People looking to lose weight are often eager to hear any tricks to make weight loss easier. One way to help speed up weight loss is to find ways to speed up your metabolism so that more calories are burned in a day.
Research has shown that caffeine is effective at speeding up your metabolism so you burn more calories. According to the Mayo Clinic, caffeine stimulates many bodily functions, including heart rate, central nervous system function, and metabolism. Also, caffeine can decrease your appetite in the short term. Therefore, adding caffeine can be an effective way to boost weight loss. However, there are a few things to consider:
You may not see any effect if you already consume caffeine. If caffeine is already part of your daily diet, you may need very high doses of caffeine to increase your metabolism above the level at which it already functions. However, those who don’t consume caffeine regularly may see some benefit.
You have to be careful where the caffeine comes from. If you start getting your caffeine from sugary sodas, you’re likely to gain weight rather than lose it. However, if you get your caffeine from coffee, tea, and sugar-free sodas, you may see some results.
You should consider your other health problems. If you already suffer from irregular heart rate or high blood pressure, your doctor may have warned you to stay away from caffeine. If this is the case, caffeine may not be safe for you. Be sure to talk to your doctor before adding caffeine.
What if I am sensitive to caffeine?
Many people stay away from caffeine because they find that too much caffeine makes them sleepy or nervous. For these people, caffeine supplementation for weight loss may seem unreasonable. However, there is a form of caffeine that appears to be well tolerated by those who are normally sensitive to caffeine.
Green tea may be the answer
Green tea may well be the best way to get caffeine for weight loss. Although green tea contains caffeine, it is found in smaller amounts than many other beverages. Also, the caffeine in green tea appears to be better tolerated by people who are sensitive to caffeine than other caffeinated beverages. This is believed to be due to the antioxidants in green tea.
These antioxidants, in addition to making caffeine less of a problem, also offer a myriad of health benefits. The antioxidants in green tea have been shown to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease and some forms of cancer. So even if you don’t lose weight by drinking green tea, it’s a healthy habit to add to your diet.
But the best news is that aside from being healthy and well-tolerated by those sensitive to caffeine, green tea may be the best way to get caffeine for weight loss. This is because studies have shown green tea to be more effective at promoting weight loss than other caffeinated beverages. The combination of caffeine and the antioxidants in green tea appear to be more effective in promoting weight loss than caffeine alone.
The Obesity Research Group reported on an important study on this topic. In this study, ninety overweight men and women were studied. First, the group was put on a low-calorie diet for four weeks. Subjects were divided into low caffeine consumers and high caffeine consumers. At the end of the four-week diet period, the subjects were placed on a weight maintenance program.
During this weight maintenance period, subjects received either a green tea/caffeine supplement or a placebo. Within groups, both high and low caffeine consumers received the green tea/caffeine supplement. The weight maintenance period lasted 3 months.
At the end of the study, the results were as follows:
o Caffeine consumers in general seemed to have higher levels of satiety and lower levels of leptin, which helped accelerate weight loss.
o During the weight loss period, caffeine users lost more weight than non-caffeinated users.
o During the weight maintenance period, low-caffeine users who received the green tea/caffeine supplement maintained more weight than low-caffeine users who received the placebo. In fact, many of them continued to lose weight.
o During the weight maintenance period, high caffeine consumers who received the green tea/caffeine supplement did not report a significantly higher rate of success in maintaining weight than high caffeine consumers who received the placebo.
While more research is needed to truly determine how green tea and caffeine can help you lose and maintain weight, it appears that consuming green tea and other forms of caffeine can help you lose weight. In particular, caffeine and green tea can be especially effective for those who don’t consume a lot of caffeine on a regular basis. And, since green tea is a form of caffeine that is well tolerated by most caffeine-sensitive individuals, green tea may be the best way to use caffeine as a weight loss aid.
You have nothing to lose by adding green tea to your diet. It is healthy, refreshing and has no side effects. And even those who are sensitive to other forms of caffeine can usually drink green tea without experiencing unpleasant side effects. So, see if green tea can help you in your weight loss efforts!
