Does it work to lose weight?

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 caloric intake.

Some people have reported short-term weight loss with the diet. However, it has significant disadvantages.

This article examines the diet of coffee, including its potential benefits, its disadvantages and whether it is healthy.

CLASSIFICATION OF THE RATING SCORE

• Overall Rating: 3.25
• Fast weight loss: 3
• Long term weight loss: 2
• Easy to follow: 4
• Nutritional quality: 4

LOWER RESULT: The coffee diet emphasizes coffee alongside whole foods while limiting processed foods and calories. While this may help you lose weight, your risk of gaining weight will be high. In addition, its high amounts of caffeine can have side effects.

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The coffee diet was popularized by Dr. Bob Arnot's book "The diet of coffee lovers".

In his book, Dr. Arnot says that drinking coffee several times a day can boost your metabolism, burn more fat, block the absorption of calories and decrease your appetite.

He was inspired to write this book after studying the inhabitants of the small Greek island of Ikaria, which has a large population of healthy elderly people.

He believes that their health and longevity are the result of their high consumption of antioxidant-rich coffee.

How it works

The coffee diet involves drinking at least 3 cups (720 ml) of roasted coffee a day. Light roasts tend to be richer in antioxidant polyphenols than darker roasts (1, 2).

Mr. Arnot attaches particular importance to the type of coffee you choose and the way it is prepared. He recommends a slightly roasted whole grain coffee that you want to grind at home and prepare with the help of filtered water.

On the diet, you can have as much coffee as you like – caffeinated or decaffeinated – as long as you reach your minimum of 3 cups (720 ml). However, you should avoid using sugar or cream.

He also recommends that you replace one meal a day with a homemade, high fiber green smoothie. Suggested smoothie recipes are described 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 dishes and fine snacks, for the benefit of whole foods.

In the book, Dr. Arnot's examples of meal plans contain about 1,500 calories a day, which is probably a lot less calories than an ordinary person.

Meals suitable for this diet include tofu and vegetables sautéed on brown rice, or a grilled chicken salad with a vinaigrette.

Some people have reported weight loss success with this diet, probably because of the caloric restriction involved. In addition, some evidence suggests that coffee can promote weight loss (3, 4).

summary The coffee diet was developed by Dr. Bob Arnot, who claims that coffee can help you lose weight. In this regard, you drink at least 3 cups (720 ml) of coffee a day, replace a meal with a green smoothie and focus on low-fat, high-fiber meals and snacks.

Coffee is rich in caffeine and antioxidants called polyphenols, which have several health benefits, including a decrease in inflammation and free radical damage (1).

With regard to weight loss, coffee seems to have two potential benefits: a decrease in appetite and an increase in metabolism.

May decrease appetite

Dr. Arnot says that coffee can suppress your appetite, helping you reduce your daily caloric intake.

Some research indicates that this is true to some extent. Drinking coffee shortly before a meal may decrease the amount you eat at this meal (3).

However, eating coffee 3 to 4.5 hours before eating does not seem to affect the amount of food you eat at the next meal (3).

A study of 33 overweight or normal weight people found that coffee consumption reduced caloric intake in overweight people (5).

During the three sessions of the study, each person received a breakfast and water, regular coffee or coffee containing half of the caffeine. Regular coffee contained 2.7 mg of caffeine per pound (6 mg / kg) of body weight.

When those who were overweight drank 200 ml (6 oz) of coffee, they consumed significantly fewer calories after that when they drank water or coffee with half of the caffeine (5).

Conversely, a study of 12 people revealed that there was no difference in caloric intake or appetite between people who drank coffee containing caffeine, decaffeinated coffee or a placebo drink before a meal (6).

Coffee with caffeine can help reduce caloric intake in some people, but more research is needed before definitive claims can be made.

May increase metabolism

Coffee with caffeine, in particular, can increase the number of calories and the amount of fat you burn, making it easier to lose weight (7).

In a review that included more than 600 people, researchers found that increased caffeine intake was associated with weight loss, body mass index (BMI), and body fat.

When participants' caffeine consumption doubled, their weight, BMI and body fat decreased from 17% to 28% (7).

In another study, 12 adults took a supplement containing caffeine and polyphenols, two major components of coffee, or placebo. The supplement encouraged participants to burn a lot more fat and calories than placebo (8).

Coffee can also increase the amount of fat you burn while working.

One study examined the effects of coffee in 7 healthy men who worked for 30 minutes and then consumed about 1 cup (250 mL) of water or coffee containing caffeine. Those who drank coffee burned more fat than those who ate water (4).

However, much of the research on coffee and metabolism was done in the 1980s and 1990s. More recent research would help strengthen these results. In addition, there is little recent evidence to support some of Mr. Arnot's stronger claims (9, ten, 11).

summary Research indicates that coffee can help weight loss by decreasing your appetite and caloric intake, while increasing the number of calories you burn. However, more research is needed to understand how coffee affects weight control.

Coffee contains healthy antioxidants and can help you lose weight by suppressing your appetite and increasing your metabolism. However, the coffee diet has several disadvantages.

Excessive caffeine

Although decaffeinated coffee is an option of the coffee diet, most people prefer coffee with caffeine. In addition, many of the metabolic benefits of coffee are attributed to caffeine.

However, excessive consumption of caffeine can lead to several health problems, such as high blood pressure (12).

An observational study examined the association between coffee and blood pressure in more than 1,100 hypertensive individuals.

Those who ate at least three cups of coffee a day had higher blood pressure than those who did not drink coffee (12).

Caffeine is also a diuretic, which means that you excrete more fluid in the urine. If you drink a lot of coffee, you may need to use the toilet more frequently (13).

In addition, many important electrolytes can be lost with fluids, especially potassium. Excessive potassium loss can cause hypokalemia, which can affect muscle control and heart health. The hypokalemia induced by coffee is rare (13).

Finally, excessive consumption of caffeine has been associated with heart attacks, headaches, insomnia and an increased risk of bone fractures, osteoporosis and even depression (14, 15, 16).

Although drinking excessive amounts of caffeinated coffee may be harmful, caffeine consumption of up to 400 mg per day – or about 4 cups (960 ml) of coffee – is generally considered safe (17).

Weight gain is likely

Diets that involve a drastic reduction in caloric intake – such as the recommended 1,500 calories a day in the coffee diet – often result in a rebound in weight due to a number of changes your body suffers when you limit calories (18).

Your body adapts to the number of calories you usually consume. Thus, when you reduce your calorie intake significantly, your body adapts by slowing down your metabolism, thus reducing the number of calories you burn (18).

In addition, hormonal changes resulting from caloric restriction can increase your appetite (18, 19).

Leptin is a hormone that promotes the sensation of fullness and sends signals to your brain for it to stop eating. However, leptin levels in your body can decrease significantly with low calorie diets, which can lead to increased hunger and cravings20, 21, 22).

For these reasons, it is very difficult to lose weight with diets that require you to significantly reduce your caloric intake, such as the coffee diet. The end result is often a resumption of weight.

According to some research, about 80% of people who lose weight on a low-calorie diet regain weight during their first month of dieting. Nearly 100% of people regain all of their lost weight within five years of the end of their diet (23, 24).

Not sure in the long run

According to testimonials, people usually follow the coffee diet for two to seven weeks.

In fact, this can be dangerous in the long run for several reasons.

Drinking large amounts of caffeinated coffee can lead to excessive consumption of caffeine, which can lead to several problems, including insomnia and depression (14).

The coffee diet is also a low-calorie diet, which can make it difficult to lose weight and maintain it successfully (18).

Unfortunately, no long-term study has evaluated the safety or efficacy of the coffee diet.

For these reasons, you should not follow the coffee diet in the long run.

summary The coffee diet comes with significant disadvantages. This could lead to excessive consumption of caffeine. In addition, weight recovery is likely with restrictive diets like this one. There is currently no research on the safety or long-term effectiveness of the plan.

Unfortunately, the coffee diet is not an ideal weight loss plan.

Its unlimited coffee consumption can lead to excessive caffeine consumption. In addition, its caloric restriction can make you regain the weight you have lost (18).

Effective weight loss diets often have low caloric restriction, resulting in slower, more sustained weight loss, and lessening the negative metabolic changes associated with caloric restriction (25, 26).

Increasing your intake of protein and fiber, decreasing the amount of refined sugars you eat and exercising regularly can help you lose weight without returning to normal (18).

For most people, the most effective diet for weight loss is the one they can handle (25, 26).

summary The coffee diet is not the best choice for losing weight healthily. Sustainable diets are more likely to lead to long-term success.

The coffee diet encourages you to drink at least 3 cups (720 ml) of coffee daily while limiting calorie intake.

While this may result in short term weight loss, it is not a healthy long term diet.

This can lead to weight recovery and the adverse effects of excessive caffeine consumption.

You can still enjoy the health benefits of coffee, but keep the safety limit of 4 cups (960 ml) a day or less.

For healthy and safe weight loss, avoid restrictive programs, such as the coffee diet, for more sustainable diets.