Caffeine, Weight Loss and Muscle Gain

[bblanchette]

I am a heavy duty consumer of coffee. What impact does that have on losing weight, chemical reactions with your metabolism and all those other festive chemical reactions that happen in the body.

Do I have do ditch my cappucinos to drop weight and put on some muscle? Anyone knowledgeable on the subject or that knows some good links for reading I'm all ears. Thanks.

[Kristen]

As far as I know, and I don't have any hard science just anecdotal evidence, caffeine will not interfere with your ability to gain muscle and strength. In fact, caffeine can actually help improve your performance for short term. That applies to endurance more than strength.

[R-0-Dbl-L-O]

The caffeine on top of being a stimulant is also a diuretic,may loose some nutrients before you have used them. I think you should be fine. Just stay away from the sugar if you put any in your coffee.

[Kain]

What you should really be worried about is what they are using to make the cappuccino.

[JBarduhn]

I agree- are we talking lots of homemade coffee, or lots of Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, etc. Cause I figure the latter would be pretty chock full of other nastiness.

JB

[CapN_Tommy_Sunshine]

I drink about 20 servings a day, and haven't had any problems (although one may say that this is a problem in itself). There is research out there somewhere, but I love my coffee too much to completely quit (I am trying to cut back).

[Kristen]

What you should really be worried about is what they are using to make the cappuccino.

If a drink has anything more than milk, coffee, and steam it's certainly NOT a cappuccino, no matter what they try to tell you.

[spezzy]

I would ditch your cappuccino for other reasons than the caffeine, but:

Caffeine is very often found in weight loss supplements and preworkout supplements.

World Anti Doping Agency:

What is the status of caffeine?

Caffeine was removed from the Prohibited List in 2004. Its use in sport is not prohibited.

Arguments that led WADA's stakeholders to take caffeine off the List in 2004 include research indicating that caffeine can potentially be performance-decreasing above the 12 microgram/ml threshold which was historically used in sport. Many experts believe that caffeine is ubiquitous in beverages and food and that reducing the threshold might therefore create the risk of sanctioning athletes for social or diet consumption of caffeine. In addition, caffeine is metabolized at very different rates in individuals.

Caffeine is part of WADA's Monitoring Program. This program includes substances which are not prohibited in sport, but which WADA monitors in order to detect patterns of misuse in sport. The 2010 Monitoring Program did not reveal global patterns of misuse of caffeine in sport. Caffeine will remain part of the Monitoring Program in 2011.

NCAA Guidelines:

The NCAA bans caffeine because it is found to be a performance enhancer, and because of concern about the effects of stimulant use during intense exercise.

Caffeine intake is restricted (but not totally banned) by the NCAA. Urine concentrations up to 15 mcg/ml are permitted by the NCAA, about 500 mg of caffeine ingested within one hour would approximate this level in a normal adult male. Levels above this would result in a failed drug test.

Product Amount of Caffeine Equiv. in urine

1 cup of regular coffee 100 mg 1.5 mcg/ml

1 coke/ pepsi 46 mg .7 mcg/ml

1 No Doz 100 mg 1.5 mcg/ml

1 Vivarin 200 mg 3.0 mcg/ml

Possible side effects from caffeine include heart palpitations, anxiety, nervousness and insomnia.

[inittowinit]

Tim Ferriss recommends black coffee with cinnamon. I'm not a coffee drinker - I get twitchy when I start turning up the caffeine. But on the occasions when I have it, I don't add sugar and I use soy or almond milk, and a little cinnamon.

[Loren Wade]

I love my espresso. Ironically, I never drink it before working out. Probably a good thing, though. Definitely haven't seen it affect my weight loss at all.

[JBarduhn]

Interestingly enough, I usually wake up with a green tea (hot, home brewed) - but it's usually 1-2 hours before my work out, so I normally don't feel any different.