[Domina]

Have any of you heard this statement: caffeine makes it more difficult to lose weight. I've heard it on several health type talk shows. I just love my coffee in the morning (my only vice)

Inquiring minds want to know.

[lalala]

Alrighty,

I believe that caffeine does not stimulate weight loss, however, I believe that cafffeine makes me peppier and more active and honestly, I eat less when I am caffeinated.

However, I only drink 8 oz. of caffeinated coffee a day and everything else is decaffeinated.

I tried googling for an answer, but I got a lot of medical crank stuff and muscle building websites. I can look more in depth.

All I know is that everywhere in the world that I travel to, they drink espresso and they are all skinny. In Iran, they all drink tea, lots of dark tea with either a tiny bit of sugar or straight and they are all pretty thin.

Let me get back to you. I can understand the biological ramifications of caffeine on one's metabolism, but am not comfortable explaining it.

In a nutshell, everything in moderation.

lala

[McHoney]

Lisa I think I read that somewhere also. Not sure why..does caffeine slow down the metabolism?? Anyway I agree with Lala it does make me feel peppier but I generally only drink one cup of coffee a day.

[Domina]

Thanks for the information, lala and Pam. I thought in the past that all of the diet pills they used to sell were straight caffeine, so I don't understand. If you see anything out there, let me know. I just thought it was a curious fact.

[courageousincolorado]

hi, my name is daniela and i have a little bit of an explanation about the caffeine issue at hand. caffeine triggers the nervous system to go into the flight stress response, which causes the adrenals to release the mobilizing hormone of cortisol. when cortisol is not used, it is stored as fat in the abdominal region. also, excess amounts of cortisol causes major carbo cravings. this is just a summary of what i have read, and i am not a medical expert by any stretch of the imagination. i probably am off somewhere in this explanation
also, individual responses to caffeine vary, as nervous systems vary.