# Lose weight by quitting coffee? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 31, 2006, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lose-weight-by-quitting-coffee/378600 "2006-10-31T17:14:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lose-weight-by-quitting-coffee/378600/1 "2006-10-31T17:14:39Z")
I’ve just been drinking coffee for a few years, but I’ve gained prolly eight lbs since I started. I cannot drink coffee any other way than very light, with the French Vanilla creamer (International Delight). Could this be why I’m getting fat? Has anyone dropped their coffee habit and lost weight because of it? I really don’t eat much, but I am currently drinking about 8 mugs of coffee a day. Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lose-weight-by-quitting-coffee/378600/2 "2006-10-31T17:50:53Z")
[QUOTE=Kalhoun] I’ve just been drinking coffee for a few years, but I’ve gained prolly eight lbs since I started. I cannot drink coffee any other way than very light, with the French Vanilla creamer (International Delight). Could this be why I’m getting fat? Has anyone dropped their coffee habit and lost weight because of it? I really don’t eat much, but I am currently drinking about 8 mugs of coffee a day. Anyone? [/QUOTE] Well, in light of the fact that you don’t eat much, my anecdote is not going to do you much good, but here it is anyway: When I drink caffeinated coffee (which is often touted as an appetite suppressant), I start feeling kind of twirly and jittery, which makes me feel like I need to eat something (probably because the feeling is so similar to that “low blood sugar” sensation for me). So I do. Hence, the more coffee I drink, the more I eat, so yeah - I do gain weight when I drink a lot of coffee. You, however . . . well, maybe you could try cutting down to, say, 4 mugs a day, and see if that makes a difference. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lose-weight-by-quitting-coffee/378600/3 "2006-10-31T18:10:17Z")
They make fat-free and sugar-free versions, but I don’t know if they make one that’s both. I stopped drinking mocha coffees at work and lost about ten pounds. That was years and years ago. It was like a light bulb went off in my head after the weight came off “DUH YOU’RE NOT CONSUMING SO MANY CALORIES IN LIQUID FORM”. That’s the problem - they’re still calories, but if they’re liquid you don’t register fullness like you do from solids. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lose-weight-by-quitting-coffee/378600/4 "2006-10-31T18:18:16Z")
[QUOTE=GingerOfTheNorth] They make fat-free and sugar-free versions, but I don’t know if they make one that’s both. I stopped drinking mocha coffees at work and lost about ten pounds. That was years and years ago. It was like a light bulb went off in my head after the weight came off “DUH YOU’RE NOT CONSUMING SO MANY CALORIES IN LIQUID FORM”. That’s the problem - they’re still calories, but if they’re liquid you don’t register fullness like you do from solids. [/QUOTE] That’s me! I don’t like the fat-free version, and I’ve never seen my brand in sugar free. You can call me One Kup Kalhoun from now on. I’ll see if that helps. ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lose-weight-by-quitting-coffee/378600/5 "2006-10-31T18:18:21Z")
[QUOTE=GingerOfTheNorth] They make fat-free and sugar-free versions, but I don’t know if they make one that’s both. I stopped drinking mocha coffees at work and lost about ten pounds. That was years and years ago. It was like a light bulb went off in my head after the weight came off “DUH YOU’RE NOT CONSUMING SO MANY CALORIES IN LIQUID FORM”. That’s the problem - they’re still calories, but if they’re liquid you don’t register fullness like you do from solids. [/QUOTE] Well, yes, there is that - I try to limit my consumption of fancy coffee (as in, the kind that someone else has to prepare for me using a big noisy machine and a lotta milk) for that reason, but with my regular joe I usually don’t add enough creamer to constitute too many calories. For me it’s all in whether or not I get the munchies from my caffeine buzz. ---
**Author:** ![Caridwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c89c15/32.png) [@Caridwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caridwen)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lose-weight-by-quitting-coffee/378600/6 "2006-10-31T21:09:29Z")
If you stopped using the French Vanilla Creamers you could probably still drink the coffee. How about if you bought French Vanilla flavored coffee instead of the flavored creamers. There are 45 calories a tbsp in French Vanilla Creamers. If you use two tbsp per cup that’s about 720 calories a day. Half and Half has about 40 calories for two tbsp, so you have half the calories. Plain milk is about 338 per cup so you’d probably only use half a cup a day. You’d have a big savings and only about 120 calories or so. I do eat less if I drink coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Caridwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c89c15/32.png) [@Caridwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caridwen)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lose-weight-by-quitting-coffee/378600/7 "2006-10-31T21:10:37Z")
The do make a low carb version of the french vanilla creamers. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lose-weight-by-quitting-coffee/378600/8 "2006-10-31T21:12:52Z")
8 MUGS OF COFFEE??? Hwo do you get to sleep? Dear God, and here I was worried about my 2, maybe 3 cups per day. 🙂 Anyway. Look at **Caridwen** ’s numbers, it really makes a difference. (I couldn’t figure out how you were coming up so high, **Caridwen** , until I went back and read the 8 cups part!) ---
**Author:** ![samm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/858c86/32.png) [@samm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samm)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lose-weight-by-quitting-coffee/378600/9 "2006-10-31T22:22:33Z")
Maybe you would like the pre-flavored coffee beans and then you could just add a little skim milk instead? You could also try: [http://www.slimcoffee.com/](http://www.slimcoffee.com/) - “Drink away your pounds!” ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lose-weight-by-quitting-coffee/378600/10 "2006-10-31T23:17:27Z")
EGADS! I had no idea it was that bad. The problem is, I have this “Perfect Cup Of Coffee” thing going on. I don’t drink coffee outside my home evah. It’s Eight O’Clock Columbian Roast Coffee and French Vanilla (0% trans fat), and lots of it. I think I just need to gradually get off it altogether. I start drinking it at 3:45 am and stop about 7:30 am. I think I’ll limit myself to two tomorrow and see how that goes. I mean, I survived without it for 47 years. 720 calories…what the heck was I thinkin’??? ---
**Author:** ![Caridwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c89c15/32.png) [@Caridwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caridwen)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lose-weight-by-quitting-coffee/378600/11 "2006-10-31T23:26:25Z")
How about if you used whole milk and topped it off with a little vanilla creamer? Hate to see you deprive yourself over something you love! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![xbuckeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9e8a1a/32.png) [@xbuckeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xbuckeye)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lose-weight-by-quitting-coffee/378600/12 "2006-10-31T23:30:07Z")
Or milk plus some real actual vanilla extract. You wouldn’t need very much real vanilla to get a vanilla flavor and as was pointed out earlier, milk has alot less calories. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lose-weight-by-quitting-coffee/378600/13 "2006-10-31T23:34:22Z")
You might want to attempt the transition to black coffee. I used to add large quantities of half & half and 2 packets of sugar to every cup. I now drink 3 to 4 cups of black coffee a day which I find every bit as satisfying as the light & sweet stuff used to be. ---
**Author:** ![Caridwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c89c15/32.png) [@Caridwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caridwen)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lose-weight-by-quitting-coffee/378600/14 "2006-10-31T23:36:40Z")
How long did it take you to get used to black coffee? I’d love to be able to do that but I don’t think I could. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lose-weight-by-quitting-coffee/378600/15 "2006-11-01T00:11:35Z")
[QUOTE=Anaamika] 8 MUGS OF COFFEE??? Hwo do you get to sleep? Dear God, and here I was worried about my 2, maybe 3 cups per day. 🙂 [/QUOTE] Yeah, this makes me feel better. 😛 I drink 3 cups tops. I used to love cream and sugar in my coffee, and now I mostly drink it black. I think it’s an acquired taste, though. Actually, I’m going to be honest and say it’s probably because I started smoking a few years back. Black coffee goes better with cigarettes, unfotunately. Please do not emulate my example. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lose-weight-by-quitting-coffee/378600/16 "2006-11-01T00:42:23Z")
Isn’t caffeine an appetite supressant? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lose-weight-by-quitting-coffee/378600/17 "2006-11-01T02:37:36Z")
Once you go black you wont go back. After a while cream and sugar etc taste like syrup added. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lose-weight-by-quitting-coffee/378600/18 "2006-11-01T02:50:07Z")
[QUOTE=Caridwen] How long did it take you to get used to black coffee? [/QUOTE] As I recall, about 6 months. I started cutting back on the cream and sugar, and found it wasn’t hard to continue. gonzomax is right - once you are used to black, sweet coffee tastes very strange indeed. I can tolerate a small amount of milk or half & half, but I certainly don’t crave it. I feel I enjoy coffee more now that the flavors have no competition, but that’s of course subjective. I certainly have no sense that I’m making any sacrifice. ---
**Author:** ![caveat\_lector](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed655f/32.png) [@caveat\_lector](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caveat_lector)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lose-weight-by-quitting-coffee/378600/19 "2006-11-01T03:17:48Z")
I am not a calorie counter - though when I went on a work out regiment of running and weights I dropped carbs - which meant no sugar or International Delights cream - I didn’t like the taste of the low carb version - so I dropped everything and went to straight black coffee. Prior to this, I frequented designer coffee houses once or twice a week for a ‘venti no whip mocha.’ It took me about one week to become accustomed to straight black coffee, no sugar, no cream. I was an [Allann Bros. Coffee](http://allannbroscoffee.com/) Truck Stop blend ‘grind my own beans, drink-the-whole-pot-of-coffee’ aficianado at the time: Truck Stop: > [@](#): > > This coffee means business. Strong, alert, forceful. A companion to get you over the next mountain or across the desert. It’s there when you need it, and so delicious you may find yourself drinking it every day. French Roast, Guatemalan, Colombian Medium Roast and Costa Rican artfully blended to brew a full, rich cup. Now I am a [Community Coffee](http://www.communitycoffee.com/ccc/Catalog_CS/coffee-detail/1500/premium-coffee-blends/everyday-premium-coffees/dark-roast/) epicurean. You won’t catch me anywhere near a Seattle-based coffee house (caveat: if I am on the road driving or traveling out of state, but then it is plain black roast-de-jour’). I’m 6’ 210 pounds, down about 15 pounds overall (I’ve added muscle weight). I cannot stand ruining coffee with sugars and creams. No, it all wasn’t from the carbs in the International Delight cream - but a lot of it was - and getting over that hump (dropping the cream) was a major hurdle - and really got me committed to dropping other bad and unnecessary nutritional habits. More importantly, dropping the cream from coffee has been permanent - and I’ve kept the weight off for more than a year now. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lose-weight-by-quitting-coffee/378600/20 "2006-11-01T03:44:01Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] Once you go black you wont go back. After a while cream and sugar etc taste like syrup added. [/QUOTE] I drink 8 to 12 cups of black coffee a day. I pretty much run on black coffee and cigarettes until it’s beer and cocktail time. Cream and sugar to me are like Jack and Cokes. I suppose if you need the training wheels it’s alright, but you’re much better off going with it straight up. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lose-weight-by-quitting-coffee/378600.md?page=2)