The smell of coffee may be the only thing that can wake up even the deepest sleeper. Its familiar aroma and rich taste are what bring people to their senses at the crack of dawn, bring friends together, and fuel everyone’s day with energy and focus. I am a self-proclaimed coffee snob myself! I LOVE a good cup of coffee!
Despite its widespread popularity, many people, especially those trying to lose weight, aren’t sure what role coffee plays in their diet. Does it make you lose or gain weight, hungry or full, energized or anxious? Keep reading this article to find out the answers!
Stimulants Found in Coffee
Can coffee make you gain weight? To understand this, we need to understand what coffee is. Coffee is a combination of different constituents, including:
-
Caffeine: The main active ingredient, natural alkaloid, and stimulant in coffee.
-
Theobromine: An ingredient found in small amounts in coffee that positively affects mental and physical functions.
-
Theophylline: Found in coffee in small amounts, theophylline is known to relax airway muscles and stimulate heart rate.
-
Chlorogenic acid: One of the coffee’s main compounds that affects the flavor of the drink and may also aid in weight loss.
🔎 You’ve probably heard a lot about caffeine and its ability to give you a boost of energy, but have you ever wondered how it works? In short, caffeine can block adenosine–a receptor that makes you feel sleepy–and replace it with dopamine and norepinephrine (a neurotransmitter that’s responsible for alertness).
Does Coffee Help You Lose Weight?
So, does coffee help you lose weight? A short answer is yes, partially. Here is a longer explanation:
Coffee suppresses adenosine receptors, meaning it helps you stay active and can increase your performance by 12%. This is great news for those who lack the energy to do sport after a long working day and need a little push to feel active again.
But is this sudden burst of energy the only way coffee helps you lose weight? Not really; there are other ways this aromatic drink can help you shed some pounds:
May Suppress Appetite
Have you ever noticed that when you drink a cup of Joe in the morning, your breakfast is instantly postponed by about one to two hours? The next morning, if you skip the drink, your hunger will let you know about itself soon after fully waking up. This is because of the relationship caffeine has with the hormone of hunger, ghrelin.
Caffeine decreases the level of ghrelin in your body so that you don’t feel as hungry as you would have without drinking coffee. Hence, the black drink has the potential to regulate hunger and fullness to some extent.
Promotes Fat Burning
Caffeine not only suppresses your hunger, but it can also promote fat burning. When you drink coffee, your nervous system wakes up, signaling your body to use fat for energy. It does this by increasing the hormone epinephrine (also called adrenalin), which tells fat cells to release stored fat into your bloodstream.
So, you can drink coffee and wait for fat to dissolve, right? Not really.
