There are various health benefits of coffee if you drink it in moderation. Among all of them, fat burning is the most fascinated one. Daily intake of coffee can fastens your fat-burning process.
Coffee is the most commonly consumed beverage in the world. The main reason for its effectiveness in fat loss is the presence of caffeine in it.
Caffeine is a stimulant that is present in almost all the fat loss supplements in the market. In fact, coffee is one of the best and cheapest pre-workout drinks. Due to the presence of high caffeine, coffee is known for having fat-burning properties.
Let’s have a look at the fat-burning effects of drinking coffee:
Coffee Increases Your Metabolism
Metabolism basically refers to the breakdown of food and its transformation of energy. And the rate at which your body burns calories at rest is called resting metabolic rate (RMR).
Higher Your metabolism, easier for you to burn fat and lose weight. This is the reason that people with a very high metabolism can eat a lot without gaining weight.
Caffeine shows a positive impact on thermogenesis and daily energy expenditure. Studies show that regular consumption of coffee can increase the resting metabolic rate by up to 10%. In fact, a larger dose of coffee can give you better fat loss benefits (1).
However, it is less effective for obese people. A study shows that drinking coffee can increase fat burning by 30% in lean people whereas the increase is only about 10% for obese (2).
SUMMARY: Regular consumption of coffee increases the number of calories you burn at rest which ultimately helps you in burning more fat.
Coffee Can Help In Mobilizing More Fat
Coffee is high in caffeine which is a stimulant. It stimulates your nervous system and sends signals to your fat cells to breakdown fat. Yes, you read that right.
So how does it happen?
It does that by increasing the levels of adrenaline hormone in your bloodstream. Adrenaline travels to your fat tissues and signals them to break down the fat and release energy (3).
Now it doesn’t mean that you keep burning fat just by sipping your black coffee. You have to do something to use that fat that is in your bloodstream. Coffee doesn’t work unless you burn more calories than you are consuming. You have to maintain a negative energy balance.
You can achieve a negative energy balance by eating fewer calories or by exercising more.
To get more fat loss benefits of coffee, you can have it before exercise or workout. Drinking coffee before a workout can help you in burning more fat during the workout.
SUMMARY: Coffee increases the adrenaline levels in your blood which promotes the break down of fat from fat tissues.
Coffee Keeps You Active Throughout The Day
Coffee contains several biologically active substances that stimulate your nervous system and keeps you active. The main stimulant is caffeine and apart from that it contains:
- Theophylline: A stimulant found in both coffee and cocoa.
- Chlorogenic acid: A substance found in coffee that may help in slow down the adsorption of coffee which helps in fat loss (4).
- Theobromine: Present in less amount than others.
The major one is caffeine which is very important and had been studied thoroughly.
Caffeine blocks the adenosine which is an inhibitory neurotransmitter. Due to which, it increases the firing of neurons in your brain and releases a neurotransmitter called dopamine. It is a feel-good hormone and makes you feel more energetic and awake (5).
This is the way coffee keeps you energetic and eventually you burn more calories by being more active.
SUMMARY: Coffee contains various stimulants that keep you awake and you burn more calories by being more active that eventually enhance fat loss.
An Amazing Appetite Suppressant
Coffee suppresses your appetite and you tend to eat less throughout the day. This helps you in taking fewer calories which ultimately leads to weight loss.
You can have 2-4 cups of coffee in a day. Make sure to drink it in moderation as there can be harmful effects of high caffeine intake. However, the safe dosage of caffeine varies from person to person.
Long Term Effects Of Coffee On Burning Fat
For a short period of time, coffee can benefits you in burning more fat. It increases your metabolism due to which your body burns more fat.
Unfortunately, in the long run, coffee doesn’t show the same effects. Your body becomes tolerant of that dosage of caffeine and it stops working (6).
To break that plateau, you can do caffeine cycling. Stop drinking coffee for a month or two and restart again. In this way, you can get the same fat loss benefits of coffee in the long term.
The appetite reducing effects of coffee remains the same. However, the overall fat loss effects of drinking coffee vary from person to person.
SUMMARY: In the long run you may get tolerant to the effects of caffeine. To break this plateau, you can do caffeine cycling.
Coffee And Fat-Burn – In A Nutshell
So this was the science-based article on how coffee can help you in fat loss. It helps in the following ways:
- Increases metabolism due to which your body burns more fat.
- Mobilizes more fat from your fat tissues in your bloodstream.
- Reduces your appetite which makes you eat less food.
- Coffee contains a lot of stimulants that keep you active and you tend to burn more calories.
- Results may get diminished after some time as your body become tolerant of caffeine. Do caffeine cycling to get long term benefits.
Keep in mind that coffee is not a magical substance by which you lose fat just by drinking it. It just fastens your fat loss journey and helps you in achieving your physique goals. In the end, you have to do the work, do some exercise, eat less, eat healthy food and you re good to go.
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