Feb 27 2007
How Caffeine Affects Your Weight Loss Diet
Does caffeine affect how much you eat, or which things you eat, or how much weight you can lose? Well, let’s see - sugar in your coffee, donuts with your morning coffee break, cookies with tea - have we discovered a connection? If you have mild food cravings that prevent you from saying “no” to a high-calorie snack in the middle of the morning, you might want to cut back on your coffee. It could help you lose a few pounds with less struggle.
I you really don’t think caffeine consumption has anything to do with gaining (or not losing) weight, try this experiment - give up caffeine for two weeks, and then start drinking it again.
I suspect that you will have a reaction very similar to the one I experience - you’re now conscious of the morning jitters that were so much a part of your everyday life before. And you’re very aware of the fact that a spoonful of sugar (or a piece of bread, or a sandwich, or a muffin), is just what you need to make you feel more normal.
Addictions counselors working with alcoholics who smoke often make the suggestion (which is almost always ignored) that their clients quit both deadly addictions at the same time. The reasoning is simple - if you always smoke while drinking, as many people do, the act of lighting up a cigarette will trigger the craving for alcohol.
In reverse, the folks who are trying to give up nicotene will have a hard time leaving the cigarette pack alone if they drink their beer in their favorite smoke-filled bar. Although you’ll have twich as many withdrawal symptoms if you give up both sugar and caffeine at the same timem, the potential for weight loss success is much higher if you give up both substances at once.
Even though coffee (in moderation) is no longer thought to be bad for your health, it can have an effect on what you choose to eat.
The report at the Harvard Women’s Health Watch that discussed the possible benefits of coffee did have a good suggestion if you want to go on drinking coffee, but don’t want the jitters that make you head for the candy machine. They suggest that you drink the same amount of coffee that you usually do, but spread it out throughout the day.
This will actually help you stay more alert, according to their study’s results, and it will also keep you from feeling mildy stressed from the big hit of caffeine early in the morning.
Even if you aren’t trying to lose weight, but you know you should cut down on the sugar, it’s a good idea to at least try to cut down on the coffee. Many people find that they “need” a carb boost after drinking a morning java. That may be why the candy machines in offices all over the country have lines behind them during every morning break.
Many finess trainers and nutritionists suggest giving up both highly refined carbs like sugar and white flour and caffeine. It isn’t easy, at least at first - but the overall health benefits are worth it. You may have to experience that “caffeine headache” for a few days, but you’ll find that you have much less craving for fattening, high-calorie sugar and simple carbs. And that will allow you to focus on the kinds of food that can really help you stay healthy, slim and fit.
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