Coffee lovers, rejoice! Not only will your favorite morning drink help you wake up and feel more alert, but it can also help you lose weight. This may seem counterintuitive if you’ve ever seen coffee belly pictures on the internet, but the truth is that coffee can actually be great for your waistline as long as you drink it the right way. In this article, we explain what to do and what not to do if you want to have your coffee and lose weight too!
The Top 5 Ways Coffee Can Help You Lose Weight
Caffeine isn’t all bad, as it turns out. In fact, a study published in Diabetes Care found that daily caffeine intake reduced your risk of developing type 2 diabetes by up to one-third. This is mostly because when you drink coffee, it doesn’t sit in your gut and ferment like alcohol does (read: coffee has zero calories). It keeps you regular—which means less bloat and gas! Plus, some studies show that coffee can actually improve insulin sensitivity. Also: Coffee is delicious! Pair it with skim milk for an extra boost of protein or unsweetened almond milk for some added calcium. And remember: All coffee drinks are not created equal!
Benefits of Drinking Coffee
There are plenty of reasons to drink coffee and lose weight. Coffee is delicious, helps you stay focused and alert, and can make you feel more energetic throughout your day. Most importantly, though, coffee can boost your metabolism—and that's good news if you're trying to drop a few pounds. Research published in The New England Journal of Medicine suggests that drinking three to five cups of coffee a day led to weight loss of approximately 11 pounds over a 16-week period when combined with modest diet changes (1). Yes, coffee is a great tool for losing weight!
Increases alertness
Caffeine can be a potent stimulant. Most of us are familiar with its ability to improve mental acuity, but it also increases physical alertness by keeping you on your toes. People who consume caffeine before exercise have a higher vigilance self-rating (think of it as heightened awareness) than those who consume a placebo, according to one study. That being said, don't overdo it—too much caffeine will impair your athletic performance and your sleep cycle. Researchers say that consuming 200 milligrams of caffeine—the amount in two eight-ounce cups of coffee—two hours before exercise can help increase workout intensity and boost athletic performance.
Caffeine helps suppress appetite
Caffeine does more than keep you awake. A study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that for every additional 150 milligrams of caffeine consumed per day, participants’ waist circumference was reduced by nearly an inch and their body fat percentage decreased by three percent. For some people, especially those with a fast-paced lifestyle, caffeine can be used as an appetite suppressant. But even if you’re not trying to lose weight but instead want to maintain your current body weight (as research is mixed on whether caffeine will help or hinder your efforts) there are a number of other positive effects related to drinking coffee. Studies have shown that moderate consumption reduces your risk of liver cancer, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease, for example.
Maintains brain health
Studies have found that coffee consumption may help lower risks of depression and suicide. In a study conducted by Dr. Dan Buettner, Co-Founder and National Geographic Fellow of Blue Zones, people who drank four cups of coffee per day had 10% less depression and 15% less suicide risk than those who didn't drink coffee. Coffee drinkers were also 20% more likely to get more physical activity than non-coffee drinkers. According to a study in The New England Journal of Medicine, three or four cups a day could significantly lower your chances of developing Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, or any type of dementia. Drinking one cup per day can also help you avoid diabetes and cardiovascular disease by reducing your risk for stroke, hypertension, obesity and high cholesterol levels.
Helps with athletic performance
People who work out know that running, cycling, and working out with weights requires a significant amount of energy. That energy often comes from carbohydrates (like sugar), but coffee can help keep you going without spiking your blood sugar levels. Caffeine is also known to release fatty acids into your bloodstream, which can be used as fuel instead of carbohydrates. If you’re interested in upping your athletic performance without sacrificing those carbs, coffee might be just what you need to get an extra boost during your workout.
Boosts your metabolism
Drinking coffee can boost your metabolism and help you lose weight because it increases your body’s ability to burn fat. The caffeine in coffee speeds up your metabolism, and helps speed up your body’s natural tendency to store calories as fat. Your body tends to burn only calories from carbohydrates when you first wake up. A cup of coffee kicks your metabolism into high gear and gets it burning more calories throughout the day—including those from fat stores. One study in Japan found that drinking one cup of coffee per day increased resting metabolic rate by 5 percent over 12 weeks, resulting in an extra 17 daily calories burned. That may not sound like much, but a pound of fat is only 3,500 calories—shed just 500 a day and you can shed that pound a week!
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