5 Ways Coffee Helps You Lose Weight

September 6, 2019
Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS

Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS

Award-winning nutritionist and New York Times bestselling author.

Fall is in the air, and there’s no better time to reset your metabolism and lose weight with the slim-stimulating superstar – coffee.

It’s the beginning of September and it already feels like the seasons are changing. Schools are back in session and that crisp morning air signals the end of swimsuit season. As the lazy days of summer draw to a close and the hectic Fall season gets into full swing, coffee is our favorite brew that get us up and going. Just the smell of it first thing in the morning perks up even the deepest of sleepers, and those welcoming first bitter sips aren’t just waking you up, but waking your metabolism up as well.

5 Ways Coffee Helps You Lose Weight

Coffee’s superpowers extend beyond your morning pick-me-up or after dinner aperitif. Recent research shows that drinking antioxidant-rich coffee can help you lose weight and shed those unwanted extra pounds, which also lowers your risk of weight related diseases. In fact, coffee is such a strong slim stimulator that I’ve featured it in my Radical Metabolism plan. Let’s look at the 5 ways coffee contributes to weight loss.

1. Coffee Contains Powerful Antioxidants

If you are over 40 and looking to hold onto your lean muscle mass while you lose fat, then you need coffee. The chlorogenic acid that’s naturally found in coffee beans can increase your fat-burning metabolism by up to 50%, according to a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition. This potent antioxidant stokes up your fat-burning metabolism by signaling your body to rapidly break down the fats in fat cells and burn them for energy. This means more energy and less fatigue while you burn off fat.

If you’re skeptically staring into your daily cup of coffee and wondering why the pounds haven’t flown off yet, you may need to look at where your coffee comes from and what you’re adding to it. Coffee grown in high altitudes and extreme temperature changes produce the most chlorogenic acid, so choose an antioxidant-rich variety from Ethiopia, Kenya, Mexico, Colombia or Brazil, and is best in 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. Finally, ditch the dairy and choose coconut cream. Chlorogenic acid gets bound up by dairy proteins, making it less available for your body to use.

2. Coffee Is Better When It’s Bitter

Bitter foods and beverages stimulate better bile flow, which is essential for your fat metabolism. Bile not only helps you break down and digest fats, but also helps you detox and eliminate the toxins that cause inflammation and water weight. Here are 5 more reasons to nix the sweeteners and keep your coffee bitter:

  1. Bitter foods boost your thyroid. Bile supports thyroid function by helping your body convert T4 into T3, the metabolism booster and active form of thyroid hormone.
  2. Bitters suppress sugar cravings. In Ayurvedic medicine, bitter foods are known for balancing your taste buds and cutting the sugar cravings.
  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 for better digestion of all nutrients, including fat. They tell your body to secrete gastrin, the hormone that controls how much hydrochloric acid (HCl) your stomach produces to break down carbohydrates, fats, and proteins so that their nutritional components can be easily absorbed into your bloodstream.
  5. Bitters reduce acid reflux and constipation: 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 to your stomach’s preferred pH. The bile-stimulating effects of bitters also prevent constipation, because bile is an intestinal lubricant and keeps things moving for easy elimination.

3. Coffee Curbs Your Appetite

Your morning java is suppressing your appetite, according to researchers. Consuming coffee high in chlorogenic acid has been shown to play a major part in reducing both food intake and body fat. Because a lack of serotonin leads to increased appetite and weight gain, the theory is that coffees high in chlorogenic acid are contributing to an overall increase in serotonin.

4. Coffee Fights the Battle of the Binge

When your calming, feel-good hormone called oxytocin goes low, it results in an increased tendency to binge eat. Studies have shown that the caffeine in coffee helps boost oxytocin levels while it’s perking you up. When they studied this connection in mice, they found the mice ate less and exercised more, decreasing their overall obesity.

5. Coffee Fights Inflammation, Resulting in Weight Loss

The same free radical fighting antioxidants that make coffee a superfood, make it effective against obesity and weight gain. Obesity has a proven association with inflammation and oxidative stress, which are associated with diseases like type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease.

Chlorogenic acids (CGAs) are antioxidants, which means they fight the oxidative stress that leads to inflammation. Free radicals from everything including pollution in the environment to a low-quality diet, and even too-high levels of nitrogen or oxygen, do damage our cell membranes. Studies have shown that regular coffee consumption fights inflammation all the way to the DNA level, shutting off the expression of genes associated with obesity and inflammation, resulting in weight loss.

Boost Your Weight Loss with this Little Known Secret

I created my Weight Loss Formula with a hidden secret – the l-carnitine and choline it contains have a special interaction with the caffeine from coffee, magnifying the fat-burning effects and revving up your fat metabolism for even greater loss of fat and cellulite. The powerful synergy of this combination has been known for decades, but is often buried in the hype of the latest, greatest, weight loss trends. I first learned about it when Dr. Atkins, of the world-renowned Atkins Clinic, personally let me in on his secret formula for lasting weight loss success.

The Buzz on Caffeine

The caffeine in coffee by itself burns fat by sending signals directly to your fat cells telling them to burn fat for energy production. It also enhances the thermogenic properties of bile, which raises the heat in your body and your basal metabolic rate. This signals you to burn even more fat.

If you are caffeine-sensitive, you’ll still burn fat with decaf coffee, but you’ll have to drink more to achieve the same results. Chlorogenic acid is 25% lower in decaf coffee. I recommend adding my Radical Metabolizer supplement to help boost your weight loss potential if you have to eliminate caffeine completely.

Optimize Your Coffee Intake for a Metabolic Reset

Before you run out the door and head for the grocery store to get another bag of coffee, you need to know that your results will vary with the kind of coffee you drink and how you drink it. First, eliminate the additives and drink your coffee as a bitter. Any sweetener, even artificial, has been shown to pack on the pounds and override coffee’s strongest slimming effects. And remember that dairy deactivates the chlorogenic acid and weakens its weight loss effects.

Not all coffee is created equal, so it’s important to invest wisely. Choose coffee with the highest possible amount of chlorogenic acids, free of mold and inflammatory contaminants that thwart even the best weight loss attempts. This coffee is key to reducing inflammation and suppressing appetite.

You will not find a coffee with a higher count of these antioxidants than Purity Coffee, the only coffee I know of that’s produced with these health considerations in mind. Purity now offers decaffeinated coffee, too. Save 20% off 1st order with code Detox20.

 

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

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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!

2 Comments

  1. Beth Blane

    I love coffee. I’m so glad to know about the best and healthiest coffee to use. Great information on how it helps to lose weight!

    Reply
  2. Ronda

    Unfortunately coffee gives me acid reflux if I drink more than one cup and makes me have to pee too much!

    Reply

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