Lose Weight with Coffee and Chocolate!

January 9, 2018
Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS

Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS

Award-winning nutritionist and New York Times bestselling author.

Just when you thought coffee and chocolate couldn’t get any better… now it can be part of your weight loss plan!

It’s true – each one of these delights is considered a superfood, and they are no longer “guilty” pleasures! When I created my Fat Flush QuickStart program, I was thrilled to discover new cutting-edge research that shows you can keep your coffee and chocolate and use them as tools to boost your metabolism as you focus on losing weight!

The Buzz on Coffee

Losing weight with coffee

chlorogenic acid

There’s a compound found in coffee beans called chlorogenic acid that increases fat burning metabolism by 50%, according to a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition. Chlorogenic acid is a powerful polyphenol antioxidant, which stokes your body’s fat-burning furnace and revs up your metabolism to burn more fat. It works by signaling your body to rapidly break down the fats in fat cells and burn them for energy. So the first thing you notice is more energy, and less fatigue while you’re losing weight.

This is especially good news for women over 40 – chlorogenic acid helps you hold on to your lean muscle mass while you burn fat. In addition, women who drink coffee have lower rates of cardiovascular disease, including stroke, and it lowers triglycerides and cholesterol levels. Research just published in the journal Nutrients shows coffee improves insulin sensitivity, which protects the liver (one of the organs critical in weight loss) and normalizes blood sugar. The latest scientific research also shows that coffee drinkers have fewer digestive issues and lower rates of type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, and liver cancer. Not only that, but coffee drinkers also have healthier brains — and tend to live longer!

If you’re wondering why it is you still aren’t at your goal weight despite drinking coffee every day, there are a few reasons for this. First, chlorogenic acid gets bound up by dairy proteins and is less available for your body to use. This is obviously detrimental to weight loss. If your goal is losing weight, instead of cream (or butter), opt for non-dairy coconut cream or coconut milk in your coffee. Second, coffee grown at high altitudes and in extreme temperatures produces the most polyphenols, so choose an antioxidant-rich variety from Ethiopia, Kenya, Mexico, Colombia or Brazil, for up to 10 times more chlorogenic acid and 3 times the weight loss, according to a Norwegian study. Finally, choose a light, medium, lean or American roast. Antioxidants break down in the presence of heat, light or air, and these roasts are lower heat and shorter time than the darker roasts.

If you are caffeine-sensitive, you can still reap the fat-burning effects of coffee but will have to drink more for the same effects. Chlorogenic acid is 25% lower in decaf coffee, and the caffeine has its benefits, too.

 I recommend Purity Coffee because it contains the highest level of antioxidants of any coffee beans available today. Purity Coffee is organic and has zero contaminants, including mold. Save 20% off of your FIRST order with code: DETOX20.

The Skinny on Caffeine

Caffeine, found in coffee and cacao, has its own fat-burning effects. Caffeine sends signals directly to your fat cells telling them to burn fat. It also enhances bile’s thermogenic properties, which increases heat in the body, raising your basal metabolic rate and signaling you to burn even more fat. One 8 ounce cup of coffee has, on average, 135 milligrams of caffeine, which is why you feel more pep in your step when you start your day with it (a 12 ounce can of Coke has 35 milligrams, for comparison’s sake).

But that’s not the best part…

UNI KEY Health - Ann Louise Gittleman

Fat Flush Weight Loss Formula

If you look on the label of my Weight Loss Formula, you’ll see the ingredients include L-Carnitine and Choline, two well-known fat-burners, which work synergistically together to produce rapid fat loss. L-Carnitine Tartrate was the most popular supplement for weight loss at the world-renowned Atkins Clinic, and I was thrilled when Dr. Atkins personally let me in on his secret for lasting weight loss success. This combination by itself is great news – but when you add the caffeine from coffee and/or cacao to your diet, it revs up your fat-burning metabolism and magnifies the already powerful effects of these two nutrients to lose even more fat and melt more cellulite than you will just with coffee or the supplement alone. Isn’t this amazing?

The ideal way to take this powerful combination, for the maximum benefits is as follows: 12-16 ounces of chlorogenic acid-rich coffee, first thing in the morning, before eating or drinking anything else; then in divided doses, with meals, take 500-1000mg of choline plus 1000-3000mg of L-Carnitine Tartrate. You can get all of this by combining my QuickStart Coffee (recipe in the QuickStart Guide) with my Weight Loss Formula (link here). But… it’s a challenge keeping up with demands for my Weight Loss Formula – it’s flying off the shelves!


Cacao – Because, Chocolate

Cacao, the purest form of chocolate, has 20 times more antioxidant power than blueberries, making it a true superfood. Cacao helps cleanse and restore health at the cellular level. It also boosts your body’s serotonin levels, making you feel content, and when it comes to eating, you feel full faster. So, if you’re caffeine sensitive or don’t drink coffee, you can still lose weight and have more energy. I recommend also drinking roasted dandelion root  – Dandy Tea is what I call it. This tea stimulates bile flow while gently cleansing the liver – and with all the toxins in our environment, detox now needs to be a daily ritual for all of us and I have dedicated myself to ensuring you have access to the best detox products possible.


Bitter is Better

When it comes to chocolate and coffee – bitter is better. The fat burning effects of bitters may be the world’s best-kept secret – but I’m about to let you in on it. Bitter foods and drinks like coffee, cacao, dandelion, watercress, arugula, cabbage, orange peel, ginger, and dozens of others, boost bile flow, which is critical for detox. Here are five additional reasons to consume more bitters:

  1. Bitter foods boost your thyroid and inhibit fat storage. Because bitters boost bile flow, they help your body process fat—which means storing less of it. That’s a huge when if your goal is losing weight. Bile supports thyroid function by helping your body convert T4 into T3 (the metabolism booster and active form of thyroid hormone). Studies also show that healthy bile reduces insulin resistance.
  2. Bitters suppress sugar cravings. In Ayurvedic medicine, bitter foods are known for nipping sugar cravings in the bud.
  3. Bitters feed skinny bugs. Bitters increase the number of “skinny bacteria” in your gut and decrease the population of “fat bacteria.”
  4. Bitters improve digestion and absorption: Bitter foods stimulate digestive juices, priming the pump. They tell your body to secrete gastrin, the hormone that controls how much hydrochloric acid (HCl) your stomach produces. HCl breaks down carbohydrates, fats, and proteins so that their nutritional components can be easily absorbed into your bloodstream.

    Ann Louise Gittleman

    Bile Builder UNI KEY Health

  5. Bitters reduce acid reflux and constipation: You may be surprised to learn that the most common cause of acid reflux is too little stomach acid, as opposed to too much. Bitters relieve reflux by increasing natural acid production. The bile-stimulating effects of bitters also prevent constipation, because bile is an intestinal lubricant.

One additional note: Normally, the gallbladder regulates the flow of bile, but if yours is causing you pain and nausea, or has been removed, you may need help to boost your bile flow. This is what I created my Bile Builder for, and it works well in combination with bitter foods to get your fat burning metabolism back on track and digestion working optimally.

Bitter foods like coffee and cacao stimulate the liver, promote better bile flow, and boost your fat-burning metabolism, all of which are key components to losing weight and gaining better health! What’s not to love?

Related Articles and Podcasts

Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS, is an award-winning New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty books including The Fat Flush Plan series and her latest book, Radical Metabolism. She’s been rewriting the rules of nutrition for more than 40 years and is internationally recognized as a pioneer in the field of diet, detox and women’s health issues. 

For a FREE daily dose of tips and strategies for maintaining healthy weight, conquering insomnia, and much more…check out my Radical Health Tips.

I’d like to meet and greet you on my Facebook groups, so won’t you check us out at the Radical Metabolism RevolutionFat Flush Nation, or my Inner Circle!

11 Comments

  1. Kathleen

    Thank you for this latest research, Ann Louise! I do enjoy my morning mug of mocha–now with the Quick Start Blaster–I will have the Blaster to up the ante a bit in my morning mug of coffee/cacao.

    Reply
  2. Michelle Brown

    I understand the no cream in the coffee, but what about stevia? Since now it is not bitter it is sweet?

    Reply
    • Team ALG

      A pinch of stevia is fine to cut the bitter taste….

      Reply
  3. Gail Getty

    What am I supposed to do if I hate coffee?

    Reply
    • Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS

      Cacao and roasted dandelion tea are the recommended substitutes.

      Reply
  4. Copey

    Is organic coffee allowed on the Fast Track Detox?

    Reply
    • Team ALG

      Copey, coffee is not part of the Fast Track Detox Plan. Please refer to your book for the exact protocol.

      Reply
  5. Ann R Powell

    I am interested in purchasing the coffee. But unable to find it on your website.

    Reply
    • Team ALG

      Ann, it’s not available through Ann Louise’s website or from UNI KEY. Purity or Life Extension brands are recommended for their low acidity. You can just google them.

      Reply
  6. Ace

    what about espresso instead of regular coffee?

    Reply
  7. Team ALG

    Ace, yes you can use organic espresso instead of regular coffee.

    Reply

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