The coffee diet is a relatively new diet that is rapidly gaining popularity.
This involves drinking several cups of coffee a day while limiting your calorie intake.
Some people have reported short term weight loss success with the diet. However, it has significant drawbacks.
All about Coffee Diet drinks for weight loss?
The coffee diet was popularized by the book "The Coffee Lover's Diet" by Dr. Bob Arnot.
In the book, Dr. Arnot claims that drinking coffee several times a day can boost your metabolism, burn more fat, block calorie absorption, and decrease your appetite.
He was inspired to write the book after studying the inhabitants of the small Greek island of Ikaria, which has a large population of healthy elderly people.
He believes their health and longevity is a result of their high intake of antioxidant-rich coffee.
How Slimming coffeee works for weight loss?
The coffee diet consists of drinking at least 3 cups (720 ml) of roasted coffee per day. Light roasts tend to be higher in polyphenolic antioxidants than darker roasts (1Trusted Source, 2Trusted Source).
Dr Arnot places particular importance on the type of coffee you choose and how it is brewed. He recommends a lightly roasted whole bean coffee that you die at home and brew with filtered water.
On a diet, you can have as much coffee as you want - caffeinated or decaffeinated - as long as you reach your minimum of 3 cups (720ml). However, you should avoid using sugar or cream.
He also recommends that you replace one meal a day with a homemade green smoothie that is high in fiber. Suggestions for smoothie recipes are presented in the book.
Your other meals and snacks should be low in calories and fat and high in fiber from whole grains, fruits and vegetables. The author also encourages readers to avoid highly processed foods, such as frozen meals and refined snack foods, in favor of whole foods.
In the book, Dr. Arnot's sample meal plans contain around 1,500 calories per day, which is probably far fewer calories than a typical person consumes.
Suitable meals for this diet include a tofu and vegetable stir-fry over brown rice, or a grilled chicken salad with a dressing.
Some people have reported weight loss success with this diet, possibly due to the calorie restriction involved. Additionally, some evidence suggests that coffee may aid in weight loss (3Trusted Source, 4Trusted Source).
Potential benefits of Coffee for Weight loss
Coffee is high in caffeine and antioxidants called polyphenols, which have several health benefits including reduced inflammation and free radical damage (1).
When it comes to speeding up weight loss, coffee appears to have two potential benefits: decreased appetite and increased metabolism.
May helps in reducing appetite intake
Dr Arnot says coffee can suppress your appetite, helping you lower your daily calorie intake.
Some research indicates that this is true to some extent. Drinking coffee shortly before a meal can decrease the amount of food you eat at that meal (3Trusted Source).
However, consuming coffee 3-4.5 hours before eating seems to have no effect on how much you eat at the next meal (3Trusted Source).
A study of 33 overweight or normal-weight people found that coffee consumption reduced calorie intake in overweight people (5).
During the 3 sessions of the study, each person was given breakfast and water, regular coffee, or coffee containing half the caffeine. Regular coffee contained 2.7 mg of caffeine per pound (6 mg / kg) of body weight.
When those who were overweight drank 6 ounces (200 ml) of coffee, they consumed significantly fewer calories afterwards, compared to when they drank water or coffee with half the caffeine (5).
Conversely, a study of 12 people found that there was no difference in calorie intake or appetite between those who drank caffeinated coffee, decaffeinated coffee, or a placebo drink before a meal (6 ).
Coffee with caffeine may help reduce calorie intake in some people, but more research is needed before any definitive claims can be made.
Coffee Helps in Increasing Metabolism rate
Caffeinated coffee, in particular, can increase the number of calories and the amount of fat you burn, making it easier to lose weight (7).
In a study of more than 600 people, researchers found that consuming more caffeine was associated with decreased weight, body mass index (BMI), and body fat.
When participants' caffeine intake doubled, their weight, BMI, and body fat decreased by 17-28% (7Trusted Source).
In another study, 12 adults took a supplement containing caffeine and polyphenols - two major active components in coffee - or a placebo. The supplement caused participants to burn significantly more fat and calories than the placebo (8).
Coffee can also increase the amount of fat you burn while exercising.
One study looked at the effects of coffee in 7 healthy men who exercised for 30 minutes and then consumed about 1 cup (250 ml) of water or caffeinated coffee. Those who drank coffee burned more fat than those who drank water (4Trusted Source).
However, much of the research on coffee and metabolism was done in the 1980s and 1990s. More recent research would help bolster these findings. Additionally, there is little recent evidence to support some of Dr. Arnot's stronger claims (9Trusted Source, 10Trusted Source, 11Trusted Source).
