The Coffee Diet; Friend or Foe?

I drink a massive cup of coffee as part of my everyday diet to get me up and going. It's amazing how adding this dark brewed drink to your diet can transform the un-asleep, as I call it since I am not quite awake, into a fully functional human being. Drinking coffee is indeed a great diet aid and when used properly can be a great weight loss tool. On the flip side of that, drinking coffee can really mess up your diet.

Dieting means all things in moderation, and this means there is a saturation point where overconsumption in your diet leads to diminished returns. Drinking coffee is not an exception. Coffee is a natural appetite suppressor. That's a good thing for the dieter, but when you drink a huge cup to start your morning, like I do, the once positive dieting effect can easily become a problem. We've all heard it before; breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Well it's true, it's important to start your day with energy to support your activities. If you start your day off without breakfast you are going to be lacking in energy and the longer you go without food the worse the problem is going to affect you. Remember, by energy I'm talking about calories, drinking coffee doesn't really give you energy but it gives you stimulation. Missing meals is especially a problem for busy people because if you have nothing to do, your mind will eventually wander off and think about food, but when your mind is concentrating on something else you can easily go the day without eating and not even realize it until absolute famine takes over.

What to do? Well, here's the fix. You may think to just drink less coffee, but that's not an option. It's actually just a quick fix. You can still drink your coffee. All you need to do is make sure to plan scheduled meals. To do this, set alarms on your watch or cell phone to go off at meal time. Since you are trying to lose weight, the coffee will allow your meals to be smaller as you will not be too hungry, so make sure to get something in you so you can function. For example, a good little breakfast would be half a bagel with cream cheese and some fruit. Three hours later, eat some raisons. For lunch, have half a turkey sandwich with a light layer of reduced fat light mayo. This will ensure you have enough energy to keep you going without a crash. The moral of the story is coffee can either be your friend or enemy, the choice is yours.