COFFEE CAN HELP YOU TO LOSE WEIGHT ?

COFFEE CAN HELP YOU TO LOSE WEIGHT ?

Coffee is the most popular morning beverage consumed around the world. In fact, the global population consumes over 160 million bags of coffee in a year.  Though the drink is most popular for boosting energy, it can also be healthy and help with your weight loss goals.  “Coffee, when consumed in moderation and without too many added sweeteners, can help with weight loss and be beneficial to your overall health,” says Ashley Shaw, RD, a registered dietitian at Preg Appetit. 

Coffee contains caffeine, which is the most commonly consumed psychoactive substance in the world. Caffeine is also included in most commercial fat-burning supplements today — and for good reason. Moreover, it’s one of the few substances known to help mobilize fats from your fat tissues and increase metabolism. Caffeine stimulates the nervous system, which sends direct signals to the fat cells, telling them to break down fat.  It does this by increasing blood levels of the hormone epinephrine. 

Epinephrine, also known as adrenaline, travels through your blood to the fat tissues, signaling them to break down fats and release them into your blood. Of course, releasing fatty acids into your blood does not help you lose fat unless you are burning more calories than you consume through your diet. This condition is known as a negative energy balance. But does coffee really help you lose weight? This article takes a close look at the evidence.

Yes, coffee can help with weight loss

Coffee contains nutrients such as niacin, potassium, magnesium, and antioxidants — which can improve digestive health, support muscle function, and lead to better heart health. It also contains caffeine, which boosts metabolism, improves energy, and can promote weight loss. 

Black coffee is a low-calorie beverage. Weight loss is associated with a calorie deficit, which is when you consume fewer calories than you burn. A popular way to help achieve a calorie deficit is to consume fewer calories than your usual caloric intake.  Black coffee is an ideal beverage to drink for weight loss as it contains less than 5 calories per serving (one 8-0z cup). However, it’s only low-calorie if you drink it black. “While black coffee is low-calorie, it can quickly become high in calories, sugar, and fats when different milks and sugars are added to it,” Shaw says. 

CAFFEINE BURNS CALORIES

One laboratory study, published in Food & Function in 2012, found that caffeine boosted thermogenesis (the process of your body producing heat). The more heat your body generates, the more calories you’ll burn away (and the faster you’ll reach your weight loss goals). That sounds like a win-win to us!

 

Caffeine gives you a big energy boost and prompts the body to burn more fat stores instead of the limited stores of carbohydrate in our muscles. When drunk 30 minutes before exercise, coffee improves your performance and makes you feel like you can go harder for longer. This way you’ll burn more calories during your workout and lose weight quicker. Many people add our coffee to their pre-workout protein shakes, or they just drink it black. Drinking black coffee before any physical activity can achieve higher calories burned both during and after the workout, as well as improved use of fatty acids for aerobic energy.

 

COFFEE INCREASES YOUR METABOLIC RATE

Caffeine has been said to increase your metabolic rate by 3-11%. The higher your metabolic rate, the easier it is for you to burn fat. So this is basically gold if you’re trying to lose weight.  Metabolism is the process in which the body breaks down nutrients and utilizes foods’ calories throughout the day. Caffeine, a stimulant found in coffee, is one of few substances that may increase your basal metabolic rate (BMR), also known as the rate at which you burn calories while resting. A small 2018 study found that participants who drank various measures of coffee over the course of two months had greater metabolites, a product of metabolism. A higher or faster metabolism will allow you to burn more calories at rest or during physical activity, which may help lead to weight loss. 

 

COFFEE IS JAM-PACKED WITH ANTIOXIDANTS
In weight-loss expert – Keri Glassman’s – book, The O2 Diet, she reveals the powerful benefits of eating foods packed with antioxidants on losing weight. Antioxidants protect the body from damage caused by harmful molecules called ‘free radicals’. Interestingly, the Western diet gets 79% of its antioxidants from beverages, rather than food. In studies carried out in Finland & Norway, coffee was proved to be the largest antioxidant source, providing around 64% of total antioxidant intake.

CAFFEINE MOBILISES FAT FROM THE FAT TISSUE

Caffeine has been proven to send direct signals to the fat cells telling them to break down fat. Fat needs to be broken down before it can be utilised and expelled from the body through physical exertion. Coffee also increases the levels of adrenaline in our blood, which helps with this process of breaking down fats. This is the reason why caffeine is a staple ingredient in most weight loss supplements and diet pills.  

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