Best Caffeine Sources for Weight Loss

How are Caffeine and Weight Loss Related?

Whether you are looking to cut calories, lose weight, or just looking to live healthier - it might be time to examine how you get your caffeine fix. Caffeine was always been related to weight and there is a reason why caffeine is one of the most common ingredients in weight loss pills - caffeine really can help you lose weight!

• Caffeine for Working Out: Caffeine give you extra energy and helps you feel more alert. You can use caffeine as a way to boost your exercise routines so that you can workout longer and harder, burning more fat and using up more calories. Caffeine is also beneficial during workouts because it triggers the body to burn more fat for energy rather than justing stored carbohydrates.
• ​Caffeine for the Metabolism: Many studies have been done to investigate how the metabolism is effected by caffeine. There has been evidence to suggest that consuming caffeine does in fact increase the metabolism. One study showed that consuming caffeine has a significant impact on the metabolic rate for up to 3 hours after ingestion.
• Caffeine and Fat Breakdown: Not only did the study previously mentioned uncover the effects caffeine had on the metabolism but it also produced evidence suggesting that caffeine helped the body break down fat calls by promoting fat oxidation!
• Caffeine as a Appetite Suppressant: Caffeine has also been known to temporary suppress your appetite. This means that you will be less likely to be tempted by high calories foods and consume fewer calories throughout your day.  

It's clear that caffeine has a positive impact on weight loss efforts and you can use caffeine strategically to help you reach your fitness goals. The trick is knowing which types of caffeine are good for you and which types to completely avoid.

Related: Can Caffeine Help You Lose Weight? ​

Types of Caffeine to Avoid for Weight Loss

• Commercial "Designer" Coffees: These are the drinks that are bought from chain coffee shops such as Starbucks. These drinks are loaded with sugar, syrup, whole-fat milk, chocolate, and other sweeteners that some drinks can top out to over 800 calories. These are all empty calories that you are consuming - avoid these drinks!
• Soda and Soft Drinks: Drinking pop drinks are one of the easiest ways to sabotage weight loss efforts. Even if you drink "diet" soda - there are still health risks involved including type two diabetes and stroke. These drinks offer no nutritional value and lots of sugar. One study discovered that those who just drank two diet sodas a day had waistline growth that was 500% times greater than non-drinkers!
• High Sugar Energy Drinks: The calories burning boost that caffeine can give you will not do much for you if you are getting this caffeine from energy drinks that are high in sugar. Common energy drink brands like Monster, Rockstar, and Nos can have super high sugar content. Be sure to read the nutritional labels of your energy drinks.  Adding these to your diet can cause you to gain weight, not lose it.
• Caffeine Pills: These pills are extremely high in caffeine and can quickly become addictive. You are also much more likely to experience nasty side effects like accelerated heart rate, excessive urination, nausea, vomiting, restlessness, anxiety, depression, tremors and insomnia

Best Caffeine Sources Weight Loss

• Black Coffee: Notice that this simply says Black Coffee, not lattes or cappuccinos. If you love the taste of coffee than brewing a cup of plain black coffee might be your preferred choice. Avoid, or at least limit, the amount of sugar and other ingredients that you add to the coffee. Black coffee is fine, its the sugar and creamer that are adding on the pounds.  2 to 3 cups daily is the average and should be your limit. Too much can cause negative side effects to your health.  8oz of coffee comes to about 150-200mg of caffeine
• Natural Teas: Tea is another great way to consume caffeine.  Green tea is a favorite of mine since it has so much research that backs it when it comes to having weight loss properties. Black tea is another popular and natural option. Certain tea blends are specifically formulated to help you lose weight.  If you are more interested in going to tea routine be sure to check out my article on the Top 5 Best Tea Detoxes for Weight Loss.

• Natural Caffeine (Green Coffee Bean Extract): Green coffee beans are simply coffee beans that have not been roasted. They are high in antioxidants and have been known that they could even help with blood pressure and weight loss. Green coffee beans also contain chlorogenic acid which is thought to block fat accumulation, boost weight loss, stop carb absorption, and even help the body regulate post-meal blood sugar levels. You can buy green coffee extract supplements but they might only have minimal levels of caffeine. Instead, consider Pure LYFT Energy Sticks. They can be mixed into any beverage (including water) and contain 125mg of caffeine along with vitamin A and B!

• Healthy Energy Drinks: No all energy drinks are high in sugar and chemicals. There are energy drinks that are actually good for you and along with providing you with caffeine, they will also give you essential vitamins and minerals. RUNA is a clean energy drink with guayusa, a plant native to the Amazon rainforest with double the antioxidant capacity as green tea! This energy drink has zero calories and 120mg of caffeine.

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