Day 44 - Coffee....Yay or Nay?

When I list coffee as one of the things I gave up on my "diet", I'm immediately met with shock faces and "OMG how do you do it"s.

A couple of people have mentioned that "coffee really isn't that bad for". So why did I give up coffee? The answer is that I tried to cut out things that did not provide any nutritional value. If I'm drinking coffee and it isn't helping me loss weigh and nurse my body, then why?

I've never been a coffee drinker to wake up. I started drinking coffee in college because, honestly, everyone else was and I was usually sleep deprived and desperate for a pick me up. My mom bought me my first single cup brewing coffee machine for Christmas. Having never made coffee before in my life, I filled the little basket up to the TOP with coffee grounds, made my travel mug of coffee, and headed off to class. BIG MISTAKE. Not long after I was sitting in class with my arms and legs literally shaking!

Once I figured out how to actually operate the coffee maker, I've been drinking a cup (or two) of coffee almost everyday since. I genuinely like the taste of coffee and sometimes I'll even drink it black. But since I've been on this "diet", eating right, and exercising, my body hasn't felt the need for the caffeine. NOTE: this does not mean I don't groan when the alarm goes off and need a hot shower to get me going in the morning. It's just that once I get to work I don't immediately make a b-line for the Keurig machine.

Having dearly missed the taste of coffee, I wanted to do some research to see if I'm really crazy after all for giving it up! I found an article on Livestrong.com called "Is Coffee Good or Bad for Weight Loss?". Precisely my question....ah Google...you know me so well.

To summarize the article, it all comes down to have to take your coffee. All those specialty and amazingly delicious "coffee" drinks from places like Starbucks add a TON of calories. But since I sometimes drink my coffee black, this doesn't really apply.

So this is what it really comes down to: caffeine. What does caffeine do to our bodies? Some research has shown that caffeine can act as an appetite suppressant. (Add a check to the Pro column) Caffeine is also a diuretic, meaning that it makes you have to pee a lot. The down side is that it can also make you dehydrated. I already drink so much water and pee all the time that this doesn't really apply. (Add a check to the Con column) Finally, coffee has been known to speed up your metabolism, "but researchers believe this extra calorie burn is not enough to have a significant impact on weight loss". (Add one more check to the Con column)

In conclusion, I think I'm going to stick with my sans-coffee dieting. But I do miss you dearly, mister coffee bean.

Yesterday's Recap:
2/27

Breakfast: Unsweetened apple sauce with cinnamon
Snack: Grapefruit
Lunch: Campbell's Select Light: Maryland style crab, with some leftover couscous
Snack: Apple
Dinner: (thanks SM) Tilapia (split with Seth), wild rice, and zucchini
Water: three 24oz bottles of water
Exercise: 40 minutes on the treadmill