I love drinking coffee — but if I found out it could also help me shed a few extra pounds, I’d consider this a miracle. If you’ve wondered, “Is drinking coffee good for weight loss?”, you’re not alone. I think every coffee addict has asked themselves this question at one point. While drinking coffee can help with weight loss, there’s no “magic” way to shed pounds instantly. I chatted with medical experts to learn more about how drinking coffee could support weight loss. Here’s what you need to know about using coffee as a tool to support your weight loss efforts.
Is drinking coffee good for weight loss?
“Coffee might help some people lose weight due to its caffeine content. Caffeine can temporarily increase metabolism, helping burn calories. Still, its weight loss effect won’t be significant,” says Dr. Daniel Atkinson, Clinical Lead at Treated. “Caffeine increases the release of adrenaline, which signals your body to break down fat into energy. It also slightly increases your metabolic rate. As your metabolism speeds up, your body burns more energy, which could contribute to mild weight loss.”
Before you run to chug coffee to shed a few pounds, it is vital to recognize that the effect of drinking coffee for weight loss is minimal. “If you’re already eating healthy and exercising regularly, adding coffee to your diet solely for weight loss is unlikely to make any real difference. But drinking coffee before a workout can improve your endurance and overall energy levels, which could contribute to weight loss and muscle development,” says Dr. Atkinson.
As described by Dr. Meena Malhotra, a double-board-certified physician, drinking coffee to help lose weight is not a magic solution. Instead, it can help more so as part of a healthy lifestyle, not as a standalone fix. For those who already have solid health and fitness habits, coffee may provide a slight boost of energy or an edge of focus during workouts, but it won’t drastically change your results. Dr. Malhotra recommends that her patients think of coffee as “A supporting act, but not the main performer.”
Using coffee to curb appetite or cravings
For some people, coffee can be used as a tool to help curb appetite and cravings and make it easier to stay in a calorie deficit. According to Dr. Malhotra, “A cup of coffee before a meal can temporarily suppress hunger and reduce cravings, but that effect usually fades as your body gets used to it.”
Other experts say there’s not enough research to conclude that coffee can effectively curb appetite. “Whether coffee can curb your appetite is unknown, says Dr. Atkinson. “Some studies suggest that it can, while others are less conclusive. But generally, if you drink a large amount of liquid, even water, it will fill up your stomach, making you feel fuller,” he shares.
The downside of drinking coffee for weight loss
While drinking coffee to support weight loss can be a smart habit, most of these effects pertain to drinking black coffee without added sugar or cream. Dr. Malhotra says once you start adding flavored coffee syrups, heavy cream, or sugar, your coffee becomes more of a dessert than a metabolism booster. “A coffee with these additions can make it more calorie-dense. For example, a standard caramel latte could contain up to 250 calories. While this may not seem like many calories, if your daily calorie deficit is 1400 kcal, that’s about 20% of your total calories from one cup of coffee,” says Dr. Atkinson.
Not only do coffee drinkers need to be mindful of how many calories are added to their brew by sugar and cream, but drinking too much coffee could also affect the weight-loss benefits. For some people who are especially sensitive to caffeine, drinking too much coffee can cause unpleasant side effects like anxiety, difficulty falling asleep, digestive problems, and more. Ultimately, consuming too much coffee can impair your body’s ability to lose weight. Dr. Malhotra warns coffee drinkers trying to lose weight that overdoing caffeine can increase stress hormones, ultimately leading to water retention, disrupted sleep, and sugar cravings, all things that make fat loss harder.
Should you drink coffee for weight loss?
Overall, drinking black coffee can support your weight-loss efforts, but it’s important to stay realistic and manage expectations. Consuming a moderate amount of caffeine can give you a boost in the gym or a bit of extra energy, but consuming too much could do more harm than good to your weight-loss efforts. Dr. Malhotra recommends coffee over energy drinks to support weight loss, since coffee is natural and calorie-free. “
“The amount of caffeine is way too high, sometimes close to 20 to 30 cups of coffee,” she says. “Depending upon the drink, it is combined with many other chemicals, artificial sweeteners, and in that dose, and it is such a concentrated form of caffeine, I don’t recommend it at all. Also, in addition to higher sugar, it is the amount of caffeine in a small amount of liquid, as well as other chemicals and sugar substitutes.”
