Does Coffee Make You Fat? How You Take Yours Will Tell...

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Coffee (definitely one of my vices) can be an addictive habit indeed. But is it actually going to make you fatter? With everyone around me ordering extra skinny lattes with artificial sweetener it leaves me wondering about all the misinformation out there that almost seems like it's designed to stop you from getting lean abs!

Let me tell you first and foremost - coffee is a substance which gives your body a metabolic boost. This means it will actively increase your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) and help you burn more fat.
I'll admit it, coffee isn't for everyone and if it's consumed with "skinny" milk and artificial sweeteners it may well cause more problems than benefits in terms of fat loss.

Every time I encounter this argument of "will coffee make me fat?" I always will argue a resounding NO.
Maybe we should examine the different things that make you fat compared to things a lot of people THINK make you fat...

Things the people think will make them fat:

• Full Cream Milk
• Sugar

Things that actually make people fat:

• Low Fat Milk
• Artificial Sweeteners
• Sugar (depends on how much)

The adverse hormonal effects of aspartame-based artificial sweeteners and low fat milk which has virtually all nutritional value stripped from it completely, are far greater than the little bit of fat and sugar contents of a regular cup of coffee. Besides, if you want to take advantage of the fat burning potential of coffee (from the caffeine) you will want as little hormonal interference as possible. I suggest trying stevia (a natural sweetener) and full-cream, organic milk straight from the cow! - But that's for another post.

 

Related articles

• Artificial Sweeteners Encourage Weight Gain (lewrockwell.com)
• Metabolic Cooking Tricks To Burn Fat Faster & Banish Your Boring Fat Loss Diet (wlfreedom.typepad.com)

Fat Loss With Drugs And Supplements - The Truth

There are loads of people out there that claim all sorts of crazy things about just about anything. A certain percentage of those people are called conspiracy theorists, some are just laughed at and funnily enough, some are hailed as the next best thing since sliced bread.
I'd like to be able to say things were not the same in the fitness industry but alas... They are not!

Have you ever wondered about supplements and "wonder drug" fat buster pills that claim to increase your metabolism 10 fold overnight to give you a super-lean waist and ripped six pack abs overnight? Well... So have I.
The truth is that fat loss can not be sustained in a healthy way through the use of drugs and supplements. This is mainly because, as a natural organism, the human body can deal best (in the long term) with natural changes and processes. Any foreign substances which are not naturally found in human diets are pretty well destined to cause metabolic trouble in the medium to long term. This means storing more fat, being more prone to mood swings and having more trouble toning up!

What about supplements, I hear? Well, yes I am a fan of some supplements but only when their contents are naturally occurring and can be used by the human body to increase the body's metabolism to a level that is:

1. Healthy and sustainable for health
2. Going to cause a healthy level of fat loss to occur (about 2 pounds per week, depending on your current weight)

So I would recommend following an energetic eating plan to get your metabolism on the right track and doing just enough exercise to back it up as well. Now of course everyone is different - I know. But you will definitely benefit (from the perspective of fat loss) if you can incorporate metabolism boosting mega-foods (such as antioxidant rich teas) into your regular eating. And what's more? You'll get WAY better results in the long term than any wonder fat blasting pill could do. Most of them will wreck your metabolism completely.

So don't go for the drugs, choose your supplements wisely, go for natural, pure supplements that your body can absorb (not chelated) and aim to boost metabolism through your food - you'll be 2 steps ahead of everyone else. That's the truth about fat loss.

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