Can Caffeine Help You Burn More Calories?

When most people think about caffeine, they think of coffee or pre-workout giving them an energy boost. But research has shown that caffeine may also temporarily increase the number of calories your body burns throughout the day.

Does that mean simply drinking a caffeinated beverage will make you lose weight? Not quite. However, caffeine can play a small role in supporting your overall fitness goals.

How Does Caffeine Increase Calorie Burn?

Caffeine is a natural stimulant that affects your central nervous system. In addition to increasing alertness and reducing feelings of fatigue, caffeine can increase your body's metabolic rate through a process known as thermogenesis.

Thermogenesis is the process of producing heat. Because creating heat requires energy, your body burns calories while this process is taking place.

Researchers have found that caffeine can temporarily increase energy expenditure, although the exact amount varies from person to person.

Can 400 mg of Caffeine Burn More Calories Than 100 mg?

Possibly.

Several studies have demonstrated that caffeine increases daily energy expenditure. Because larger doses generally produce a greater physiological response, consuming 400 mg of caffeine may produce a greater thermogenic effect than consuming only 100 mg.

However, there is no scientific evidence showing that every person who consumes 400 mg of caffeine will burn exactly 400 additional calories.

Factors that influence caffeine's effects include:

• Body weight

• Genetics

• Caffeine tolerance

• Age

• Activity level

• Overall health

For this reason, researchers generally describe caffeine as something that may support calorie expenditure rather than guarantee a specific amount of calories burned.

Does This Mean Caffeine Burns Fat?

Not by itself.

Fat loss still depends on maintaining a calorie deficit over time through proper nutrition and regular exercise.

Instead, caffeine should be viewed as one tool that may help support your goals by increasing alertness, improving workout performance, and modestly increasing energy expenditure.

Where Phelony Fits In

Each full serving of Phelony contains 400 mg of caffeine to support energy, focus, and workout performance.

While research suggests that caffeine may temporarily increase metabolism and calorie expenditure, individual results vary. The primary benefit of a quality pre-workout is helping you train harder, stay focused, and remain consistent with your workouts.

Those factors will always have a much greater impact on your long term results than caffeine alone.

Final Thoughts

Scientific research supports the idea that caffeine can temporarily increase calorie expenditure through thermogenesis. While consuming 400 mg of caffeine may produce a greater effect than smaller doses, there is no universal number of calories that every individual will burn.

If your goal is fat loss, think of caffeine as a helpful supplement to a well structured diet and training program, not a replacement for either.

References

Acheson, K. J., Gremaud, G., Meirim, I., Montigon, F., Krebs, Y., Fay, L. B., Gay, L. J., Schneiter, P., Schindler, C., & Tappy, L. (2004). Metabolic effects of caffeine in humans: Lipid oxidation or futile cycling? American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 79(1), 40-46.

Astrup, A., Toubro, S., Cannon, S., Hein, P., Madsen, J., & Mølgaard, C. (1990). Caffeine: A double blind, placebo controlled study of its thermogenic, metabolic, and cardiovascular effects in healthy volunteers. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 51(5), 759-767.

Dulloo, A. G., Geissler, C. A., Horton, T., Collins, A., & Miller, D. S. (1989). Normal caffeine consumption: Influence on thermogenesis and daily energy expenditure in lean and postobese human volunteers. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 49(1), 44-50.

Spriet, L. L. (2014). Exercise and sport performance with low doses of caffeine. Sports Medicine, 44(Suppl. 2), S175-S184.