Exercise / Working Out - Coffee, Etc.

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elime

elime

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Oct 19, 2007
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So, I know at least a couple of you guys are into working out.

I, however, have never been.

In high school I was playing MUDs and reading sci-fi when my friends were on the football team and getting laid. Needless to say, healthiness has never been a huge part of my life.

As some of you know, I escaped the office job / 9-5 environment about a year ago and started working from home. It's turned me around financially and mentally, but the old bod has suffered more than ever.

In a nutshell, as my bank statement grows so does my ass.

I'm exaggerating a bit, I'm certainly not Jabba the Hutt but I could sure as hell look better if I dropped a few pounds.

Anyhoo, I recently did a ton of research and I've started to work out a little bit, or at least started trying to be more active. Pirated some workout videos and such. I'm starting to get into the nutrition side of things finally.

Which brings me to my main question: Caffeine is a huge part of my life, even moreso the past year, and I'm sure many of you can relate. I fucking thrive on coffee, energy drinks, etc. I get unbelievably sick pleasure out of sipping a hot cup of joe with a smoke in the mornings.

I've looked around, but I can't get a straight answer on whether or not caffeine/coffee will mess up your metabolism/whatever when you're doing a workout program/diet. My suspicion is that it does, but hopefully I can get some insight on this.

If indeed it does, what are some alternatives you'd suggest that aren't total crap? Tea? Some kind of...non-caffeinated energy drink thing? I'm dedicated to dropping some weight but by god I don't want to give up my coffee. I'm a 1-2 pot per day guy.

Would love any tips from you fit, chiseled bastards.

Edit: I just realized that I was drinking coffee as I typed this post.
 
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elime said:
In a nutshell, as my bank statement grows so does my ass.
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Sorry about this. No seriously, I would not worry about caffeine reducing your body's ability to lose weight/burn fat/gain muscle. What you might wonder is how many calories you're ingesting in those 2 pots of coffee (ie. loads of cream/creamer and sugar vs. skim and splenda) and 20 cans of rockstar.

If you really want to lose weight, nothing works faster than running. You might be thinking cough, cough as you suck down your cig but try it out. Plus as you gain more muscle, you'll naturally burn more calories.

And I'm out.
 
this_guy said:
Sorry about this. No seriously, I would not worry about caffeine reducing your body's ability to lose weight/burn fat/gain muscle. What you might wonder is how many calories you're ingesting in those 2 pots of coffee (ie. loads of cream/creamer and sugar vs. skim and splenda) and 20 cans of rockstar.

If you really want to lose weight, nothing works faster than running. You might be thinking cough, cough as you suck down your cig but try it out. Plus as you gain more muscle, you'll naturally burn more calories.

And I'm out.
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I agree.

I wouldn't say that it's so much the caffeine that will add weight, but all of the calories in coffee.

Running, weight lifting, and other cardio will help you lose weight. Also diet is very important (if not the most important).
 
stoxup said:
An 8 oz. cup of coffee, brewed from grounds with tap water has only 2 calories.

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/
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true, plain coffee without sweeteners is a low calorie drink.

however,

"Adding cream, sugar, milk or non-dairy creamer to coffee can significantly increase the amount of calories in a cup of coffee. Non-fat milk does not add many calories, and sugar substitutes such as Splenda, Equal and Sweet N'Low are calorie-less. Non-dairy creamers can add up to 40 calories to coffee, half-and-half can add approximately 20 calories, and a typical serving of cream or sugar can add 50 to 60 calories to a plain cup of coffee.

Ordering coffee drinks from many of the popular coffee chains, such as Starbucks or Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf can contain 100 to 200 calories per serving. At Starbucks, for example, Frappuccinos made with whole milk can contain up to 500 calories for a regular-sized drink while hot espressos can contain up to 600 calories."

How Many Calories Are in Coffee? | eHow.com
 
I am an ex-personal trainer...coffee alone is not bad for you...artificial sweeteners are awful...stick to real sugar...energy drinks are also equal really bad but I consume them at an unhealthy rate now too...Caffeine itself isn't bad and I used to drink a bunch before working out...just my two cents...
 
It can be hard to start with, but once you get in to a decent training regime you can eat / drink what the fuck you want and not put much weight on. Any CV is good to drop the pounds, running, swimming etc, but you do need to be putting in effort whilst you do them. I've seen people in the swimming pool barely out of breath wondering why there still a fat bastard :). Whilst gym work is good (it's just about all I'm doing at the moment), it's not the best to actually lose weight if that's what you're wanting to do. As fo the coffee thing, I always thought it was a stimulant (don't drink it myself), and as far as I know most energy drinks have a shitload of calories in them.

Oh, and to drop weight at a decent rate you want to be training 3+ times a week for an hour or more each time.
 
There's 1 way to get fit/healthy/lose weight: get off your fat ass.

I work out fairly often (a few times a week) and I always have and I'm in great shape. I run and I couldn't do so without drinking water often. I do drink caffeine and it has no effect on how I feel or how healthy I am other than that it takes away from how much water I drink. Do not replace water with caffeined beverage and you'll be fine.

I stopped working out for about 3 months over the summer and I didn't gain much weight but I was definitely out of shape. It took me only 4 weeks to get into the kind of shape to run a 7 mile race without a problem. Keep in mind, I am a middle distance runner (1/2 miler and below), not a natural long distance runner. I just started running 1 or 2 miles at a time and then bumped up the mileage once or twice a week (only got up to 6 miles, once, before my race) and did some light strength training. It's really not as hard as everyone thinks -- just stop "researching" it and go do it. Same as affiliate marketing.

Pro tip: The longer and slower you go, the more you're teaching your body to retain fat. If you want to lose fat, do high intensity workouts like lifting weights ([high reps, lower weight] to gain muscle and [low reps, higher weight] to gain strength).
 
Get up in the morning and go for a brisk walk. Getting some steam on the engine first thing in the morning is a surprisingly a better pick me up than coffee - it clears out that morning haze and you may find you will need less coffee to get jamming. If you find that this works for you, then perhaps you might increase the intensity of the workout and find that you are craving that exercise high over a caffeine buzz first thing in the morning.
 
Thanks a lot for the advice guys. I'm relieved I can still enjoy coffee - need to cut back anyways, but I'll be fine as long as I can get a cup or two in during the morning. Honestly, I can do without the energy drinks.

Fortunately, I only drink black coffee. Not into creams/sugars, and definitely not into Starbucks.

What about alcohol? I have a buddy who is into working out and he refused to drink it when doing some program because it slows the metabolism. I'm not a big drinker by any means, a few mixed drinks at the bar and a few glasses of wine with friends at the most.

AMagz said:
Also diet is very important (if not the most important).
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Agreed. A couple years back I attempted a semi-diet and ate pretty healthy for a while. Didn't even exercise and noticed a difference. I want to do this again but actually do the workout stuff too.

nachoninja said:
natural energy blows away caffeine any day of the week
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So I've heard. Even being the neckbearded wheezer that I am, I always feel energized/fresh after being active.

Also, wtf? No acai berry jokes from anyone?
 
Energy drinks are some of the shittiest products you can buy legally and yeah, coffee kind of sucks as well but not for the reasons you've mentioned. Just try orange juice and see if that works as a good enough alternative: it did for me but it doesn't mean that it necessarily works for everyone. Just like with AM: test stuff out till something works and take it from there.

And don't start working out like crazy right from the beginning: if you do, this entire "I want to get in shape" thing will end up seeming like some kind of a chore pretty quickly and that's not the right place to be. Just keep it fun, don't try too hard and you'll be fine.
 
Got a serious question for this thread: I'm over 350, so running is kind of out of the question unless I want to destroy my knees, ankles, back, etc.

Are ellipticals very good compared to a plain old treadmill? I like the idea of an elliptical: no impact especially, but they seem to "do" the work for you (almost). Any thoughts?
 
i wouldn't use coffee as energy to workout, but i don't see a problem in still drinking it while you are on any type of routine (but it has to be black, no cream / sugar bitch!)
 
SEO_Mike said:
Got a serious question for this thread: I'm over 350, so running is kind of out of the question unless I want to destroy my knees, ankles, back, etc.

Are ellipticals very good compared to a plain old treadmill? I like the idea of an elliptical: no impact especially, but they seem to "do" the work for you (almost). Any thoughts?
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Ellipticals are good too. You could also try a bike and swimming. I would concentrate on variety if I were you.

Also, start weightlifting. You'll notice two synergistic effects. Since your strength is improving, you feel like you have more energy to carry around your bulk. Plus the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn sitting at your computer, which will hwlp lose weight. Which gives you more energy to lift more weight and do cardio.
 
Sorry I didn't read the whole thread. But caffene won't hurt your metabolism at all, but it does constrict your blood vessles, which makes it harder for oxygen to get to your muscles. So it's not a great idea to slam a couple cups before working out, but other than that it's fine. All the sugar & calories in energy drinks are terrible though, stay away from that stuff as much as you can. Or at least drink sugar free if you can stand it.

Diet is way important than working out. You need both obviously, but one is 1hr a day, and the other is 23hrs a day. If you haven't already, read up on bodybuilding.com. There is a ton of great info on there, it's also great to keep you motivated. Good luck!

EDIT: Mike, ellipticals kick ass. As someone else said, swimming would be good too. Anything to get that heart pumping without destroying your joints. I always warm up on an elliptical in the gym instead of a tread mill 'cause I can't stand running.
 
@kyleirwin, diet is more important than working out? I wholeheartedly disagree. I eat whatever I want, whenever I want. The trick is, your body craves what it needs naturally. If you work out hard, you'll want the meat and potatoes. If you don't, you'll want chips.

Ellipticals use less energy and they are really awkward but they are easier on the knees.
Clarification: weight doesn't matter, muscle mass vs body fat does. Lift weights if you have a lot of fat.

Alcohol can affect you a little bit but as long as you're sober when you work out, I've never had an issue. In fact, it often makes me feel better because of all the carbs. You won't be losing weight though.
 
Cool! Yeah, I need to cut back on the caffeine as well. My coffee consumption is up to around 2 pots per day. Approximately 12 - 20 cups. I'm thinking of just switching to decaf. If I can tell a difference in taste, then it's all good.

Going to check out some more ellipticals later. Might even get my fat ass on one. Or use the YMCA membership I've had for 6 months... :rolleyes:
 
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