And what about COFFEE- good or bad idea???

Oh yes, I am definitely one of the coffee addicts. I know...it is not ideal but on the other hand, drinking

coffee does not seem to be too harmful in fitness (but of course we are talking about pure black coffee, not Starbucks spicy pumpkin latte with heavy cream and 10 spoons of sugar :-P)

So how does this natural stimulant affect our health and performance?

• Drinking coffee can help to lose weight.

• Caffeine has been proven to significantly influence the speed of metabolism.

• Caffeine also seems to help burn fat

• In addition, from my own experience, a cup of coffee is a nice substitute for a snack since it partly satisfies my cravings since it reduces appetite and the need to eat something.

• Drinking coffee boosts workout performance

• Very well known is also the positive effect of caffeine on workout performance, especially with explosive anaerobic activities (such as sprints, HIIT etc.). But positive effects have also been reported with resistance training.

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From what I´ve learned, the question is not that much about WHETHER to drink or not but WHEN to drink...

• Coffee can mess-up your hormonal cycle

• Like most stimulants, caffeine influences your hormonal balance. And you might be surprised, but with coffee this is actually pretty serious matter...

If a cup of coffee is the first thing you reach for in the morning, you are suppressing the natural production of cortisol ("stress hormon") that wakes you up and keeps you awake and agile.Your body can easily get used to being "woken up" artificially as a result of which it will become lazy and will stop producing cortisol in the morning as it would normally do. Once you change your circadian rhytm (daily biological cycle) like this with your daily dose of coffee, you become addicted, since without your morning cup you will simply have no energy as the cortisol will no be produced.

• Coffee is addictive

• The more you drink, the more you need...Tolerance for caffeine is easily developed

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Bottom line:

Drink coffee if you want to, but:

1. After you wake up, wait at least 3 hours before you grab your first cup of coffee

2. Keep the daily amount reasonable (around 300-400 mg/day, i.s. 3 - 4 cups/day). Toxic dose is within the range 20-40 mg/kg of body weight.

Be bright, do it right

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Sources:

• Hursel, R., Viechtbauer, W., Dulloo, A. G., Tremblay, A., Tappy, L., Rumpler, W., & Westerterp‐Plantenga, M. S. (2011). The effects of catechin rich teas and caffeine on energy expenditure and fat oxidation: a meta‐analysis. Obesity reviews, 12(7).

• Hursel, R., Viechtbauer, W., & Westerterp-Plantenga, M. S. (2009). The effects of green tea on weight loss and weight maintenance: a meta-analysis. International journal of obesity, 33(9), 956.

• Pontifex, K. J., Wallman, K. E., Dawson, B. T., & Goodman, C. (2010). Effects of caffeine on repeated sprint ability, reactive agility time, sleep and next day performance. The Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness, 50(4), 455-464.

• Watch an interesting video: https://youtu.be/0mgmayMSESI