Should You Consume Caffeine To Lose Weight?

People seeking to lose weight are typically anxious to hearabout any trick to make weight loss easier. One way to helpspeed weight loss is to find ways to speed up the metabolism,so that more calories are burned in a day.Research has shown that caffeine is effective at speeding upthe metabolism, so that you burn more calories. According tothe Mayo Clinic, caffeine stimulates many body functions,including the heart rate, central nervous system function andmetabolism.In addition, caffeine may decrease the appetite short term. So,adding caffeine may be an effective way to jump start weightloss. There are some things to consider, however:You may see no effect if youre already a caffeine consumer. Ifcaffeine is already a part of your daily diet, you would likelyneed very high doses of caffeine to increase your metabolismabove the level at which it already functions. However, thosewho dont regularly consume caffeine may see some benefit.You must be careful where the caffeine comes from. If you startgetting your caffeine from sugary sodas, youll likely gainweight rather than lose it. However, if you get your caffeinefrom coffee, tea and sodas without sugar, you may see someresults.You must consider your other health issues. If you alreadysuffer from an irregular heart rate or high blood pressure,your doctor may have warned you to stay away from caffeine. Ifthis is the case, caffeine may not be safe for you. Be sure totalk to your doctor before adding caffeine.What if Im Caffeine Sensitive?Many people stay away from caffeine because they find that toomuch caffeine causes sleeplessness or jitters. For thesepeople, supplementing with caffeine for weight loss might seemunreasonable. However, theres one form of caffeine that seemsto be tolerated well by those who are normally caffeinesensitive.Green Tea May Be the AnswerGreen tea may well be the best way to get your caffeine forweight loss. Though green tea does contain caffeine, it is insmaller amounts than many other beverages. In addition, thecaffeine in green tea seems to be better tolerated by thecaffeine sensitive than other caffeinated beverages. This isthought to be because of the anti-oxidants in green tea.These anti-oxidants, in addition to making the caffeine less ofa problem, also offer a myriad of health benefits. Green teasanti-oxidants have been shown to lower cholesterol and preventheart disease and some forms of cancer. So, even if you dontlose weight from drinking green tea, its a healthy habit toadd to your diet.But, the best news is that in addition to being healthy andwell tolerated by the caffeine sensitive, it may just be thatgreen tea is the best way to get your caffeine for weight loss.This is because studies have shown that green tea is moreeffective in promoting weight loss than other caffeinatedbeverages. The combination of caffeine and green teasanti-oxidants appears to be more effective in promoting weightloss than caffeine alone.One important study on this subject was reported by the ObesityResearch Group. In this study, ninety overweight men and womenwere studied. First, the group was put on a low calorie dietfor four weeks. The subjects were divided between low caffeineconsumers and high caffeine consumers. At the end of the fourweek diet period, the subjects were placed on a weightmaintenance program. During this weight maintenance period,subjects either received a green tea/caffeine supplement or aplacebo. Within the groups, both high caffeine consumers andlow caffeine consumers were given the green tea/caffeinesupplement. The weight maintenance period lasted for 3 months.At the end of the study, the results were as follows:Caffeine consumers overall seemed to have higher satietylevels and lower leptin levels, which helped speed weight loss.During the weight loss period, caffeine consumers lost moreweight than non-caffeine consumers.During the weight maintenance period, the low caffeineconsumers who received the green tea/caffeine supplement keptoff more weight than the low caffeine consumers who receivedthe placebo. In fact, many of them continued to lose weight.During the weight maintenance period, the high caffeineconsumers who received the green tea/caffeine supplement didnot report a significantly higher success rate in keeping theweight off than those high caffeine consumers receiving theplacebo.While more research is needed to truly determine how green teaand caffeine can help with weight loss and maintenance, it doesappear that consuming green tea and other forms of caffeine canhelp you lose weight. In particular, caffeine and green tea maybe especially effective for those who dont consume a great dealof caffeine on a regular basis. And, since green tea is a formof caffeine that is well tolerated by most caffeine sensitivepeople, green tea may be the best way to use caffeine as aweight loss aid.You have nothing to lose by adding green tea to your diet. Itshealthy, refreshing and has no side effects. And even those whoare sensitive to other forms of caffeine can usually drinkgreen tea without experiencing unpleasant side effects. So, seeif green tea can help you in your efforts to lose weight!About The Author: Marcus Stout is President of the Golden MoonTea Company. For more information about tea, green tea andblack tea go to http://www.goldenmoontea.com