn't turn into 4 ,5, 6, etc.. People start drinking coffee like water! And what's up with the quadruple esspresso shots? Jeez! And, I guess, what you put in your coffee.....artificial sweetners, artificial fats (Cremora).

I am not a nutritionist, I am just my own expert! Make decisions for yourself. Whatever decisions you make, feel good about it! I'm sure I'll get alot of opinions....these are just mine, based on my experience, for my life. My good life.
(photo above was taken with my niece, Dana, she works @ Peet's! How lucky am I....to have such a great niece, that is!)

18 comments:

Christine said...

My biggest issue with coffee is how tied in it is to sugar (for me). I'd love to be able to enjoy it without, but I admit - it's not my favorite! I'll have to try adding heavy cream instead.

Amy Jurrens said...

I was out of the loop yesterday and missed the big post on quitting sugar. I need to get me a blackberry so I can keep up!

As far as coffee, I gave it up about a year ago and replaced it with tea. Once in awhile I'll have a cup of strong coffee as a treat. When I choose coffee or black tea, I always put organic, heavy whipping cream in it.

If I drink green tea, I don't put anything in it. Flavored teas are wonderful too. Mighty Leaf has a vanilla bean tea that is almost sweet.

This week I've started giving up the sugar with the cream in the black tea. I've done well. Once I change my habit, it's a lot easier. I've found that after three days, I'm able to make a new habit stick (good or bad).

What really helps the most is having support from all of you. I check Tracy's blog several times a day for inspiration from Tracy as well as everyone else who comments. Thank you everyone for your great ideas and support.

Franklin said...

Thanks so much for posting what I could have never communicated as clearly.

I will never give up my coffee .. I love it. Two 8 oz cups in the morning; the 1st with cream; the 2nd black. That's it. Then its Tinkerbell teas for the rest of day.

I get my sugar fix after dinner everyday from a well-earned warmed piece of fresh fruit pie and one small scoop of ice-cream.

This controls my cravings and allows me to eat well for the rest of the day without feeling deprived.

Mark Reifkind said...

franklin me too. 2 mugs of Peets french roast with heavy cream at 5 am and then green or peppermint tea til eating time.

Take One Stripper Pole said...

I was considering giving up coffee for the month of April ... but the relaized I only drink 3- 4 cups a week ... so it seemed kind of pointless. :) It does taste wonderful though. I will have to check out the teas people mentioned.

Tracy Reifkind said...

Christine,

Try the "weaning" trick....it may take a while, but so what! It took me 2 years to wean from 2tbl. cream to 2 tsp. cream, and now I can have less and it doesn't bother me!

Tracy Reifkind said...

Amy,

I love my heavy cream!

And....you missed the big news? I hope you were doing something fun, or making lots of money!

Tracy Reifkind said...

Franklin,

Hmmnn....pie every night! It'll will be interesting to find out how I re-introduce sugar into my eating when this month is over!

Tracy Reifkind said...

Take one,

I'm glad to be reminded of tea too! I think it could be a nice habit.

Gabi said...

I just love those Italian quadruple espresso shots :))) But only black, the taste is so rich, so much different from that of filter coffee it would be, to me, a sacrilege to manipulate it.
As for filter coffee, the opposite is true, I just can't drink it without milk and sugar. So I usually go with espressi, but sometimes, especially in winter, it is just nice to have a big mug of warm, sweet, milky-watery mixture :)

Franklin said...

Yes, pie every night .. WITH a scoop of ice cream .. its the only way I can control my demons.

In my pre-KB life I consumed a half gallon of ice cream every three days. Now it takes me three weeks .. and I'm at my lowest weight in about 20 years.

(E.g., Internal Dialog:

Old Franklin: Hey Franklin, your looking mighty fit there, please have another scoop of ice cream, you really deserve it for all the hard work you've done .. go ahead and have TWO scoops, its on me.

New Franklin: Back you fiends! BACK! BACK!)

I am not at all suggesting this for anyone else .. I'm fortunate I found something that works for me at all.

Christine said...

Wow, the heavy cream really does make a difference - I thought it would be the same as half and half (what I normally use) - but it's a lot sweeter! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Your niece is also lukcy to have a cool Aunt like you!

Tracy Reifkind said...

Gabi,

There's nothing like Italian esspresso. Everytime I go, I buy coffee there...bring it home....use my Bialetti espresso maker...but it's not the same! Is it the water?

Tracy Reifkind said...

Franklin,

Yes, finding what works for you! Now that I'm off sugar, I'm not sure sugar was neccessarily a culprit! I'll be explaining that on F&D....

Tracy Reifkind said...

Christine,

Mark and I are "heavy cream" snobs! If we go anywhere overnight away from home, it's the first thing we miss, and if we can pick some up for the morning, we do!

Tracy Reifkind said...

Regina,

I don't know about that! She can't beg me for any kind of discount! (like I can her, lol!)

Gabi said...

Yeah, I have the same type espresso maker, but it is not quite the same, that's true... I can't think of anything else than the water either :-/