- Coffee Myths: Unraveling the Truth
- Coffee-Based Diet Options
- Protecting Your Health
We often pour ourselves a cup of fragrant coffee without thinking about it. Many consider coffee as an addiction. We will tell you how to turn its positive qualities to your advantage: to make your figure slimmer, your eyes brighter, and your mood more cheerful.
Coffee Myths: Unraveling the Truth
If something causes mixed opinions (from extreme negativity to admiration), this means that the truth lies somewhere in the middle. To understand to whom coffee fasting is suitable and who should avoid it, you need to have a clear picture of both the beneficial and harmful properties of this drink.
Positive Aspects
If you put aside the emotions of the fans, you can still find quite a few positive aspects:
- It gives you a powerful boost of energy, increasing your physical and mental performance (due to the caffeine).
- It lowers your cholesterol level, improves microcirculation of the blood, helps to strengthen the blood vessels (due to the vitamins PP, P and B3, which are formed during the roasting of the beans).
- It normalizes the activity of the gastrointestinal tract (due to chlorogenic acid and tannins).
- It has an antiseptic effect, which is important for preventing fermentation processes and increasing the activity of the intestinal microflora (due to the essential oils).
- It raises your mood (its unique aroma and taste can ease depression).
Negative Aspects
The negative effect is usually associated with the caffeine content. But the amount of caffeine you consume matters. While one or two cups usually do not lead to any consequences, six or seven will immediately affect your health:
- Regular intake leads to psychological dependence.
- It increases your heart rate and raises your blood pressure (this is a temporary effect).
- It increases the excretion of certain minerals (calcium, potassium, magnesium, and sodium).
- It has a strong diuretic effect (risk of dehydration).
If you look closely, many of the negative qualities can be successfully used for weight loss. The main thing is to observe the measure. A correctly organized coffee fasting day will help you to lose up to 1 kilo of excess weight. This is 3-4 kilos per month, but you do not have to torment yourself with prolonged starvation. Once a week, it is enough to enjoy the exquisite taste and aroma, combined with certain dietary products.
Coffee-Based Diet Options
Weight loss occurs in several directions at once:
- accelerated metabolic processes, including lipolysis (process of fat breakdown);
- reduced absorption of carbohydrates in the intestines (thanks to chlorogenic acid);
- reduced appetite;
- diuretic effect (getting rid of hidden edema);
- normalization of digestion and intestinal microflora.
It is difficult to come up with a more comprehensive mechanism for losing weight. That is why recipes for weight loss with coffee are so popular.
Green Coffee
It is made from green raw beans. Why is it useful for losing weight?
- A smaller amount of caffeine, which appears during roasting, lets you drink more of the drink;
- A larger amount of chlorogenic acid, the main substance that is responsible for burning fat;
- It has lower insulin levels in the blood, which is important for acceleration of metabolic processes (kilos disappear faster).
It has a specific taste. Its taste is slightly tart, with notes of unripe persimmons. You can drink no more than three cups of it during a fasting day. It is better to drink it before a meal to additionally reduce your appetite.
Sample menu:
- Breakfast: 150 grams of low-fat cottage cheese;
- Lunch: vegetable salad with tomatoes and greens;
- Dinner: one apple.
You should drink at least 1.5 liters of water. The brewing method is also somewhat different. You need three teaspoons of ground coffee per cup, not one.
Black Coffee
You can drink three to five cups during a fasting day. Drink it without sugar, but always with some dietary product. Here is a list of foods that will not affect the weight loss effect:
- 100-150 grams of fat-free cottage cheese (it also compensates for the loss of calcium);
- Vegetables: Bulgarian pepper, tomato, cucumber, greens (you can make a salad with the addition of olive oil);
- Apples.
Remember that it is better to do without sugar, but additional liquids are a must!
Instant Coffee
For many, the process of brewing ground beans becomes an insurmountable obstacle to such fasting. Is it possible to replace them with an instant version? Yes, especially if it is instant green coffee. In this case, all the useful qualities for losing weight are fully preserved.
Choose a quality product. The main parameter is the caffeine content. It is maximally preserved in freeze-dried coffee. There is slightly less of it in granulated coffee. Some cheap brands (mostly powdered drinks) contain only surrogate flavors and aromas and are completely useless.
Coffee with Chocolate
This recipe, perhaps, will become the most favorite of all. Chocolate is not only a delicious treat, but also a recognized antidepressant (as confirmed by numerous scientific studies).
Only black bitter varieties are suitable for fasting days. You can eat up to 100 grams per day, dividing it into five meals. Of course, we supplement such a “feast” with a cup of fragrant coffee, without sugar.
Important! You can drink water only three hours after another meal.
Coffee with Milk
What are the advantages of this combination? There are quite a few of them:
- It masks the bitter taste;
- It enriches the menu with calcium (if you regularly arrange such fasting days, this is important for the prevention of osteoporosis);
- Milk protein serves as a building material for all cells in the body. It is absorbed for a long time, leading to a longer feeling of fullness.
Menu: five cups drunk at equal intervals.
Coffee and Kefir
This combination is slightly less popular than with milk. But its effectiveness is more justified. After all, kefir also enhances the diuretic effect, normalizes the activity of the gastrointestinal tract, and supports the growth of microflora. In addition, it is an excellent source of calcium and other trace elements.
Menu: you can drink drinks separately (1 liter of kefir). There is also an original cocktail recipe: add one teaspoon of ground coffee and 1/2 tablespoon of cocoa to a glass of kefir (250 ml). This is a protein shake option that is great for waking up in the morning.
Coffee and Water
The effectiveness of such a recipe is based on its diuretic effect. It is suitable for those who suffer from puffiness, which is a constant companion of excess weight. You can drink up to five cups of coffee per day, along with 1.5 liters of water. You can afford some cottage cheese (100 grams), vegetables and fruit.
Coffee and Tea
The menu includes three cups of natural coffee and three cups of green or herbal tea. Do not add sugar.
Alternate the drinks every two to three hours. You can eat some vegetables and fruits (except for potatoes, bananas and grapes). Drink additional fluids as needed. Such a diet helps to quickly lose up to 2 kilos.
Coffee and Apples
This is more of an apple fasting day, supplemented by a pleasant aroma and taste. Apples are classic dietary food. The richness of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, combined with a minimum calorie content, allows you to lose weight with health benefits.
You can eat up to 1 kilogram of fruit per day and wash them down with three to five cups of coffee (sugar is
