Coffee Alert! Weight Loss or Weight Gain?

In studies, coffee with its 100 milligrams of caffeine in a cup increases metabolism rate for at least 3 to 4 hours. When I was drinking two or 3 cups of black coffee a day with no sugar or cream I noticed that I was not as hungry and I lost quite a few pounds of weight. But, what I also noticed was that I had a burning sensation along my esophagus and inner lining of my stomach. Without realizing what was going on my doctor put me on Zantac to cut down on the acidity and advised my to reduce my caffeine or cut it out. I did not want to go thro caffeine withdrawals. Coffee was helping me stay focused and alert on my job. I felt like in the movie “Limitless.”

So, I came out with my own solution. Why not add Creamer and sugar to cut down on the acidity. Soon I was visiting my all time favorite coffee shops on every corner and ordering Latte’s with two to three packs of sugar without realizing that I was adding 40 to 50 calories of sugar. While I was ordering the Latte, I would also order my favorite Zucchini or Banana nut muffins. Suffice to say in a few months I had gained 10 to 12 pounds.

Then I was reading Dr. McDougal’s book – Program for Weight Loss and Lo and Behold, it was there loud and clear – Coffee can also cause many people to take in more food in an attempt to relieve the irritation of the stomach lining caused by the chemicals. And to soothe this pain I was eating other stuff like the muffins. My weight gain mystery solved. I quit Coffee cold turkey. In two weeks I was off Zantac and was on the way to losing the weight I had gained! When I went back to my doctor with my wife, he was happy to see that I was doing much better. He also advised my wife not to drink her Mocha Coffee Drinks since it was causing her blood pressure to rise and irregular heartbeats as mentioned by Dr. McDougal in his book. Health is the only wealth. Let’s do our best to enjoy this journey of life.