When a person consumes more calories than their body requires they begin to gain weight. The calories may be from the foods or the beverages you are consuming. If you have heard that coffee and/or tea helps in directly melting belly fat, it’s just a myth, they will not!
However, they can help indirectly with weight loss. Both can be helpful in reducing your calorie intake, which will benefit you with losing weight and that belly fat. That is, if they are consumed without the additional things added such as sugars and cream, including milk.
The calories
To begin with, the reason for belly fat and/or weight gain is that the body is consuming more calories than it needs without any of the calories being burned off. A brew of coffee or tea is not going to magically boost a person’s metabolism nor burn off the excess body fat. The Mayo Clinic has explained that a person’s basal metabolic rate or BMR, and the number of calories a body can burn off when the body is at rest or asleep. This is one factor which governs the total number of calories a body burns.
The body uses energy for foods to be processed, this process is referred to as thermogenesis. During this process the body will burn off a small number of calories. However, this is a small number of calories. A person will have to burn the remaining calories as the body performs physical activities. If they are wanting to avoid gaining weight. Any calories that come from liquids such as coffee, teas, and any other beverage that contains added sugars and/or fat will begin to add up.
Weight Loss, Coffee or Tea?
Tea
An 8-oz. serving of tea that has no sugar will contain 2 calories. Now, if that 8-oz. serving of tea has 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar added to it, that serving of tea now has 32 calories more. This comes to a total of 34 calories for the serving of tea.
Many of the bottled tea brands consist of 140 calories, that is only 10 calories less than you would get from a 12 oz. can of soda. Of course, if you were to buy a bottle of tea that is extra sweet, that can be a big difference, up to 210 calories.
Coffee
A 1-cup serving of a plain brewed coffee will also consist of only 2 calories. But, if you add 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar, your cup of coffee now has 51 calories. Adding 1 tablespoon of half-and-half will add 20 calories. Whereas, 1 tablespoon of skim milk will add 5 calories. You can keep your cup of coffee a low-calorie beverage by going lightly on the additional cream and sugar. However, drinking a 20-oz. serving of a gourmet coffee made with whole milk and whipped cream, can be up to 700 calories. Nearly all those calories are from the added sugars and fat!
Belly fat
Coffee and tea can be low-calorie if there are no sugars added. However, Harvard School of Public Health stated that, “water is the best thing to drink if you are wanting to lose weight.” Discovering how to reduce calories is significant to weight loss. It was the American Council on Exercise that stated, “The best thing to do to lose belly fat is to be physically active with a moderate to vigorous exercise plan daily. Include strength training exercises twice a week to keep your muscle mass lean while you are losing weight.”
Do you have tips for drinking coffee or tea while on a strict weight loss plan? Share your advice in the comments below!
