Caffeine! Weight loss resistance. Any experiences?

Well, not really. I stated in this thread four times that I drink black coffee..no sugar, no cream...maybe a lemon rind in espresso.

I absolutely and 100% agree that if you put any sugar in your mouth you will get fat. PERIOD. I don't use any sugar and my fruits are limited to a select few.

L Norton: While acute caffeine ingestion may impair glucose tolerance, studies suggest that long term caffeine ingestion actually lowers the risk of developing type II diabetes(1). In my opinion there is probably not enough information at this point to say definitively one way or the other, but I believe caffeine is fine in moderation, much like many other compounds, if you don't abuse it there is little to worry about.

W Brink: As far as I am concerned, there is no sunshine without coffee! Kidding aside, it's essential to separate an effect seen in the lab and the larger picture. Insulin is an essential hormone in the pathogenesis of various afflictions. It's also a hormone we can't live with out, and there is not a direct insulin spike = terrible things happen equation, no matter how hard people attempt to paint insulin as the mother of bad guy hormones. Do we see a correlation between coffee and obesity? No. In fact, a study I was just reading found decreased rates of type 2 diabetes in men who drank coffee. If coffee had a negative effect on whole body glucose metabolism, that is it elevated insulin for long periods of time, or decreased insulin sensitivity to a great degree, or what have you, we would not see this reduced risk of type 2 and coffee consumption. If anything, it appears to have positive effects on glucose metabolism. There are several studies that suggest coffee reduces the rates of metabolic syndrome, which is yet more proof that it's far too over simplistic to paint coffee as a negative due to one outcome, in this case affects on insulin. There have also been a bunch of other potential benefits to coffee drinking, so as usual, it's about balance and common sense. A few cups of coffee per day are fine, 10 cups a day, probably not such a good idea. It's also possible that coffee may be contra indicated for some populations, but perfectly fine for the majority of people.

J Hale: I am assuming you are referring to caffeinated coffee. Caffeine increases the release of catecholamines (adrenaline, nor-adrenaline, dopamine). Adrenaline hormones increase FFA mobilization from fat cells. Dopamine increases feelings of pleasure and well being. Increased FFA blood levels due to high concentrations of adrenaline hormones induce insulin resistance. The effect is generally short term. The severity varies among individuals. We have to ask ourselves is insulin resistance a bad thing? Not always just depends. Fat cell insulin resistance means insulin can’t inhibit fat breakdown or promote nutrient storage in fat cell. Muscle cell resistance means the muscle cell can’t uptake glucose therefore it use an alternative source of fuel FFAs. The glucose is utilized by the brain and nervous system and other tissues that need it. During times of dieting and low carbs insulin resistance is not necessarily a bad thing. When eating excess calories it generally is a bad thing. With that being said athletes have used coffee for years as a performance enhancer. Endurance athletes often ingest coffee because of its benefits on fat metabolism. Some studies suggest coffee may actually reduce chance of developing type 2 diabetes. Coffee contains other substances which have also shown health benefits. I recommend coffee if your body can handle it. Some people get the shakes and just can’t seem to handle the CNS boost. There is also a big difference between drinking 2 cups of coffee and 10. Moderation is probably the key to enhancing performance and preventing any negative health consequences.

A Aragon: I’m a coffee lover, so I’ll defend it with all my might, research be damned!! But seriously, all you can do in this instance is take a hard look at the data. The anti-coffee camp says that coffee consumption contributes to insulin resistance. This is a classic case of focusing on acute effects while disregarding what really matters – the chronic effects, along with a few critical details. This is also a case of context-confusion. Most of the work leading to this conclusion is based on obese folks using isolated alkaloidal caffeine, not coffee. So, to begin with, that pretty much takes most athletes out of the picture, who use caffeine for ergogenic purposes. They use it to increase exercise capacity, which inherently improves insulin metabolism, so pretty much the issue ends right there. But we’re unrepentant nerds here, so we can still look at the data. Caffeine acutely raises insulin response when applied to oral glucose tolerance tests. Okay, great.. Cocoa raises insulin response when coingested with other foods, but long-term cocoa use also appears to improve insulin sensitivity. Rewind back to coffee. Coffee’s acute insulinogenic nature doesn’t have any negative impact when studies are carried out long-term. For example, Several epidemiologic studies found that ingestion of caffeinated (and decaffeinated) coffee may actually reduce the risk of diabetes compared with those who never drank coffee. In addition, coffee was recently seen to have a beneficial effect on endothelial function, which implies cardiovascular benefit. For those not impressed by the uncontrolled nature of epidemiologic studies, I challenge anyone to compile the controlled studies on caffeine and dish out the conclusion that moderate coffee consumption has negative effects on health markers.