Coffee contains caffeine, one of the best-selling weight loss supplements today.
In fact, it is one of the few substances that are recognized to help mobilize fats from fatty tissues and accelerate the metabolic process.
But the question is: does coffee help you lose weight?
In this article, you will find all the science-based information about it.
1. Coffee Contains Stimulants
In principle, keep in mind that many of the biologically active substances that are present in coffee beans continue to be in the final drink.
Many of them are beneficial for speeding up the metabolic process. For instance:
- Caffeine: it is the main stimulant of coffee.
- Theobromine: although it is the main stimulant of cocoa, it is also found in small amounts in coffee.
- Theophylline: This stimulant, present in both coffee and cocoa, has been used as a remedy to treat asthma.
- Chlorogenic acid: it is one of the main active compounds in coffee and helps delay the absorption of carbohydrates.
Of those mentioned, the most important is caffeine, which has been widely studied.
According to studies, caffeine blocks an inhibitory neurotransmitter called adenosine.
In this way, caffeine helps the burning of neurons and releases other types of neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine and dopamine, which help you feel more energetic.
Through this process, coffee helps you feel active when, in contrast, you feel tired. For that reason, coffee could improve physical performance by 11-12% on average.
2. Coffee Can Help Mobilize Fat From Fat Tissue
Caffeine is known to stimulate the nervous system. This sends direct signals to the fat cells, giving them the command to break down the fat.
It does this by increasing blood levels of the hormone epinephrine.
Epinephrine, also known as adrenaline, travels through fat tissues, signaling them to break down fat and release it into the bloodstream.
But you must bear in mind that releasing fatty acids in the blood does not help you lose weight unless you burn more calories than you consume in your diet. This process is known as negative energy balance.
To achieve a negative energy balance, you can do more physical activity or consume fewer calories. Also, you can supplement with weight loss supplements such as caffeine.
Furthermore, caffeine is also beneficial in speeding up the metabolic process.
3. Coffee Can Increase Your Metabolic Rate
The resting metabolic rate (RMR) is the rate by which calories are burned while you are resting.
In this way, the higher the metabolic rate, the faster you lose weight. Also, you can eat without gaining weight.
According to research, caffeine can increase RMR between 3% and 11%: the higher the dose, the more positive the results
It is noteworthy that the greatest increase in metabolism is caused by increased fat burning. But unfortunately, its effect is not significant in people with obesity.
According to a study, caffeine increases fat burning by 29% in lean people, while fat burning is 10% in people with obesity.
Researchers also found that the effect seems to decrease over the years and is more powerful in younger people.
4. Coffee and Weight Loss in the Long Term
There is one important thing to keep in mind: people become tolerant to the effects of caffeine over time.
In the short term, caffeine can speed up the metabolic process and lead to fat burning.
However, as time passes and people become tolerant, the effects stop working.
Although when your body gets used to the effects of caffeine, it stops burning calories, there is also the possibility that it can help you reduce your appetite and, consequently, eat less.
According to a study, caffeine has an appetite-reducing effect in men, allowing them to consume fewer calories after drinking coffee. Women would not have the same effect.
However, another study found that men also did not have positive effects on losing weight when consuming coffee.
The important thing is that the probabilities of losing weight by drinking coffee in the long term, vary according to each individual. At present, there is still no scientific evidence about the long-term weight-loss effects of caffeine.
The Bottom Line
Caffeine is one of the most popular weight loss supplements.
Although caffeine can accelerate the metabolic process in the short term, the truth is that this effect disappears in the long term when the body gets used to the effects of caffeine.
In this way, if you are interested in consuming coffee in order to lose weight, it is important that you regulate your coffee drinking habits to prevent your body from generating resistance.
Perhaps you can follow cycles of two weeks of coffee consumption and two weeks of not consuming it.
In addition to burning fat, there are other benefits of consuming coffee.
For example, coffee is one of the main sources of antioxidants in western diets.
