By now, all coffeenomies know that coffee has a lot of health benefits. One of these many benefits includes weight loss, which, to be honest, we all could use after spending all this time in the safety of our homes. But there are still doubts that can coffee help with weight loss?
So let’s clear it out once and for all.
Ways Coffee Can Help You With Weight Loss
Coffee can certainly help with weight loss. So, let’s dive into the complicated science word salad and figure out how it works. As always, I’ll try to keep it as simple as possible.
Way #1: Coffee Amps Up Your Metabolism
When you eat any kind of food, your body processes the food and uses the digested food substances to create heat. This process is named metabolic thermogenesis.
When you drink coffee, the caffeine content in the coffee works as a stimulant that speeds up this process and helps you burn your calories faster. With a faster metabolic rate, you lose weight faster.
Usually, you burn more calories when you are in motion; with a faster metabolism rate, you can speed up the entire process. This is why many gyms offer pre-workout coffee drinks.
Way #2: Coffee Is A Fine Appetite Suppressant
Who doesn’t love snacks? We all do! But coffee can stop you from wanting to go through that extra-large can of Pringles sitting on the shelf.
Though this effect may vary depending on the person, coffee can give you a sense of fullness, as if you’ve already had enough food and don’t need anymore.
When you already feel full, you’ll stop going for extra snacks, meaning you’re consuming fewer calories overall. Smart, right?
If you’re struggling to get your diet routine in check, coffee can help you with that.
Way #3: It’s Associated With Reduced Body Fat
Coffee doesn’t only help you burn calories faster; you can burn excess body fat with caffeine too!
A study published by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health researchers stated that drinking about 4 cups a day over four weeks causes decreased body fat in the system by 4%.
In terms of calorie consumption, black coffee is a zero-calorie drink, so you don’t have to worry about loading yourself with more caffeine.
Way #4: Coffee Is Full Of Antioxidants
The antioxidants present in coffee can boost the overall performance of your body. The antioxidants from coffee, such as polyphenols, are the same as micronutrients that you can find in plants. In addition, these plants have been linked with benefits to your digestion and brain health.
When your body is working better than intended, you can rest assured that your weight-reduction efforts aren’t going to waste.
How to Maximize Coffee’s Weight Loss Potential
Though we emphasized the weight loss benefits of coffee, it applies to black coffee only. If you’re adding in high-calorie additives like sweeteners, milk, and other things, your coffee can easily go past a couple of hundred calories.
Here are a few tips to make sure you’re not pushing your coffee into unhealthy territories and getting the best of the weight loss benefits.
Tip #1: Skip Adding The Extra Sugar
When you stop taking extra sugar added to your coffee, you’re making sure you are not taking in more calories than intended. Considering the recommended calorie intake in a diet is 2000 calories per day, you shouldn’t take more than 50 grams of sugar per day.
One tablespoon of sugar adds 12.5 grams of sugar to your coffee, and that’s a huge portion of your daily recommended amount.
Tip #2: Drink Black Coffee
If you can, slowly switch to low-calorie sweetening alternatives, or make up your mind to drink black coffee without sugar.
Drinking coffee with sugar only adds to the daily calorie count, which certainly doesn’t help with weight loss.
Hey, Learn how to sweeten coffee without sugar.
Tip #3: Collagen Peptides Are Your Friends
When you’re eating or drinking anything, the goal is to consume enough proteins and nutrients to carry you through the day and keep you full enough, so you don’t reach for your second breakfast.
An odd but effective technique is to add collagen peptides. Then, when your coffee is mixed with collagen peptides, you get the extra fullness from your coffee that helps you through the day from the protein boost it provides.
Tip #4: Coffee Is A Supplement, Not A Substitute Meal
No matter how much protein you consume through your cups of coffee or other caffeinated beverages, they still aren’t enough to provide you the energy boost to go through the whole day on an empty stomach.
Coffee can suppress your appetite, and that’s why you can find yourself skipping meals frequently to lose some weight.
Coffee can boost your metabolism, but caffeine can harm your body on an empty stomach. Also, skipping meals earlier only leads to overeating later in the day, which pushes the balance even more.
Having fun Nomies? Check our piece on drinking coffee on an empty stomach.
Tip #5: Switch To Low Caffeine Alternatives For Later Hours
Coffee can imbalance your sleep cycle, which is a big detriment to your weight loss initiative.
A healthy adult needs 7-9 hours of sleep every day and on the proper timetable. There is no point in heading to bed at 2 am and waking up at 9. Even if you have 7 hours of sleep, you’ll still feel restless for the rest of the day.
Drinking caffeine can get tricky when it starts messing with your healthy sleep cycle. Lack of proper rest causes overeating to try and compensate for the lack of rest you feel, and it can only increase your weight instead of decreasing it.
Lemon Coffee
Those two words don’t usually go together and may sound very weird to those unfamiliar with this unconventional coffee beverage.
To make lemon coffee, you only need to mix in the juice from half a lemon and stir the mix. But the final product is not very delicious, which explains why you can’t find it on local coffee shop menus.
Also, lemon doesn’t work with all the types of coffee out there. Friendly advice: never add lemon juice to a latte. Don’t ask me how I know.
Are The Weight-Loss Claims True?
Contrary to popular belief, lemon coffee doesn’t have the fat-burning or weight-reducing capabilities. So no, if you were planning to try out those slim jeans in hopes that lemon coffee will help, it won’t help you. Sorry!
The myth came into action from the idea of lemon water helping to reduce weight. When you drink a mix of lemon juice and water, it only keeps your belly full, giving you the idea you don’t need any more food, just like the mix of collagen peptides.
Benefits to Adding Lemon In Coffee
Though lemon lacks in the weight loss category, it can make up for it with nutrition. Like other citrus fruits, lemons can also provide a decent amount of vitamin C.
Lemons in coffee can also help you with digestive issues; it just doesn’t have that kick when it comes to weight loss.
The Risks Of Adding Lemon To Coffee
Lemons contain citric acid, and adding it to coffee can only increase the total amount of acid present in the cup. High levels of acid in your cup of coffee can trigger your acid reflux if you already have issues.
The acid in lemons can also harm the enamel of your tooth over a longer period.
But the worst risk of adding lemon to your coffee is the risk of ruining the coffee itself.
Had fun reading? You’ll love to read our piece on is coffee acidic.
Bottom Line
A healthy balance of food consumption, workout, and rest can help weight loss. If you still have the question, “can coffee help you with weight loss” know that it can only help you increase the output of your efforts, but it isn’t everything.
We wish you all the best in your weight loss endeavors while you enjoy your coffee.
Cheers!
FAQs
Lemon waters were used to reduce weight in the past, so the idea came to pass that adding lemon to coffee can help you lose weight.
Three-four cups of black coffee per day can help you lose weight over a 4-6 month period.
Lemon coffee is a mix of lemon juice and coffee. Usually, lemon coffee doesn’t contain any sugar.
Yes, decaf can help you lose weight, but the impact won’t be as noticeable as drinking regular caffeinated coffee.
While you can find the idea of drinking coffee to lose weight addicting, consuming too much caffeine can throw your physical functions like sleeping, eating, etc., off-balance.
