Is it possible to drink coffee while losing weight? The benefits and harms of coffee drink

Is it possible to have coffee on a diet? This is a question that cannot be answered definitively, since there are many nuances that, if ignored, can achieve the exact opposite effect: weight gain. It is one of the few drinks surrounded by many myths about potential harm: it was attributed to narcotic properties, influence on the development of cardiovascular accidents, and gastrointestinal diseases. Today, scientists have restored the reputation of coffee, so you can safely start the day with an invigorating drink that energizes and improves performance.

Effect of coffee on weight loss

You can find out how coffee affects weight loss by considering its chemical composition, which contains:

• caffeine, which can accelerate metabolism and break down existing fatty deposits, which has a positive effect on the walls of blood vessels, improves the digestion process and increases activity;
• organic acids that improve digestion; vitamins, micro- and macroelements.

The effectiveness of drinking a drink made from coffee beans during a diet is due to the following properties:

• diuretic - removing excess fluid from the body naturally;
• stimulating - after consuming caffeine, not only the heart rate increases, but also the metabolism accelerates;
• improving the digestion process and accelerating intestinal motility, due to which the body quickly digests food and gets rid of toxins.

In case of an overdose, coffee has a negative effect: dehydration, intestinal disorders, and increased nervousness may occur.

What kind of coffee is allowed and what is not?

Not every coffee is good for your diet. If a cup of a drink made from natural grains can contain from 0 to 2 kcal, then adding sugar and milk to it increases the calorie content tens of times. The question of how coffee affects weight loss naturally disappears.

You can drink coffee in its pure form, but not more than 2 times a day. The only exception is the coffee diet, in which 5 or more cups are drunk per day, replacing meals and snacks.

It is correct to drink the drink without sugar 30 minutes before meals. It is also useful to drink it on an empty stomach, if there are no problems with the stomach and intestines. Drinking it in the morning, it significantly increases the speed of metabolic processes and helps break down fats. Under no circumstances should you drink the drink immediately after eating. The opposite effect applies here. Coffee inhibits the complete digestion of food, as a result of which it breaks down slowly and forms undigested ballast. Coffee with milk is especially bad.

Green coffee beans contain more chlorogenic acid

So, how much drink can you drink and when can you drink it per day? Experts recommend drinking the drink in small portions of 60 ml 3 times a day. The first two doses should take place in the first half of the day before 13.00. The last appointment is around 16.00. Drinking larger cups, but less often, does not give a positive result. The effect of the drink will be short-lived, and the excess volume of liquid will stretch the walls of the stomach.

Coffee cannot replace full meals. In extreme cases, you can replace a snack with a cup of drink. The most common and popular Dukan diet recommends drinking coffee without fail. The Kremlin and many other well-known methods of combating excess weight do not abandon it.

Drink lovers will be glad that while on a diet you can drink coffee to lose weight. They will be able not to deny themselves a little joy, while feeling in good shape both physically and emotionally. It is prohibited to consume cappuccino, ice cream and others that contain heavy cream, syrups, chocolate and other high-calorie ingredients.

How coffee helps while dieting

A coffee drink effectively relieves the feeling of hunger when a person tries to refuse an unplanned meal and adds strength. This does not mean that a person can completely give up food during the period of getting rid of extra pounds, but a couple of cups of aromatic coffee will help cope with the temptation to indulge in simple carbohydrates when there is a lack of energy.

Coffee has a pleasant specific taste due to the presence of the alkaloid trigonelline, but it has very few calories: one serving contains no more than 10 kcal, provided that it does not contain sugar or other additives.

Any trainer and nutritionist can answer positively the client’s common question: is it possible to drink coffee while on a diet, and why? But there is no substantiated opinion that coffee can make a figure slim and fit without dietary restrictions and physical activity. When playing sports, a person inevitably faces the problem of lack of energy while maintaining a calorie deficit in the diet. Natural coffee has a stimulating effect on the nervous system, and after exercise it effectively eliminates muscle pain.

Types of coffee

Regular black coffee, brewed from natural roasted beans, is best for weight loss. It is recommended to drink it in the morning in small quantities, but not on an empty stomach, as it can be irritating to the gastric mucosa.

Coffee with milk is a healing energy drink, which is why it is recommended even for athletes to drink it during active training for maximum performance. Milk contains a lot of calcium, which is beneficial for bones and joints, the load on which increases during sports. But it is important that the fat content of dairy products does not exceed 1%, otherwise the calorie content of the drink will increase several times.

Espresso is a popular coffee drink that is best for people who want to lose weight. It has a pleasant mild taste, low energy value and natural composition.

Green coffee gained enormous popularity several years ago when it appeared in large quantities on the European market. It was credited with miraculous properties in the process of losing excess weight. But later scientists found out that such a drink can cause the opposite effect due to the fact that the composition contains a lot of chlorogenic acid, which provokes the process of active storage of fats.

Instant coffee for weight loss is the most useless product that does not have any positive effect on your figure and health. In fact, the water-soluble powder only has the taste of coffee, but not its chemical composition with beneficial properties. It is able to stimulate appetite, but does not provide as much energy and strength as grain. The only indisputable advantage of such a product is that it is very cheap.

Coffee and proper nutrition

It’s not for nothing that they say that if the day is not going well in the morning, then it won’t get better until the evening. Of course, this is a simple superstition, but for many people the morning is a time for entire rituals that allow them to prepare for the work day and get involved in work. The most popular is a cup of strong aromatic coffee. But do healthy eating enthusiasts support such a drink?

There are different types of coffee

Let's start with the fact that coffee can be of two main types - natural and instant. It would be a stretch for true connoisseurs of the invigorating drink to call the latter the word “coffee.” As a result of extraction and sublimation (terrible processes that make it possible to achieve a dry state), coffee loses its beneficial properties (it turns out there are many of them) and the lion’s share of caffeine. So let's leave it for coffee-flavored water lovers and turn our attention to a natural drink. There can be a great variety of varieties, types and preparation options. A whole book could be written about its classification alone.

Based on the type of coffee tree, coffee beans are divided into three varieties:

• Arabica;
• Liberica;
• Robusta.

In addition, there is also a classification based on grain quality and degree of roasting, but all these types are united by the love of admirers around the world. But as popular as coffee is, so are discussions about its harms or benefits.

What's wrong with coffee?

Coffee began to gain popularity in Europe and then throughout the world in the seventeenth century. This was due to its unique tonic properties. After drinking a cup of a drink made from ground grains, people noted a surge of strength and vigor, “clarification” of thoughts and other uplifting effects. This happens due to an increase in blood pressure and vascular tone, including the brain. Naturally, people who have problems in these systems may feel unwell after taking the aromatic liquid. In general, this is how coffee has its detractors. The following negative effects are attributed to him (and deservedly so):

• Formation of dependence - like any other stimulant, coffee causes an addiction syndrome and after a certain time the effect of the usual portion will be less noticeable, and a sudden refusal of the drink can cause headaches, irritability, and nervousness;
• It has an irritating effect on the gastrointestinal mucosa and can cause exacerbation of chronic diseases in people with problems in this area;
• Increased blood pressure - in general, this is not very dangerous for healthy people, but can cause a sharp deterioration in health in hypertensive patients and people with diseases of the cardiovascular system;
• Disrupts calcium metabolism - due to the diuretic (diuretic) effect, coffee flushes calcium from the body, which can lead to weakening of bone tissue and disruption of the formation of the skeleton of the unborn baby in pregnant women.

Based on these properties, healthy people should control their consumption of coffee, and those with high acidity and a weak cardiovascular system should reduce it to a minimum or eliminate it altogether. But is it really that bad? After all, it has already been mentioned that coffee also has benefits.

Benefits of coffee

Indeed, this is an amazing drink that has a number of positive qualities:

• Has a powerful stimulating effect, relieves fatigue, improves cerebral circulation;
• Improves blood circulation in peripheral vessels and organs;
• May significantly relieve asthma attacks;
• Improves intestinal motility, helps prevent rectal cancer;
• Prevents loss of potassium in the body;
• May reduce the degree of negative effects of radiation;
• Allows you to fight stress, improves the production of serotonin - the “hormone of happiness”;
• Can be used by hypotensive patients to increase blood pressure;
• Able to enhance the secretion of gastric juice in people with low acidity;
• May promote spermatogenesis and increase potency by improving blood supply to the pelvic organs;
• Finally, one cup of coffee contains 20% of the daily requirement of vitamin P, as well as about thirty organic acids, which makes it a very valuable product.

It turns out that with a reasonable approach and moderate consumption, it is not only not harmful, but can even be very useful. But does this make such a drink an element of dietary or proper nutrition?

Coffee and proper nutrition

Involuntarily I remember a joke about the calorie content of coffee, because there is always candy, cookies or cake to go with it. But, fortunately, it itself has a very low calorie content - only 1-2 kilocalories. And if you add a little milk and sugar to it, the energy value will rise to 54 kcal. So, if without additives, then coffee is even welcome in a proper nutrition system due to its stimulating effect, which has a beneficial effect on the level of metabolism. It is only important to remember that it still has contraindications and they must be taken into account. And to reduce the hypertensive effect of coffee, you can add a little cinnamon or cardamom to the finished drink. This will add an interesting flavor to the already familiar taste, and will not significantly increase blood pressure. Also, in order to replenish calcium reserves, it is recommended to supplement a cup of espresso with a slice of cheese or cottage cheese. This does not contradict the rules of proper nutrition and will not reduce the level of this mineral in the body. Therefore, there is only one conclusion: if it is natural coffee and you have no contraindications to it from the heart, blood vessels and stomach, then it is quite appropriate and useful for a healthy diet.

Drinks with additives

In coffee shops you can see a variety of drinks with different tastes. But any toppings, syrups, whipped cream, nuts and chocolate increase the total calorie content several times. If a serving of espresso contains 10 kilocalories, then a caramel latte will have an energy value of at least 165 kcal. Just two visits to a coffee shop during the day will cause your weight loss process to stall, even with regular gym sessions with an instructor.

Against the backdrop of proper nutrition in order to lose extra pounds, it is important to completely exclude from the diet:

• all types of lattes (caramel, pumpkin, walnut);
• cappuccino;
• mocha;
• chocochino.

Not everyone knows that the answer to the question of whether you can drink coffee with additives when losing weight is positive. It all depends on what toppings are added to the coffee. It is allowed to improve the composition of the drink using:

• grated fresh ginger, which speeds up metabolism and improves digestion; ground cinnamon, which helps reduce appetite;
• nutmeg, which has the ability to improve mood.

Black coffee with skim or low-fat milk for weight loss is a leader in the ranking of the healthiest drinks for a person losing weight. Even if you are lactose intolerant on a diet, you can choose a milk substitute from coconut or soy and use it as supplements. But you need to monitor the fat content of the drink, since some types of plant-based milks can be very high in calories.

Recipes

By giving up harmful toppings while you're losing weight, you can treat yourself to a healthy drink with a pleasant, subtle taste.

1. Black coffee. You can brew regular black coffee by mixing freshly ground beans and still mineral water in a Turkish coffee pot. Having placed the Turk on the stove, you should wait until the head of foam rises: at this moment you should remove the pan from the heat and let the foam fall, and then repeat the manipulations several times. During this time, the grains will release all the beneficial substances and rich taste into the water. Before serving, you can add a pinch of nutmeg to the cup.
2. Ginger coffee. It has a powerful fat-burning effect, and also improves the functioning of the immune and digestive systems. To prepare, take a small piece of ginger root and grate it. After mixing ginger with coffee beans and water, you need to put the Turk on low heat and simmer until foam first appears.
3. Coffee with lemon is an unusual drink for many, which has been known since ancient times as espresso-romano. Lemon reduces the stimulating effect of caffeine, which is useful for people suffering from tachycardia and hypertension. It should be prepared like regular coffee and garnished with lemon when serving.
4. Coffee with honey. Suitable for those who cannot give up sweets. Drinks with honey are also quite high in calories, but the main product of beekeeping contains much more useful substances than sugar or syrup. Therefore, slightly cooled espresso can be flavored with honey and drunk once a day as a dessert. Whether or not you can drink coffee while losing weight depends not only on the coffee itself, but also on the additives that are included in its recipe.

What does caloric content depend on?

It should be noted that coffee is an integral part of weight loss diets. This is because this drink contains a small amount of calories and promotes rapid absorption of substances, but despite this, do not forget that 5-10 cups a day are equivalent in calories to a single consumption of rich soup. We need to think about why this happens.

It's all about the coffee beans. They contain enzymes, essential oils, carbohydrates, and fats. After roasting coffee beans, the level of fat in them decreases, but the amount of proteins and carbohydrates does not change much, as a result, the energy and nutritional value still tends to zero. Nine grams of ground coffee equals two kilocalories. It should be noted: the longer the water is in close contact with the coffee powder, and the smaller the amount of water per cup of coffee, the higher the calorie content.

• Americano 250 ml - 2 kcal.
• Turkish 100 ml - 12 kcal.
• Espresso - 2 kcal.
• Cappuccino - 75 kcal.
• Frappuccino - 215 kcal.
• Mocha - 165 kcal.

But at the same time, most people like to drink a mug of coffee with a sandwich or cookies - this is where the catch lies.

Contraindication and harm

Why you should not drink coffee while losing weight on an empty stomach is explained by the influence of the composition of the drink on the mucous membrane of the upper digestive system. As a result, gastritis, gastroduodenitis, and pancreatitis may worsen, and then a therapeutic diet will require temporarily abandoning the idea of ​​weight loss. Nutritionists advise drinking coffee, controlling its strength and quantity at the end of breakfast.

You should absolutely not drink coffee when you are losing weight if:

• increased acidity of gastric juice;
• inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract;
• urinary system infections;
• heart diseases;
• nervous disorders.

It is necessary to pay attention to the tolerability of the drink: if a person feels good after a meal, he has no reason to deny himself the use of a healthy, high-quality drink.

Rules for drinking coffee

The answer to a common question: is it possible to drink coffee while losing weight is usually positive, but only if a person follows the rules:

• coffee should be natural, not instant;
• It is recommended to drink no more than 2 servings of the drink per day;
• the grains must be of high quality and, preferably, whole;
• It is not recommended to drink coffee in the afternoon so as not to disturb sleep;
• Coffee has a diuretic effect, so it is useful for coffee lovers to drink more clean water.

Is it possible to drink coffee while on a diet and achieve the desired result in the form of a slender, fit figure - the subject of much debate. On the one hand, the drink will help you give up high-calorie dessert and give you strength to go to the gym.

But you can’t constantly suppress hunger with a cup of coffee; with its help, you can only delay the time of eating. Also, coffee, even natural, high-quality and properly prepared, is only one tool in the fight for a beautiful body, along with an active lifestyle, a balanced diet with a calorie deficit, massage and giving up bad habits.

So is it possible to drink coffee on a diet?

Coffee on a diet is not at all contraindicated or dangerous, but the additives that many people like to include in it are completely unacceptable here. So, what additives should you avoid altogether? Of course, granulated sugar, cream, caramel, syrup and chocolate. These products turn coffee brewed in a Turkish coffee pot or coffee machine into a high-calorie and harmful drink.

Coffee without additives contains 2-4 kcal. With additives, at least 350 kcal.

How can you lose weight after such a drink? Therefore, you should think about limiting your favorite coffee with milk and sugar. It is not necessary to exclude it completely. But it’s definitely better to replace sugar with a sugar substitute, for example, stevia.

This is interesting: how to replace sugar during a diet.