Just came from a group of about 8 or 10 at church where we gather to discuss articles in our denominational magazine.

Coffee to start, then lunch (including coffee) at the end.

ole joyfuelled

We freshly grind coffee beans for coffee and love the rich and full flavor.

Thanks a lot Lucille (sticks tongue out and runs) LOL

I recently well a few months ago gave up smothering my after dinner coffee in whipped cream and cinnamon sugar...now I must have it again with whipped cream but with shaved chocolate on top...YUM.

Sounds great! I have to admit, though, and I mean no offense, that I chuckle when people say they use Equal but also use half and half, whipped cream, etc. Why fake, chemical sweetener if other high calorie items are used? Sugar has fewer calories than cream, etc. Again, no offense intended; I just don't get why people use fake sugar (if an effort to avoid calories) when they use highly caloric other flavorings.

My husband does this.

You really wouldn't want to see me on caffeine, or booze.... wow, can you imagine, the energy I would have to burn off? LOL

Moni

Isn't it nice to find something different that you enjoy so much?

I'm jealous! Apparently, my favorite mug of half and half with coffee added for flavor isn't low calorie. I'm kicking the habit. I made a cup of tea instead. I don't really like it, but it kept me away from the coffee.

I lost interest in coffee a few months ago and haven't made or ordered any since then. Chai tea (strong brew) with honey has been my caffeine drink.

I generally start the day off with a large mug of coffee, and leave about 1/4 cup before I had out the day. Enjoy the remaining at room temperature later in the afternoon That's the way I like it.

I go from drinking pots of coffee to barely finishing my first cup. Right now I'm on a coffee kick so I've been making 2 pots a day for us. I have to be careful to not drink it too late in the day or I'm up all night.

I like it with some half and half. Everyone once in a great while a flavored coffee creamer, like chocolate caramel. At Christmas time it was chocolate peppermint, something like that. Mainly just half and half.

I do like my Bengal Spice tea with a tiny touch of half and half, sometimes, other times without, and some sugar.

That looks scrumptious!!!

Suzieque, I am on a low carb/keto way of eating (which actually makes it easier for me to lose weight). Since I am in ketosis, it is the fat that provides energy for me. Too many carbs (sugar) will bump me out of ketosis and actually can make me ill temporarily. I'm glad you asked instead of continuing to laugh about something you didn't understand.

Lucille-for an extra amazing keto coffee...blend the cup of coffee with 1 TB coconut oil and 1 TB unsalted pasture raised butter (Kerrygold is good) in a blender (lid off or you will have a big mess). 200 calories of pure fat. So delicious and filling. It’s called Bulletproof Coffee for some reason. It’s truly amazing. I only make it once a week or so.

I've heard of this bullet proof coffee. I've never understood though how filling up on fats help weight loss??

Suzieque, my mom would tell you, the calories from "diet" stuff is "negative" calories and that cancels out the "positive" calories in the the nondiet food. So she would have a diet coke to offset the reese cups. See? A net total of zero calories. We're a silly family, what can I say?

Mama, It does not do that for everyone, we are all individuals. However, for me, and apparently for many others, fats help prevent one from being hungry again so quickly. If I have a breakfast of Frosted Flakes or pancakes and syrup I'm hungry again in an hour. If I have an omelet fried in butter, I'm good until lunch. Of course one has to take portions into account, one can't eat several sticks of butter every day and expect weight loss.

Mamapinky, food is either protein, carbs or fat. In keto eating, carbs are to be avoided, and so is a lot of protein because too much protein can change how the body processes energy and kick the body out of ketosis. So that leaves fat to get enough calories. Keto is low carb, moderate protein and high (enough till you're satisfied) fat.

Fat gets a bad rap but it's really sugar that is the worst for you. It's hard to ignore decades of bad advice though. I still find it difficult to eat a lot of fat when I do keto.

Thanks for the info. When I was 40 I lost 60+ pounds in 4 months. My main diet was white, long grain rice. Actually it was more than my main diet it was the only thing other than black coffee and water that passed my lips. Sometimes I hear about carbs and weight gain and think heck that's all I ate than I think that's right that's ALL I ate.

Well, at the end of the day it's still calories in vs. calories out, no matter how you get there. People find different diets work better than others for them. I get far less hungry on keto than just calorie counting for the same 1400 calories. You could lose weight eating nothing but fast food if the calories are low enough.

Optimal nutrition is a different matter, of course, and food choices do matter there. Why did you only eat white rice? How did you feel?

I ate it Chi because I saw something Susan Powers said. I wanted to lose weight fast. I decided to eat rice plain for dinner. But quickly found it was all I would eat. The weight started dropping off fast. I would get hungry so I'd eat rice again. It was strange because the hungrier I felt the better I felt in a sick sort of way because I was far from feeling well. I had no energy, I often felt shaky. I started getting what looked like peach fuzz on my face. I was battling intensely dry skin. Mike was mad at me and threatened to drag me to the doctor. After 4 months I met my goal. I was into a size 4 jeans. I started eating normal foods but only a small amount at first than gradually resumed eating real foods. I did however watch what I ate and tried to keep it healthy. I also gained a couple pounds...absolutely no way I was going to gain or go back to just rice. I was finially feeling really good. So I started dancing in my livingroom daily for about an hour while everyone was gone. I stopped gaining and pretty much maintained my weight give or take a pound or two. This worked great i was not regaining, i felt very good. When I was 52 I got sick and was down for awhile. I would snack while I read my books and before long the weight started creeping back. I did maintain my weight loss for 12&1/2 years. I realized that it does take work to lose and its a life long job.

I wouldn't do it at my age now. I must have been off my rocker..its a wonder I didn't collapse.

it is actually more that calories in and out but I don’t think science quite understands the why of it yet.

I remember one study I read some time ago...They fed 2 groups of people a ridiculous amount of calories (maybe 8000 a day) over a certain number of weeks. One group had almost all carbs and another had almost all fat. The carb people gained something like 17 pounds and the fat eating group gained only 3-4 pounds. I think the idea is that the ketosis has a thermogenesis affect on metabolism.

And I actually feel this too. When I go into dietary ketosis., I feel like I’m on fire. I literally walk around without a coat or even run outside in 30 degree temps in just a tank top. My husband calls me a furnace when I’m like this. I wish I could maintain it more than a month or two but the pizza calls my name (cauliflower pizza just doesn’t do it).

I agree there are some subtle differences in food choices that affect weight loss. But it's definitely possible to not lose weight on keto if your calories are too high. Also I think people tend to underestimate how much they eat when tracking calories.

people tend to underestimate how much they eat when tracking calories.

I must be missing something. I would think they know exactly what they're eating.

Studies have confirmed that people do underestimate what they eat are far as quantity. To me, it is easy to see why. Often calorie lists are written in terms of cups, tablespoons, etc. People flat out do not estimate those correctly.

Dr. Fung has some interesting studies in terms of body set weight and appetite thermostat and theorizes that weight loss is more than calories in/calories out.

It's tough to track accurately unless you eat only packaged food with the info already provided. Most people aren't going to weight out the splash of half and half for their coffee or the pat of butter.

If you make a recipe for dinner, you'd have to enter in all the ingredients, weigh the final product, weigh your portion and then calculate the percentage of the full calorie amount. You couldn't use the published amounts due to variance in ingredients. Most people don't have time or energy for that so they will ballpark it.

I did keto for a month and didn't lose any weight past the initial water weight. I think because my favorite treat was Zevia soda with heavy cream and I never measured it. I think I was drinking way more calories than I estimated.

I've never heard of Zevia soda. Is it a cola drink? What does adding cream to it do?

It's a zero-calorie soda that uses stevia instead of artificial sweeteners, which I avoid. Adding cream to soda makes it almost like an ice cream float - it's delicious. They have colas, ginger ale, black cherry, orange, lemon-lime, Dr Pepper-type, all types of flavors.

I have started having a cup of tea every afternoon, if I get the time to sit down for a few minutes. I have a special little teapot and cup and saucer...special to me because they are antiques and I have used them a lot during stressful times in my life. I like unsweetened iced tea, but sweet hot tea. I have it with 2 biscotti. It is a time for me to sit and reflect.

How is stevia any better than sugar or any other sweetener? Seriously. Sugar is also derived from a plant. They're both processed into the end product, so why is stevia ok?

Thanks Chi

Stevia is very different than sugar. Sugar has calories, increases blood sugar, can cause insulin resistance, can affect hormones, harms teeth, has addictive properties and many other negative effects on the body.

Stevia has no calories and does not affect blood sugar.

It has calories, far fewer, but don't be fooled by the new magic bullet. Keep in mind, to see it in the form you do, is also not a natural form. It may be a less detrimental (as long as it's by itself, which it often is NOT), but it's not harm free.

Less detrimental is a good step....

It's not really a new thing. I've been using it for decades now. I believe it's a better choice when sugar or artificial sweeteners are the alternative. I have insulin resistance and have to be careful about eating high glycemic foods. Simple as that.

For those not familiar with the glycemic index:

http://www.eatthis.com/sweeteners/

As you see in the article, stevia is excellent.

In other words artificial sweeteners are the better option for some people but maybe not for everyone right?

Artificial sweeteners are all different, some with high glycemic indexes, and some very low.

I personally think it is a good idea for everyone to try to keep their glycemic foods at a low level.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/choosing-good-carbs-with-the-glycemic-index

I'm not surprised you felt so unwell on a plain white rice diet, mamapinky. White rice has almost no nutritional content. Plain potatoes, on the other hand, have pretty much everything you need.