Does black coffee help you lose weight during menopause?
Weight loss during menopause is a hot topic.
Especially, if like me, you have found that excess belly fat started to creep around your middle once you hit age 40+.
It never ceases to amaze me, the amount of conflicting information ‘out there’ on social media and via the internet.
However, it’s not necessarily a question of what is right and what is wrong it’s about tailoring this information to your unique body, life stage and lifestyle.
In this post I aim to answer the question, “Does black coffee help you lose weight during menopause?” as well as providing you with the benefits of coffee and how some are better than others.
Health Benefits of Coffee
We have all been told of the side effects of too much coffee such as increased heart rate, poor sleep, an overstimulated nervous system and increased blood pressure.
However, as with everything in life it’s about finding that balance between the health benefits from the effects of coffee and the adverse effects of too much.
Coffee consumption is also individual.
For instance, I can take a coffee to bed with me and have a wonderful night’s sleep, while others find they can’t have any caffeine after midday.
Certain medical conditions may affect how your body responds to coffee.
What is not talked about enough are the benefits of drinking the right amount of coffee for you. Here are some of my favourites;
- Coffee can stimulate the release of neurotransmitters. If you are a coffee lover, like me, just the smell and the ritual of coffee making can create a surge of happy hormones that make you smile and relax.
- Coffee is rich in antioxidants, it can help reduce inflammation and increase insulin sensitivity
- Drinking two or more cups of coffee a day could protect your liver from chronic disease.
- Drinking black coffee on an empty stomach can increase the removal of bacteria from the body through coffee’s diuretic effect.
- Some research suggests that drinking coffee is linked to a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, this could be due to improved cell health in the pancreas
A literature review of scientific evidence found the following:
The main findings were the following: first, coffee may contribute to the prevention of inflammatory and oxidative stress-related diseases, such as obesity, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes; second, coffee consumption seems to be associated with a lower incidence of several types of cancer and with a reduction in the risk of all-cause mortality; finally, the consumption of up to 400 mg/day (1-4 cups per day) of caffeine is safe.
What has become clear to me as I have researched tried and tested many ways to lose my menopause belly fat is that hormones, not calories, run the body.
Insulin is your fat storage hormone and controlling the release of this hormone is how black coffee can help you lose weight during menopause.
4 Ways That Coffee Can Help You Lose Weight
Coffee can influence body weight regulation and contribute to weight loss in the following ways;
- A key component of coffee is caffeine which is known to stimulate thermogenesis, the thermogenic effects can increase energy expenditure within the body.
- Caffeine has also been shown to have appetite-suppressing properties reducing feelings of hunger which may reduce the frequency of food intake.
- Coffee contains bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols and the presence of chlorogenic acid that have been linked to metabolic benefits, including improved insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism.
- Finally, caffeine has been shown to improve endurance and physical performance and can increase the capacity and intensity of aerobic exercise. Any physical activity will help you burn stored glycogen and improve insulin sensitivity.
As I have mentioned, the body is run by hormones, not calories.
Cortisol is our stress hormone.
It is released by the adrenal glands along with adrenaline and norepinephrine to manage our body’s response to stress.
Cortisol is used by the body during the waking cycle, it regulates blood pressure, keeps inflammation down, manages how your body uses protein, carbohydrates and fat and increases your blood sugar levels when you need a burst of energy.
This all sounds amazing unless you are suffering from chronic stress.
Does black coffee help you lose weight if your body is persistently stressed? Probably not.
Learning how to manage your adrenal health (read more in this blog post) will help you create hormone harmony and allow you to add a nice cup of coffee back into your weight loss plan.
How You Drink Your Coffee Matters
Drinking black coffee is a low-calorie beverage but as you might have realised the number of calories is not the whole story, it is the hormones that are triggered by the macronutrient. Therefore black coffee is a beverage that won’t release insulin, it will keep the body in fat-burning mode.
Adding dairy, nut milk, chocolate syrup or even a teaspoon of sugar to a cup of regular black coffee will switch your body out of fat-burning mode into glucose-burning.
Caffeinated coffee is a natural stimulant. I would certainly recommend this over energy drinks which are full of chemicals including artificial sweeteners.
These edible non-food substances found in ultra-processed products are destroying gut bacteria and damaging liver health, which impacts thyroid function and therefore the metabolism adding to metabolic syndrome.
What about decaf coffee?
There is limited research available for decaf coffee however drinking two or more cups of coffee per day has been linked with a 48% lower risk of rectal cancer, it may also protect against age-related mental decline and be better tolerated if regular coffee gives you acid reflux.
Beware of how your decaf coffee has been processed.
Many companies use solvents to remove the caffeine. If you want to be sure that synthetic solvents weren’t used to decaffeinate your coffee look for the organic seal, this seal prohibits not only pesticides but chemical solvents during processing, too.
Another consideration when choosing the type of coffee you drink is myotoxins.
Myotoxins are tiny fungi that grow on crops like grains and coffee.
These toxins are everywhere in our environment and levels in coffee are regularly checked however decaffeinated beans are more susceptible to these toxins due to the removal of caffeine which is thought to protect against the mould.
An effective way to protect yourself from these toxins is to purchase the best quality coffee beans you can afford. Clean your coffee maker regularly especially if you see evidence of mould growth. Store coffee beans or coffee grounds properly. Look for a lab certification on the label.
In Conclusion
You are unique, as I explain to all the ladies who join my programs.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to your menopause weight loss goals or health and well-being in general.
Does black coffee help you lose weight?
It depends on your current lifestyle as well as the health of your gut and your adrenal glands.
This is what I help women figure out, what their body is telling them, how to listen and understand so they can design a plan to fit their lifestyle now and adapt as life inevitably ebbs and flows.
Never, go on a diet again, never start again on Monday, no more on and off the diet wagon. Ditch that wagon and embrace the freedom that reconnecting to your body will give you.
Interested in discovering how my SHIFT System will work for you? Book a Wild Well-Being call and come away inspired and motivated to begin your journey to optimal health.