A Cup a Day Won’t Keep the Pounds Away!

Petr Kratochvil, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Personally, I have a very strong aversion to many traditional marketing methods; I find much of it to be psychologically manipulative and, oftentimes, downright untrue. This is especially the case when it comes to the weight loss industry, where so many fly-by-night charlatans and snake oil salesmen sell people things by playing to their deepest fears and insecurities, implying that one’s book or pill or packaged product will be the magic bullet people have been waiting for all their lives to cure them of their perpetual battle with weight.

Such is the case with the folks who “sell” the idea that caffeine can burn fat and lead to weight loss.

1. While it’s true that caffeine in coffee can increase one’s metabolism (in a teeny-weeny, itty-bitty kind of way), it’s also true that after a while people become tolerant of the effects, and it stops working. That’s why there are so many long-term coffee drinkers who can have a cup late at night and be immune to its stimulant effects and fall asleep without a problem.
2. While it’s also true that the science of coffee as an appetite suppressant seems to be solid, eating less is not the answer. Eating better is. For one thing, when you decrease your calorie intake significantly, your body adapts by slowing your metabolism, reducing the number of calories you burn. For another, there’s a large segment of the population for whom doing anything that purposely suppresses their appetite is an accident waiting to happen. 

I’ve seen many “weight loss coffee” MLM schemes over the years, but more so recently, all over social media — folks marketing and selling coffee, caffeine pills and other types of caffeine supplements as ways to lose weight.

Here’s a newsflash, folks:

Drinking coffee helps weight loss like eating pizza on the treadmill helps weight loss!

Namely, it’s bullshit.

The reality?

87% of Americans consider themselves somewhat or full-on coffee-obsessed* (which, of course, means multiple cups a day for most), yet we are the 12th most obese country in the world. Hmmm . . . maybe the fact that coffee is often linked with, associated with, complemented by, eating (cookies, cakes, biscuits, donuts, granola bars) has something to do with it. It’s not easy walking away from a Starbucks or Dunkin’ counter with just the coffee.

Now, here’s what we do know about coffee:

❌ It contains caffeine, which can raise blood pressure.

❌ Caffeine causes insomnia.

❌ Caffeine is acidic and can worsen acid reflux and heartburn symptoms.

❌ Caffeine can cause anxiety and panic attacks.

❌ Caffeine can trigger IBS and other digestive problems.

❌ Caffeine is a stimulant, which can cause sugar cravings.

❌ Caffeine is addictive.

A cup or two a day isn’t going to hurt anyone (barring doctor’s orders of course) but drink it because you enjoy the taste. Never, EVER think of it as a weight loss tool.

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*2024 Coffee Facts & Statistics