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I'm 25 , Coffee lover, I always start my day with my coffee like many of you. I will have at least 3 cups of coffee a day. I am very lean but not weak. Few people of my circle and some internet articles says that coffee will make us lean even though we eat healthy. Can someone throw light on this ? Is it true?

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I think caffeine can´t make you lean if you eat well & health food, and of course doing some exercises, gym, jogging etc. Caffeine is most consumed psychoactive drug, legal of course(more at wiki). Also, I like to start day with warm cup of coffee. :)

Btw, about year ago I use caffeine pills (200mg pure caffeine per pill , it really have effect, adrenaline increases, you feel energy). Than and today, when I don´t consumed this pills anymore, I have almost same weight. A suggest you to eat food which contains proteins, avoid too much (white) sugar etc.

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Correct. It (caffeine) can make you lean. But just a bit. It increases the overall speed of the metabolism, thus the body burns more fats. However, I don't think its effect is overwhelming.

Also, think of other ingredients in coffee.

Each cup of coffee includes its own fat and hydrocarbons from the beans even if you don't add any cream and sugar into it. I didn't mention the fancy toppings, here.

Here you can find a quick Google search result on caffeine and metabolism.

Please, check other related discussions on tag.

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    Straight coffee (black) has 1 calorie. It's misleading to say it "includes its own fat and hydrocarbons". It's also misleading to say it "can make you lean" even with the waffle statements "just a bit" and "effect is [not] overwhelming" - there is no proven connection at all between caffeine intake and weight.
    – Lyrl
    Jul 18, 2016 at 15:35
  • @Lyrl Coffee, of course includes hydrocarbons and fats. That's why we extract some of its aroma to taste it. This paper refers the hydrocarbons it contains and this one refers the lipids. These are just the first papers I've encountered on Google scholar. Still, it may be correct that the dietary Calorie (1 Calorie = 1000 calorie) is still in the range to cover such energy. So, you are right. Caffeine still increases overall metabolism speed without doubt.
    – MTSan
    Jul 21, 2016 at 13:44
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I don't have any factual evidence. Just two observations.

  1. If there was a strong correlation between caffeine and weight loss then it would be all over the news.

  2. Everybody in my office drinks 3+ (or is it 10+) cups of coffee per day. Most are not slim. Those that are in good shape walk the stairs, eat well, but they don't drink more coffee than those that aren't in good shape.

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It does suppress appetite which could contribute to being lean, though adding sugar and cream would definitely counteract the calories lost by that side effect.

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I can tell from my own experience that coffee does affect loosing weight. When I am on diet I use coffee more than usual.

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  • That doesn't necessarily suggest a link to weight loss, though as it's a bit of a goose and egg problem. For example, you could be drinking more coffee because the reduced caloric intake causes you to feel tired more often, and to self-treat that tiredness with more coffee.
    – Nick Udell
    Dec 11, 2017 at 15:05
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Caffeine is a stimulant, in the same family that "diet pills" are in. It boosts metabolism and energy (the stimulant effect), and suppresses appetite. So, yes, in a certain sense, ingesting caffeine, whether in the form of coffee or otherwise, can, potentially act like popping a diet pill.

Drinking a coffee heavily flavored with high-calorie creams, sugars, etc. will probably add more calories than you'd burn from the caffeine.

Having that coffee before a morning workout is a good way to jump start the metabolism for both a better workout and increased metabolic effects, I've read, but that might be a bit dated (Robert Haas' "Eat to Win").

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Coffee can promote good gut bacteria and create a more favorable condition for weight loss. Dr. David Perlmutter's book, Brainmaker, goes into some depth about pre-biotic foods, or foods that nourish a healthy gut bio culture. A healthy gut bio culture is a negative indicator for obesity, and in fact, some obese patients have been successfully treated with a fecal matter transplant to adjust the gut culture. There is conjecture that the really efficacious part of a gastric bypass surgery is the gut reboot that happens afterwards rather than the actual surgical procedure.

So yes, there is growing evidence that pre-biotic foods like coffee can help you lose weight through better gut health. This is not a caffeine related effect, but actually dependent on some of the coffee solids working their way into your gut.

http://www.drperlmutter.com/coffee-pour-cup/

(But see http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2015/06/problem-with-the-grain-brain-doctor.html before you make up your mind about Dr. Perlmutter.)

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It can help on a short term. That's why there is a bunch of people that drinks coffee regularly without any effect.

Please check this article from Authority Nutrition:

Even though caffeine can boost your metabolism in the short term, this effect is diminished in long-term coffee drinkers due to tolerance.

If you’re primarily interested in coffee for the sake of fat loss, then it may be best to cycle it to prevent a buildup of tolerance. Perhaps cycles of 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off.

Of course, there are plenty of other great reasons to drink coffee, including the fact that coffee is the single largest source of antioxidants in the western diet, outranking both fruits and vegetables, combined.

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