Being new to the gym is often part of your weight loss goals, and you may have seen a large number of fit and active people consuming coffee during or before their workouts. You may have also seen online that coffee can contribute to your weight loss.

If you’re looking to see whether coffee is good for weight loss, the simple answer is that it is, but there are a number of factors and ways to utilize coffee which we’ll discuss in this article.

Can Coffee Help You Lose Weight?

Yes, black coffee without anything added to it is a highly effective weight-loss tool that you should consider implementing for its thermogenic properties, appetite suppression, and increased energy.

The primary ingredient in coffee that gives you the most benefit is caffeine, a stimulant often used for weight loss and by fitness enthusiasts. There are a range of drinks and options for caffeine, but black coffee is cheap, easy, and natural.

If you start to add ingredients to your coffee, such as creamer, sugar, or even oat milk, the benefits begin to diminish as you’re adding calories and hindering the absorption of the caffeine into your system.

Black Coffee is Highly Effective for Weight Loss

Black coffee with nothing added is highly effective for weight loss, and you’ll get the best results when you drink it on an empty stomach or at least a few hours after you’ve eaten. The caffeine in your coffee will boost your metabolism so that you’re burning more fat faster.

Coffee is Good for Metabolism

Your metabolic rate is the rate at which you burn calories. Having a higher rate helps people lose weight and keep them from gaining it back. Studies also suggest that coffee can boost the Resting Metabolic Rate by up to 3–11%.

Best Time to Drink Coffee to Burn Fat

According to a study, people who consumed caffeine during exercise were more likely to burn fat than those who didn’t. The researchers noted that the fat-burning effect was greater in the morning and afternoon.

Coffee will Suppress Appetite

Aside from being beneficial for weight loss, coffee can also help decrease appetite and delay stomach emptying. With a reduced appetite, you will be eating less, and your energy levels will be increased for longer and more effective workouts.

Safe Amount of Caffeine from Coffee

Your body will get used to caffeine which will either require you to up your amount, which is safe to around 400 mg per day, or you will need to take a break from coffee for 1-2 days, or after extended use at least one week.

Coffee Nutrition Facts

Black coffee is an almost 0-calorie drink with no macronutrients such as fats, carbs, or proteins. You do get minimal amounts of micronutrients, including potassium, magnesium, and niacin but not at high enough levels to do you much good.

The only thing that you really get out of black coffee is a high amount of caffeine, with a standard cup containing around 96 mg of caffeine, which is a good amount for most people.

Coffee Stats	1 Cup of Black Coffee	Daily % Needed
Calories	2
Fat	0 g	0%
Total Carbs	0 g	0%
Fiber	0 g	0%
Sugar	0 g
Protein	0 g	0%

Coffee Weight Loss Effectiveness Comparison

Black coffee is highly effective to help with your weight loss, but one of the big issues is that black coffee doesn’t taste good, so you either need to tough it out, add other things to it like sugar and milk, which isn’t ideal, or you can look for alternative drinks or caffeine sources.

Drink	Calories	Caffeine	Effectiveness
Coffee	2	96 mg	Best
Green Tea	1	29 mg	Good
Black Tea	1	47 mg	Great
Diet Pepsi	1	35 mg	Great
Monster Energy	10	160 mg	Poor
Bang Energy	0	300 mg	Poor

Coffee is a natural high caffeine source, but if the taste is an issue, you get similar benefits from things like green tea or black tea, the taste is better and the caffeine is slightly different with a slower release process so you don’t have caffeine drop-offs during the day that make you tired.

There are also zero or low-calorie energy drinks with high levels of caffeine, but also a large number of other components that often aren’t ideal for your heart. 

One of the alternatives is to drink things like diet Pepsi or diet Coke which have reasonable caffeine and the only problematic ingredient is an artificial sweetener.

If you really don’t want to drink your caffeine, you can buy caffeine pills from stores like Amazon, which come in 100 mg or 200 mg options and are just as effective as black coffee.

Different Coffee Options Comparison for Weight Loss Results

Coffee can come in a number of options, and the caffeine content, as well as the calories change based on how you take your coffee. Standard black coffee should have around 96 mg of caffeine, which can change a little simply based on who made the coffee.

Type Of Coffee	Beneficial For Weight Loss	Reason
Black Coffee	✓	Effective
Decaf Coffee		No Caffeine
Espresso	✓	Easy To Drink
Coffee With Milk		Added Calorie
Coffee With Sugar		Added Calorie
Bulletproof Coffee		HIGH Calorie

Decaf coffee is pointless to drink for weight loss, it contains almost zero caffeine, so unless you love the taste of coffee, it’s not a good option.

Espressos are high caffeine content with minimal liquid, often taken in shot form and may have more caffeine than regular black coffee, and you’ll get the instant hit rather than sipping on a coffee.

Adding things like milk and sugar will increase the calories in your coffee, and if you’re fasting in any way, your fast will be broken.

If you look at specialty diet coffees like bulletproof, those are chock full of calories and fat and are not suitable for weight loss.

Ways To Include Coffee In Your Diet

For weight loss, you should be sticking with straight black coffee, no sugar, milk, or anything else added to it. If you’re struggling with drinking black coffee you could look at adding some artificial sweetener, but there are studies that suggest artificial sweeteners are not ideal for weight loss long-term.

Coffee For Weight Loss FAQ

When should I drink coffee for weight loss?

The benefits of coffee are increased energy and appetite suppression so the ideal time to drink your coffee is as you wake up in the morning and before you start to feel hungry.

You can also drink a cup of coffee prior to any workouts that you’re planning to do so that you have increased energy for the workout.

Can coffee cause weight gain?

Black coffee has almost zero calories and will enhance your weight loss goals. However, coffee with added components like sugar, milk, soy milk, sweeteners, and other things can lead to weight gain if they cause you to eat over your maintenance calories.

Which is better for weight loss, coffee or tea?

Both coffee and tea contain caffeine, but coffee typically has more, so you need to drink more tea to get the same benefits. Tea does however have a significant benefit of not giving you energy drops later in the day as caffeine leaves your system.

Is it okay to drink coffee every day for weight loss?

A standard black coffee has around 96 mg of caffeine, and it’s safe for you to consume 400 – 500 mg of caffeine each day. As your body adapts to caffeine, it will require more to get the same benefits, so you will need to cycle off caffeine once in a while.