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Okay, I have heard that pop/soda/coke/pepsi are really bad for trying to get in shape. I was wondering if coffee is in the same group.
Now, I just started biking. I bike usually 14 miles, every other day. I have pretty much cut out coke from my diet. I've been getting juice and water with my meals. But I really love the coffee. And now I;m in exam period, and coffee is my best friend. I probably consume 3 16oz cups per day. I have nearly eliminated my fast foods.
So, based on my excercise and stats (180lbs, 18, 5'9) Am I doing anything overly wrong?
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You might do a google search. I doubt you'll find that coke and coffee are bad for you. Coffee has antioxidants. The caffeine is considered by many as helping performance and recovery. Caffeine can iterfere with sleep if consumed too late in the day or in too large a quantity and that's not good for getting into shape. However, how much is too much depends on the individual.
Soft drinks do inhibit somewhat the absorption of calcium, but it's by a small amount, so you can add a small amount of calcium to your diet to compensate. I personally stick to diet coke as I don't like empty calories and I avoid corn syrup.
These kinds of issues are covered in Carmichael's Food for Fitness. An excellent text on nutrition for athletes/active folks.
Way to go on the fast foods, but some are OK. That's where Carmichaels book comes in handy. A good understanding of nutrition allows one to eat for fitness, yet still enjoy the food. If you don't enjoy it, it'll be to hard to make the changes stick for life.
Processed foods are another thing to be careful about. Got to read the labels.
Al
Depends on if its black coffee or with sugar and or cream.
I live on coffee, but when i used to have it with sugar, that was about 10 teaspoons of sugar everyday which doesnt help trying to get in shape.
Black coffee has no calories, no artificial sweetners, no artificial flavoring, no artificial coloring....you get the idea.
i ride about 3 times as much as you do and i drink coffee every day before my rides. i drink it before races as well. BUT i try to keep it reasonsible, as too much gives me a stomach problems. one or two cups early in the day are good enough for me. your body may tolerate it different than someone else so you need to find a proper balance here. just make sure you feel good (and not jittery, anxious, sick, etc.). never use coffee to deter sleep.
I have depended on coffee to get me through finals for six years of unviersity. It is every students best friend. I drink about the same amount you do per day and am biking around 250 km/ week. I don't think it will directly affect your fitness, but like the last poster said, it affects sleep patterns and may affect fitness in that way. School affects my sleep ability more so than coffee, especially this time of year. I never drink coffee later than 7 p.m. so I am tired by time 11 or 12 comes around. Drink away!
Thats good to hear! I really plan on stepping up my distances, once the nice weather is here to stay, and finals are over. I have been drinking "double-double" (2 cr, 2 sug) . Maybe I should cut that down.
I do enjoy a couple of cups of coffee a day, but instead of sugar and cream I use Splenda and Non-fat milk. It may not have that creamy flavor, but the Splenda is very convincing. If you're worried about fitness, you'll have to make some sacrifices and deal with a bit less cream to your cups of coffee! Drink on.
Try to learn to drink black coffee
That will lead to actually tasting the coffee
That will lead to expresso
which will lead to buying an espresso machine and learning to roast your own coffee
And then one day you'll find yourself loading up your bike panniers with 10 lbs of various exotic green coffee beans at time to drag home and roast up and turn into esprosso.......errr maybe thats just me
I would agree that the best part of coffee is the coffee,
not the cream / sugar / flavorings that so many people put in it. I ride a fair amount and drink a fair amount of coffee, but it's always black. and only good coffee.
if you can't drink it black it's not good coffee and not worth the time.
the expression "life is to short to drink bad beer" applies to coffee.
I would agree that the best part of coffee is the coffee,
not the cream / sugar / flavorings that so many people put in it. I ride a fair amount and drink a fair amount of coffee, but it's always black. and only good coffee.
if you can't drink it black it's not good coffee and not worth the time.
the expression "life is to short to drink bad beer" applies to coffee.
Would Pabst be considered a bad beer? If so, I hope my life is centuries long.
I've deffinatly had worse.
Try to learn to drink black coffee
That will lead to actually tasting the coffee
That will lead to expresso
which will lead to buying an espresso machine and learning to roast your own coffee
And then one day you'll find yourself loading up your bike panniers with 10 lbs of various exotic green coffee beans at time to drag home and roast up and turn into esprosso.......errr maybe thats just me One of the most popular kerb side throwout items are, coffee machines,
with this in mind i bought a one liter coffee plunger and coffee beans and have'nt looked back.
You'll find that once the Coke has been digested and absorbed through the intestines into your bloodstream, it's the mostly same stuff as energy-drinks/gels, Powerbars, breads, pastas, veggies and fruit! ... without the extra nutrients of course... but you can take pills to make it up. ;)
Also caffeine as been shown to create a glycogen-sparing effect. It stimulates glucagon secretions which triggers your adipose fat-tissues to dump their stores for your muscles to use as energy, thus relieving some of the stored carbs from being burnt. Typically extends your range before bonking by 20-30 miles depending upon intensity. :)
Like with everything else, it's all about moderation and balance. There's no magical single-compound elixir that's gonna make you into Superman or is gonna kill you outright (foods that is).
coke is a much better mixer than coffee.
coke is a much better mixer than coffee.
Not for liquers :D
I work at a Nursing School and during my work breaks I often read the Harvard Medical Journal. It had a 3-page article on caffeine consumption (STRAIGHT BLACK NO SUGAR ETC), it actually lowered cholesterol and helped brain stimuli. KEEP DRINKING IT'S GOOD FOR YOU!
If I remember, the next time I'm at work I’ll bring it home and post some of the things they said.
Whenever I see videos of pros after a race, they're always drinking coke.
They usually start drinking the Coke about 30-45 minutes before the end of a race. The diuretic action makes you pee a little more than normal... flushing out stuff from your body you don't want showing up if you get tested...
coke is a much better mixer than coffee.Not for liquers heh, heh.. here you go...
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e346/DannoXYZ/Parties/IrishCoffee3.jpghttp://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e346/DannoXYZ/Parties/IrishCoffee2.jpghttp://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e346/DannoXYZ/Parties/IrishCoffee1.jpg
Ahhhhh, coffee and liquer, what more could one ask for :)
So it is just a myth, that continued consumptiopn of coke will keep you from losing 20 pounds?
To clarify, I have heard that you cant lose a certain amount of weight if you continue to drink coke?
I dont want to lose a lot of weight, I just want to tone up, turn a little pudge into muscle, and get in shape.
Soda is sugar. Sugar is a high GI food with no nutritional value. It's junk calories, so in that sense it will make it more difficult to lose weight.
So it is just a myth, that continued consumptiopn of coke will keep you from losing 20 pounds?
To clarify, I have heard that you cant lose a certain amount of weight if you continue to drink coke?
I dont want to lose a lot of weight, I just want to tone up, turn a little pudge into muscle, and get in shape.The main problem is how much you eat and when. What you eat is secondary within reasonable ranges. To do what you want, stick to some basic guidelines:
1. eat fewer calories than you burn off daily, don't starve yourself or your body will take apart muscle
2. spread out and time your meals, high-GI foods when exercising for quick energy and immediately afterwards for recovery, low-GI foods at all other times. Don't eat right before going to bed.
3. a 4:1 carb/protein ratio seems to be the most commonly accepted mix, although I've done anywhere from 8:1 to 1:4 as well with similar results, depending upon the workout that day. Been losing 1.0-1.5 lbs/week for over a year now (refer back to #1).
4. do strength-building exercises to build muscle. You can eat all the protein you want, even a 100% protein diet, but if you don't stress and strain the muscles to the point where they need to develop to deal with the higher loads, all that protein will just turn to fat on your body. It's the the bound-up Z-bands, microscopic tears in the muscle fibres, the leaking cytoplasm that raises CPK levels which triggers muscle-rebuilding.
I love coffee. I drink it all the time and everyday. Possibly 3-4 cups a day. Yet I ride just fine and am not any fatter or sluggish. It helps me keep from binging and its a nice way to enjoy yourself. I have a coffee family. The only problem I've had with coffee is stomach issues. I'm not sure the source of it but it seems if I don't eat something while drinking coffee I get sick. I get immense pains. Its all digestive though, nothing allergic or chemical. Its nice when I don't want to eat, you know, skip a meal or something but I do pay once in awhile.
Okay, bear with me, the search function WILL NOT work.
Okay, I have heard that pop/soda/coke/pepsi are really bad for trying to get in shape. I was wondering if coffee is in the same group.
Now, I just started biking. I bike usually 14 miles, every other day. I have pretty much cut out coke from my diet. I've been getting juice and water with my meals. But I really love the coffee. And now I;m in exam period, and coffee is my best friend. I probably consume 3 16oz cups per day. I have nearly eliminated my fast foods.
So, based on my excercise and stats (180lbs, 18, 5'9) Am I doing anything overly wrong?
Like other people said, black coffee has no calories. I've learned to drink my coffee black and I've become so used to the taste that I love it black. One thing though is that it will dehydrate you.
If you need it for the caffeine, you should try some green tea. It's got those antioxidants everyone is raving about.
The main problem is how much you eat and when. What you eat is secondary within reasonable ranges. To do what you want, stick to some basic guidelines:
1. eat fewer calories than you burn off daily, don't starve yourself or your body will take apart muscle
2. spread out and time your meals, high-GI foods when exercising for quick energy and immediately afterwards for recovery, low-GI foods at all other times. Don't eat right before going to bed.
3. a 4:1 carb/protein ratio seems to be the most commonly accepted mix, although I've done anywhere from 8:1 to 1:4 as well with similar results, depending upon the workout that day. Been losing 1.0-1.5 lbs/week for over a year now (refer back to #1).
4. do strength-building exercises to build muscle. You can eat all the protein you want, even a 100% protein diet, but if you don't stress and strain the muscles to the point where they need to develop to deal with the higher loads, all that protein will just turn to fat on your body. It's the the bound-up Z-bands, microscopic tears in the muscle fibres, the leaking cytoplasm that raises CPK levels which triggers muscle-rebuilding.
Where'd you hear about 4?
Even if I do heavy weight training, I can't eat all the proten I want because it will turn to fat.
I love coffee. I drink it all the time and everyday. Possibly 3-4 cups a day. Yet I ride just fine and am not any fatter or sluggish. It helps me keep from binging and its a nice way to enjoy yourself. I have a coffee family. The only problem I've had with coffee is stomach issues. I'm not sure the source of it but it seems if I don't eat something while drinking coffee I get sick. I get immense pains. Its all digestive though, nothing allergic or chemical. Its nice when I don't want to eat, you know, skip a meal or something but I do pay once in awhile.
3-4? Wimp.
3-4? Wimp.
What's your number toughguy?:D
Whoa.... Exam period is so bad for me and coffee. For the last 4 days, I have been on a coffee and muffin diet with the occasional real meal thrown in.
I can feel it too. I get quite dehydrated, and have to step up the juice intake. I went out for a ride today, and was slow.... I lost 5 minutes on my usual time. After reading the posts, Im assuming that the problem is my food intake, and not the coffee for the last few days.
Anyway, exams will be over in a week, and I will be able to hit the road everyday for four months.
I've stayed up 4 nights in a row once with the help of coffee. On the 5th day I started seeing hallucinations. Not outright poltergeists or anything obvious, but little things like tools moving out of the corner of my eye and shadows and stuff... I can tell you for sure that if I was to try and ride my bike, I woudn't be breaking any PRs either... :)
Where'd you hear about 4?
Even if I do heavy weight training, I can't eat all the proten I want because it will turn to fat.Heh, heh... just using hyperbole to illustrate a point. Refer back to #1 as well. You can't force your body to absorb more than it needs. It's a like a sponge where you can't expect a small kitchen sponge to soak up 2-gallons; it's just not gonna happen. Your protein needs will vary based upon the amount of tissue-rebuilding needed and if you don't have much muscle-damage from strenuous workouts, it's not going to absorb very much. Even with high-stress strength workouts, there's only so much it will absorb, the rest will turn to fat and go down the drain. Just examine the amount of lean muscle-mass you can add monthly and divide by 30-days and you'll get an idea of how much protein is needed daily (plus a little extra). Bodybuilders might need twice as much as cyclists, but even then, it's not a huge amount. :)
Whoa.... Exam period is so bad for me and coffee. For the last 4 days, I have been on a coffee and muffin diet with the occasional real meal thrown in.
I can feel it too. I get quite dehydrated, and have to step up the juice intake. I went out for a ride today, and was slow.... I lost 5 minutes on my usual time. After reading the posts, Im assuming that the problem is my food intake, and not the coffee for the last few days.
Anyway, exams will be over in a week, and I will be able to hit the road everyday for four months.
Can't sleep.....profs will beat me......can't sleep......profs will beat me........
Seriously though finals suck and I have two more days and then it is full-on biking season. A week of almost neglect from the bike is killing me. Coffee is my friend though, but yes, diet changes are a given during finals. Munchies, and excessive amounts of coffee are not good for the body for either biking or everyday health. But a week after finals, you won't notice a thing.
I just have a black coffee I.V. tube into my forearm.
The only way I will think about giving up coffee is if my doctor tells me I will die if I don't.
I love coffee and drink about a pot/12 cups a day, usually before noon. I can't say if it affects my riding or not but I'm not trying to win races just have fun and maybe get a little healthier at the same time.
Jack aka:makeitso
So it is just a myth, that continued consumptiopn of coke will keep you from losing 20 pounds?
To clarify, I have heard that you cant lose a certain amount of weight if you continue to drink coke?
I dont want to lose a lot of weight, I just want to tone up, turn a little pudge into muscle, and get in shape.
I used to drink 1 can of coke every day. At the urging of my dentist, I quit and started to drink 1 cup of tea every day (black). This was the only change I made in my lifestyle, and this was back before I started biking. In 1 year I had lost 25 to 30 pounds, where I have leveled off. I'm 5'-6", 135 lb 32yr old male. Just reducing my intake by 150 calories per day made that big an effect on me. This has been one of the single best choices I have made.
I didn't consider myself to be overweight before quitting the coke and have been amazed at the weight loss. And I didn't quit to try and lose weight, I just thought I'd get more caffene with the tea instead - I haven't worked up to coffee yet.
i am not much of a coke drinker, but i usually drink diet coke anyways. It's funny, the only soft drinks i really like are ginger ale and fresca.
As for coffee, i admit I'm addicted to it but so what? There are worse things to be addicted to- like meth!
The problem with Coke is the High Fructose Corn Syrup. Unlike regular sugar, HFCS goes directly to the liver, releasing enzymes that instruct the body to then store fat. It also tricks the body into thinking that it's not full and people tend to over eat.
If you've ever seen "Super-size Me" this is the reason that Morgan was having liver problems.
Evil Coke. Just for curiosities sake, how many calories are in a pack of sugar? or a cream for that matter?
The problem with Coke is the High Fructose Corn Syrup. Unlike regular sugar, HFCS goes directly to the liver, releasing enzymes that instruct the body to then store fat. It also tricks the body into thinking that it's not full and people tend to over eat.
If you've ever seen "Super-size Me" this is the reason that Morgan was having liver problems.There's a time-delay reaction here. Fructose doesn't trigger the insulin-response. Your leptin levels don't rise. These hormones increase in relation to blood-glucose levels and tell your brain that you've eaten a meal and you no longer feel hungry <edit>. Fructose doesn't do that, so you can drink in a couple hundred calories and not feel like you've eaten anything. However, the liver will convert that fructose to glucose, and excess amounts that's not burned up in exercise will get converted to fat. It's not so much the fructose that's the problem, it's that you can eat a tonne of it without realizing it. And Morgan Spurlock was a little extreme in Supersize Me, I don't see too many people double-fisting large choco shakes AND a large soda at just about every single meal... ;)
Everything in moderation and you should be fine. A Coke here and there's not gonna hurt. So's a cup or two of coffee a day. Overdoing both will have side-effects that's not desirable.
i am not much of a coke drinker, but i usually drink diet coke anyways. It's funny, the only soft drinks i really like are ginger ale and fresca.
As for coffee, i admit I'm addicted to it but so what? There are worse things to be addicted to- like meth!
Diet Coke unless Pepsi is available. Favorite at home is Fresca (maybe a case a week) and Crystal Light. Love the stuff.
I also try very hard to limit my intake of coffee (with Splenda) to 10 - 15 cups per day.:)
There's a time-delay reaction here. Fructose doesn't trigger the insulin-response. Your leptin levels don't rise. These hormones increase in relation blood-glucose levels tell your brain that you've eaten a meal and you no longer feel full. Fructose doesn't do that, so you can drink in a couple hundred calories and not feel like you've eaten anything. However, the liver will convert that fructose to glucose, and excess amounts that's not burned up in exercise will get converted to fat. It's not so much the fructose that's the problem, it's that you can eat a tonne of it without realizing it. And Morgan Spurlock was a little extreme in Supersize Me, I don't see too many people double-fisting large choco shakes AND a large soda at just about every single meal... ;)
Everything in moderation and you should be fine. A Coke here and there's not gonna hurt. So's a cup or two of coffee a day. Overdoing both will have side-effects that's not desirable.
Yes, but what people don't realize is that HFCS is in almost everything, so it's hard to moderate things that you weren't looking for. The idea behind the Morgan Spurlock reference was talking about how it's in everything that McDonalds sells except for the coffee ;).
The idea behind the Morgan Spurlock reference was talking about how it's in everything that McDonalds sells except for the coffee ;).
Completly off topic, but I only seen the movie super size me once. And in thinking back at the movie a few months later, isnt the fact that the guy they interview who has eaten like 3 big macs a day for 15 years or whatever it was, wasnt he skinny ?
Doesnt that kinda blow a lot of what the movie is supposed to be saying up in smoke ?
Completly off topic, but I only seen the movie super size me once. And in thinking back at the movie a few months later, isnt the fact that the guy they interview who has eaten like 3 big macs a day for 15 years or whatever it was, wasnt he skinny ?
Doesnt that kinda blow a lot of what the movie is supposed to be saying up in smoke ?
I must have too much time on my hands.
No. First, the highest sources of calories are the french fries, the cokes, and the oil-laden "salads." Second, that guy was disgusting, and being skinny is hardly an indicator of well being. His body has been absorbing toxins from industrial animal protein for years and years, among other things. He may have a metabolism that stores very little fat - incurring the anger of many others, I'm sure :) - but his kidneys and liver still must filter and cleanse his body and bear the damage of his diet.
I love the coffee I make in my press, but I *try* to avoid it before exercise because it dehydrates me. But the Coke in the States and other soft drinks has so much corn syrup it's scary. Besides the actual biochemistry of HFCS consumption, the most damning evidence for me is that after an adolescence of soda drinking and then ten years of dropping it out of my diet, when I ever have a soda with corn syrup instead of cane sugar, I feel physically ill. I'm a teacher at a university, and the students are regularly going through constant sugar highs and low blood sugar cycles before my eyes everyday, tired as can be.
Someone mentioned that pros often drank cokes after races. I wonder if those races are in Europe, where the sodas contain less processed sugars (I've been told).
Have any of you given up soda and then felt ill after having one on a whim? Curious.
Someone mentioned that pros often drank cokes after races. I wonder if those races are in Europe, where the sodas contain less processed sugars (I've been told).
Flat cokes - don't want to get gassy!
Have any of you given up soda and then felt ill after having one on a whim? Curious.
yep. I rarely drink soda anymore, though I have been known to indulge in Jarritos (a mega-cheap mexican soda sold only at questionable grocery stores that has actual sugar in it, and tastes way better).
So we're blaming HFCS for fat people, right? Who here has taken it to the next level, and blames import tariffs for HFCS, and therefore fat people? *raises hand*
Haha.... Thinking like an economist
http://www.areapins.com/fotos/botellas-coke/blak-cola.jpg
THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
After a quick google search, that stuff looks good. Prob wont hit Canada till the Fall though
i was piling up on sugar in my coffee but started using a measuring spoon to keep track of how much i waas taking in. also i limitied my coffee intake in the morning to 2 cups instaed of 6. using a reduced fat milk is also a good idea.
Roasting your own coffee has been mentioned in the thread, so I decided to link a page I just put up within the last few days. http://wulfheir.com/roaster if you are at all interested. Yes it's ghetto, but it also has provided me with the best tasting coffee I've ever had.
Roasting your own coffee has been mentioned in the thread, so I decided to link a page I just put up within the last few days. http://wulfheir.com/roaster if you are at all interested. Yes it's ghetto, but it also has provided me with the best tasting coffee I've ever had.HEY! That's a great idea! I've got an extra popcorn popper sitting around that I haven't used in a while... Gotta try that....
Wulfeir, Cool site :)
I use a poppery 2 and lots of extension cords to roast beans. Have been doing it for a while now, its awesome. I have a place about 3 blocks from work that i can stop at to buy green beans on my bike commute home. He always has about 40 varieties of green beans to choose from. If i look over at the closet behind me, i got about a dozen bags of differing origins at any given time :)
If you like espresso, well you cant beat the freshness and creama from home roasting. Makes a hell of a smell from the garage though :/
Wulfeir, Cool site :)
I use a poppery 2 and lots of extension cords to roast beans. Have been doing it for a while now, its awesome. I have a place about 3 blocks from work that i can stop at to buy green beans on my bike commute home. He always has about 40 varieties of green beans to choose from. If i look over at the closet behind me, i got about a dozen bags of differing origins at any given time :)
If you like espresso, well you cant beat the freshness and creama from home roasting. Makes a hell of a smell from the garage though :/
I just modded a poppery 2 this weekend. Have only done 1 roast with it so far, turned out good though. I wish I had a green supplier like you. I have to buy a minimum of 5lb of each variety I want. The cost is $1/lb tho, which is nice.
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