Drinking Coffee and Losing Weight, that’s Something!

There are very few of us that don’t rely on a cup of morning coffee to kick start our day.

However, coffee does more to us than just waking us up, and we need to know just how it affects us before we start to incorporate it into our weight loss plans.

How Coffee Works

Coffee contains a stimulant called caffeine. Caffeine works by triggering the central nervous system, which controls the rest of the systems in the body. Due to this fact, the intake of coffee can do more than just make us alert. It can affect our diets, our sleep patterns, and our moods.

The Benefits of Coffee

Coffee can help us lose weight, but it can also make us gain weight if we consume it improperly. When taken in moderate doses, it can keep our digestion regular, which in turn can help us lose weight.

Coffee and the Digestive Tract

Because caffeine is a stimulant, it stimulates the digestive system by initiating peristalsis. Peristalsis is the force that pushes the food we eat through our digestive tracts. Peristalsis is predominantly initiated when we swallow our food, but exercise, abdominal massage, and stimulants like caffeine can trigger the process.

Take Your Coffee Black

Coffee is a very low-calorie beverage. When we drink it, it often decreases our appetites. This prompts us to eat less, which can help us lose weight. However, when we load up on flavored coffee creamers and sugar, we’re adding empty calories to our coffee cups. The caffeine will still affect us, but that doesn’t do us a lot of good since we’re upping our calorie intake. Drinking conservative amounts of black coffee, or coffee with skim milk and low-calorie sweeteners, is much better for our digestion than a caramel latte with extra whipped cream.

How Coffee Can Hinder Our Weight Loss

One of the side effects of caffeine is insomnia. Not getting enough sleep is very hazardous to our digestive systems. The more tired we are, the more irritable and moody we find ourselves. A couple cups of coffee will certainly make us more alert, but it doesn’t make up for our body’s lack of rest. This can prompt our bodies to put more effort into keeping us functional than it puts into keeping our digestion regular.

How Coffee Can Influence Our Diets

We feel the effects of coffee more prominently when we’re sleep-deprived. This can cause us to make poor eating decisions, such as grabbing a doughnut instead of cooking a healthy breakfast because we’re too tired. Making sure we get plenty of sleep enables us to make better decisions regarding out eating habits, which we will most certainly notice when we step on the scale.

Don’t Rely Solely on Coffee

It’s also important to not rely solely on coffee to lose weight. Skipping a healthy meal and loading up on coffee can lead to some nasty side effects like stomach cramps and diarrhea. Drinking coffee on a full stomach can mitigate some of these side effects.

Monitor When You Drink Your Coffee

Drinking coffee too late in the day can keep us up all night, which puts extra strain on our bodies and mental processes. So if we want to lose weight, we need to consume our coffee early in the morning instead of throughout the day in order to make sure it’s not still active in our systems before we go to bed.

To Sum It Up…

If you’re trying to lose weight and you’re worried about losing your morning cup, you don’t need to worry. Coffee has many benefits and can contribute to our overall health, which includes keeping our digestive systems on track. It’s when we rely solely on coffee to lose weight that we get in trouble. The key is to make sure we drink it in moderation and with a proper diet and exercise.

Source: http://www.espressowakeupcall.com/coffee-talk-how-our-morning-fix-can-help-us-lose-weight/