Does cutting out caffeine actual aid weightloss?

_Fluff
_Fluff Posts: 28 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I read some information saying that reducing or cutting out caffeine can control cortisol production and stress hormones, thereby reducing abdominal fat gain. I'm on my first week of quitting coffee, and it's really sucking. Has anyone here quit caffeine and seen positive effects?
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Replies

  • iWaffle
    iWaffle Posts: 2,208 Member
    I still drink lots of coffee and it doesn't slow me down. If anything I thought it helped with weight loss.

    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeine/HQ00369

    Of course the opposing view that speaks of cortisol production has a point but they're not convincing me to quit coffee. I like it too much and it hardly has any calories unless you put a lot of junk in it.
  • violetta88
    violetta88 Posts: 117 Member
    God I hope not - I need my morning fix!
  • Elleinnz
    Elleinnz Posts: 1,661 Member
    Honestly I think you are clutching at straws - I drank at least one cup of coffee a day - and still lost 125 lbs.....

    Eat healthy, and balanced and moderation in everything (including coffee and chocolate ;-) )- and do moderate exercise....
  • chris82horseman
    chris82horseman Posts: 131
    I still drink some coffee but I have mainly switched to Asda Lemon, Ginger and Mango Tea.

    Very Refreshing.

    I still need some coffee now and again though. :drinker:
  • KRaemondH
    KRaemondH Posts: 120 Member
    I have anxiety issues so I was advised by my doctor to cut back on the caff. a tad (my family is big coffee drinkers and i could drink a pot of coffee around 6pm and go to sleep fine at nine)
    I toned it down QUITE a bit and not only do i feel better but after the sluggishnes, the head aches and the weird detoxing of my body i feel a ton better. NOW I NEVER gave up on caff. BUT i did switch from coffee all night to chilled plain green tea and a cup of hot black coffee once in a while. I haven't seen a weight loss of gain but from what research shows, in moderation, caff. helps keep your motabalism up and helps your digestion. but that is compared to 1-2 cups 8oz cups of black coffee or tea a day...
    moderation is your best bet in my book :)
  • itgeekwoman
    itgeekwoman Posts: 804 Member
    For me it did. I'm not a scientist,but I haven't had caffeine since I started with my nutritionist.. who is a chemist :) . She seemed to think that caffeine was one of my biggest enemies. I don't have any now, not even green tea!! WOW I have more energy than I ever have and it really doesn't matter to me if I drink coffee or teas anymore.
  • sweetchildomine
    sweetchildomine Posts: 872 Member
    Cut it out and see if it makes a difference. I'm a huge believer that everyone's body is different. I cut it out for a whole month and my progress stayed exactly the same so I'm keeping my daily cup of coffee!! haha However, I don't know if that would be the case for everyone else!
  • Fannyannefeisty
    Fannyannefeisty Posts: 53
    I cut out caffeine doing the Atkins many years ago, when I realised how addicted to it I was I never went back. I was given tea in a beaker when I was a toddler; white with sugar! It was tough to quit and I went cold turkey.

    I am not sure if it affects weight loss but I found it harder to give up than cigarettes - by a long shot. It was really tough for a week with huge headaches, but now I am caffeine free I am so much better in the mornings, no grumpy caffeine lows!!

    I have the occasional caffeinated drink when nothing else is available (I am not keen on plain water) but if I have too many (or ridiculously strong coffee) it is a real rush now!!
  • lanie37
    lanie37 Posts: 204 Member
    I decided to try hot water and lemon on a morning instead of my usual coffee. That morning I had the worst headache ever. I decided this was a bad sign, that i was having withdrawl from missing morning cuppa. I has 2 to 3 days of bad headache, but I can be a stubborn sod and refused to give in to it.
    Its nearly 2 weeks since I last had any coffee tea or fizzy drinks. I am full of energy when I wake up on a morning, before I couldnt function til I had a coffee. My water intake is way up and I feel great. The only hard time I had was walking past a coffee shop and could smell the lovely coffee inside.
    The plus side is I have cut out the calories of the milk and the 1 sugar I had with my coffee. I have lost 14lbs in the past 2 weeks dont know how much of that has been helped without having caffeine, but I do know I have more energy than I have had for years.
  • kiwilass
    kiwilass Posts: 49 Member
    Hi there. I used to be a big coffee drinker - approx 10 cups fresh black coffee a day. I used to boo hoo all the stuff about caffeine and its affects. But yes it does alleviate cortisol production and stress hormones. But it is not the one and only cause of abdominal fat being stored. I have cut back to 3 cups a day purely for health reasons and I now drink herbal tea in-between (took a while to adjust and like it - i though I was having my throat cut) BUT I feel much better I dont crave a coffee any more and Im sure my body is thanking me for it.

    If you are looking for a quick fix to get rid of abdominal fat cutting caffeine is not your answer. It may help but you would be best too look at other aspects in regard to excerise and food intake and types of foods eaten as well.
  • tabulator32
    tabulator32 Posts: 701 Member
    I have drastically reduced my coffee intake over the past few months (quit completely for a couple months) and I believe it has made a big difference in my ability to stay hydrated, exercise properly and, yes, lose weight.

    Every concept will always have its nay-sayers but some stuff DOES work, at least for some people.

    :bigsmile:
  • sigh03
    sigh03 Posts: 3
    I would say if anything Caffeine has the effect of speeding up weight loss but probably not enough to make a big difference. Caffeine may stimulate thermogenesis i.e. help you burn calories, and reduce your appetite and although I wouldn’t recommend my diet to anyone as it’s a PSMF and quite extreme I take caffeine supplements to aid in weight loss.
  • kalintohu
    kalintohu Posts: 8
    Drinking coffee helped me suppress my hunger when I had to cut 22 lbs in 40 days. Then I was eating only 1700-2000 calories a day from chicken breasts and vegetables. Drinking 2 cups of coffee made it really easy for me to deal with the carb cravings.
  • AwesomeOne66
    AwesomeOne66 Posts: 220
    cutting out caffeine would aid my weightloss, if I stopped drinking my double-shot extra tall skinny cappuccino every morning on the way to work, I would be a complete psycho and would therefore end up in an institution, or prison, where they'd feed me hardly anything, and then I'd be even more skinny, aiding my weightloss....moral of the story, there are better ways to aid weightloss!!!!!
  • rileamoyer
    rileamoyer Posts: 2,412 Member
    Sorry but you will have to pry my coffee from my cold dead hands! :laugh:
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    I read some information saying that reducing or cutting out caffeine can control cortisol production and stress hormones, thereby reducing abdominal fat gain. I'm on my first week of quitting coffee, and it's really sucking. Has anyone here quit caffeine and seen positive effects?

    I have read somewhere how caffeine can raise cortisol levels. Our Cortisol will rise naturally in the morning hours. Some believe that coffee in the morning will not cause a damaging amount over the level we are already putting out.. Some also beleive that coffee in the afternoon may increase cortisol more than we need.

    There is not enough evidence that I can find to cut coffee because of the other benefits, mainly that I like the effect and the taste.

    Overalll, if you like the taste and effect, there are not enough benefits to simply cut it out.

    The cortisol and belly fat connection has not been proven or at least I cant find any proof.

    I'm not gonna quit.
  • athensguy
    athensguy Posts: 550
    I drink a lot of coffee. Generally between 3 and 10 cups daily. I am not having any trouble with weight. If anything, I'm lighter than I would have guessed I would be considering how often I've been eating over my caloric goals.
  • laddyboy
    laddyboy Posts: 1,565 Member
    What, no coffee...I guess I'm gonna get fat again. LOL

    It's actually a fat burner. Drink and be merry. Just watch what you put in it.
  • docktorfokse
    docktorfokse Posts: 473 Member
    Caffeine, as a stimulant, will increase your metabolism. Also, people treat cortisol as a biological bad guy; acute increases in cortisol are fine (as in caffeine consumption, upon waking, or during a workout), it's only a problem when you have chronic high cortisol.
  • charanne52
    charanne52 Posts: 88 Member
    I rarely drink more than two cups of coffee a day and that's how I've always been and so far, I don't think drinking coffee has affected my weight loss negatively. I eat and drink whatever I want - but in moderation.
  • ashbee169
    ashbee169 Posts: 4 Member
    Coffee is OK but soda is where the fat comes Cuz of all the sugar but If you quit completely get excedren your gonna have head aches for like a week. Well I did.
  • dalgal26
    dalgal26 Posts: 781 Member
    Too much of anything is not good...but I have my caffeine all day long...coffee in the a.m......Diet Coke all day! I don't think it has slowed my weight loss...but, that is just me..:drinker:

    Wishing you all the best in your journey to a healthier life!:flowerforyou:
  • Shannota
    Shannota Posts: 308 Member
    If you decide to cut out the caffiene, watch out. The headaches can be a b****! I recently reduced my daily calorie intake and decided that 70 calories on dairy creamer was not worth it (I cannot drink coffee black!). So I cut out my morning cup. Next day, I had an aweful headache. I decided to switch to a cup of Irish Tea with 1/8 cup skim milk instead. It is working nicely.

    I also noticed that, if I didn't have some caffeine in the morning, my workouts suffered as I couldn't go quite as intense.

    Experiment and see what works for you. We all work a little differently.
  • Kipperdog123
    Kipperdog123 Posts: 59
    Actually, some caffeine in moderation spurs on weight loss, because it burns a few calories because it raises the heart rate.
  • hottiebikerchick
    hottiebikerchick Posts: 187 Member
    I read some information saying that reducing or cutting out caffeine can control cortisol production and stress hormones, thereby reducing abdominal fat gain. I'm on my first week of quitting coffee, and it's really sucking. Has anyone here quit caffeine and seen positive effects?
    I have a couple cups every morning and hasnt hurt me a bit- but its water and crystal light all day.....
  • RobynMWilson
    RobynMWilson Posts: 1,540 Member
    I drink coffee and I don't have belly fat. And since I normally work out after my 4-hour morning shift I usually have 2 cups of coffee during that shift and it def helps my performance lol
  • itsafrappe
    itsafrappe Posts: 162 Member
    i cut out the coffee and it helped me but it wasnt the coffee so much as the cream and sugar i was putting in it. coffee has proven health benifits when consued in moderation just drink plenty of water to balance its dehydrating side effects. i do have much more energy now without the coffee than i did with the coffee to each their own. its not the worst drink in the world (ie mcd's sweet tea)
  • _Fluff
    _Fluff Posts: 28 Member
    Thanks for all the replies! It looks like everyone's mileage may vary. I'm cutting back from 8 cups of coffee a day to three cups of green tea, and the headaches are only starting to fade off. I feel less puffy and bloated, but that may be all in my head. Part of my desire to quit coffee is because of possible benefits, and the other part is- wouldn't it be cool to not be addicted to /anything/? Next up- quitting ice cream:P
  • AmyFett
    AmyFett Posts: 1,607 Member
    If anything it would help me, it cleans me out! lol tmi ;)
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
    Coffee is antioxidant rich.

    The headaches will go away if you taper off instead of quit cold turkey, at least that's what I've found.

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