In the ongoing battle against unhealthy body weight, many people will adopt any attractive idea, no matter how much merit the program actually has. "Miracle" weight loss cures like diet pills and weight loss teas are examples of this sort of program. Coffee for weight loss is another.
Coffee Basics
You make coffee by steeping roasted coffee beans in hot water, making a tincture that passes some of the ingredients of the bean into your drink. Although there are hundreds of kinds of coffee bean, and thousands of blends, the active coffee ingredient for weight loss remains the same: caffeine.
Appetite
Caffeine, reports MayoClinic.com, can reduce your desire to eat temporarily. Drinking a little coffee before your meal can help you control your portions by filling your belly with a zero-calorie beverage and reducing your appetite in general. However, Katherine Zeratsky, a nutritionist with the Mayo Clinic, reports that this probably won't make a long-term difference in your weight loss. The degree of appetite supression is simply too small.
Calories
Caffeine can stimulate calorie burn in two different ways. In some bodies, it can start a process called thermogenesis that increases the rate at which your body burns calories. Because it is a stimulant, the caffeine in coffee may cause you to become more active, which burns more calories than otherwise. This stimulant effect is the basic mechanic behind over-the-counter diet pills.
Water Loss
Because it is a diuretic as well as a stimulant, caffeine will stimulate your body to urinate more frequently and in greater amounts. This will make a difference the next time you step on a scale, but it's not real weight loss. You don't burn any fat, and you will gain the weight back as soon as you restore your body to a healthy level of hydration.
Risks
The caffeine in coffee can be habit-forming like any other drug. Further, Dr. Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health reports that some studies suggest that caffeine may interfere with your body's ability to absorb calcium. Coffee can also have some negative cosmetic effects, such as staining your teeth and causing bad breath.
Bottom Line
A coffee diet may contribute to weight loss efforts, but the contribution will be relatively minor, and comes with some risk. Coffee should be considered an adjunct to other weight loss methods, and you shouldn't drink coffee simply to accelerate how fast you lose weight.
References
- Mayo Clinic: Caffeine
- "The Coffee Diet"; John Greene; 2008
- "Eat, Drink and Be Healthy;" Walter Willett; et. al; 2005
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