Caffeine linked to insulin and weight loss [diet sodas] [true thanks]
I got this from a website . Is this true? Has anyone tried and proven effective?
Id want to get off diet drinks for many reasons (bad for your bones, which depends on something, etc.), but now this? Is this true?
thanks
RE: BELOW:
8. To lose weight faster, reduce your intake of caffeine. Caffeine leads to an increase in insulin in your body that burning your stored fat.This delay is a simple chemical reaction in your body that you can change. Reduce your intake of caffeine by 50% and see what happens. Here is a rough guide to use when looking at the amount of caffeine you currently take: coffee (6 oz. Cup) – 100mg, Instant coffee (6 oz.) – 70mg; Tea (6 oz.) – 50mg; Soft drinks (12oz.) – (Coke, Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew) – 50 mg; Dark chocolate (1 oz.) – 20mg and Milk chocolate (1 oz.) – 6mg.
Reply:this whole caffeine thing bugs me…you read how it affects insulin which in turn supposedly affects the rate of fat metabolism and they say..you shouldnt have it..yet..most of the "diet" pills and metabolism enhancers are loaded with it! what gives?!!
Reply:I've quit caffein. Long time coffee drinker here and diet pepsi, heh
All I drink is treated water now and occasional juice and non-fat milk and I feel better
Reply:Hi MicroElvis: Not sure if you were asking me–but not only did I reduce my caffeine, I started watching the fat count on foods, and filled up on veggies and fruit if I was still hungry. I also take CLA, Chromium and a Multi-Vitamin. I exercise every day. About a 45 min. routine of 400 crunches, 200 leg lifts, 200 innner-thigh lifts and run 1 mile on our ski machine. I have made a habit of my new lifestyle and it paid off.
guy
SW 148
CW 110
Reply:What else did you do besides lowering your caffeine? I love Diet Dr. Pepper, but drink way too much. Should I just take a bit in the morning to wake up? Would drastically reducing but not totally eliminating make a difference in weight? Caffeine in tea in moderation like Dr. Pepper is also fine? Did you exercise alot and count calories?
Thanks for the detailed info! 
Reply:I know for a fact that stoppin drinking coffee helped me lose weight. I was drinking about 6 cups a day and I heard the fact that you had written above. That was the very first thing I ever did on my weight loss journey and I thought it would be impossible to quit drinking coffee. For me it was a social thing and comfort food. I quit cold turkey and switched to tea. I only drink 2 cups of tea a day now. I would drink my coffee in the morning and by lunch I would be shaking from low blood sugar. I have never felt better since I quit.
guy
SW 148
CW 110
Reply:It's definitely more complex than that. We can't even scratch the surface here and give proper credit where it is due.
Remember that Atkins thought it was caffeine that was causing prevention of ketosis and stalls in weight loss attempts. He was at least partially incorrect. This was proven in anecdote experience by people who were losing weight on his plan but also using ephedra based stimulants which often contain large amounts of caffeine. Closer inspection of this reveals that the citric acid content of many of the caffeinated beverages is what is kicking people out of ketosis and preventing further weight loss. An analysis of exactly what citric acid does in the body reveals that it will easily stop weight loss progress even if it does not really kick you out of ketosis.
But insofar as the insulin sensitivity is concerned, you cannot haphazardly correllate weight loss and insulin sensitivity. Yes, there is a connection, but it is far too complex to be determined by just a simple food additive. Believe it or not, there are plenty of people with normal insulin sensitivities who need to lose weight. So while it is an important aspect, it's not the determining factor.
The article reference is right that caffeine can play a role in insulin sensitivity. But it's role is supersimplified and overstated in my opinion. That's not to say that avoiding caffeine is not unhealthy. It is a good idea from my point of view to not take caffeine supplements long term or consume large amounts of it. But given the dietary changes in most low carb dieters, one can hardly rationalize that insulin sensitivity is being pummelled by this one thing.
Any dieter, no matter what type of program will have hormone, metabolic and other changes that can lead to temporary changes in insulin sensitivity. This is in no small part to the fact that relatively healthy omnivorous creatures such as humans have an amazing capacity to adapt to environmental changes placed upon it. That includes dieting. This is exactly part of the reason for cravings, mood swings and stalls in weight loss. The body is responding to strong change in environment resulting the person being unhappy and not feeling good. This alone can sometimes drive a person to stop the diet. Voila!, the diet is stopped and the adaptive process has been a success. Those who can overcome the withdrawal and discomfort usually wind up returning to normal in time. So there's no evidence to suggest that the negative values on insulin sensitivity caused by additives or positive changes in diet (when the positive changes in diet are made permanent part of someone's healthy lifestyle) will cause negative impact on insulin sensitivity long term. In fact, evidence exists that it's quite the opposite.
Anyway, experiment and see if this works for you. If you are drinking diet coke today, try switching to caffeine-free diet coke (diet dr. pepper is not included as it does not contain citric acid–hint, hint, hint!). But if you drink diet coke, don't switch to water or diet dr. pepper and then when weight loss happens say it was on account of the caffeine. It probably wasn't, it was more likely to be the citric acid content.
But again, we can't even scratch the surface here about the role of insulin sensitivity in dieters and the effect on weight loss. But suffice to say that it's most certainly not simple as that.
