Why Does Coffee Make You Gain Weight

There are lots of folk who spend their lunch hour in coffee shops who have come to ask the question, does coffee make you gain weight". This is because they put on weight and believe the urban myth that the coffee is to blame.

Well, as someone once said, "It all depends on what you mean" when you talk about coffee. In fact, a medium-sized sugarless black coffee checks in at just 18 calories so obviously that's not the culprit which causes weight gain. However many of the more exotic coffees complete with a dollop of cream can contain as many as 500 - 600 calories. As well, order a flapjack or a muffin and you'll soon be pushing 950-1000 calories which is a recipe for how to put on weight in spades.

So it's not the coffee, it's what goes into the coffee and, often, what you have with the coffee and the size of the coffee mug. A fancy king-sized coffee with a sandwich laced with mayo and a flapjack adds up to some serious calories; in fact, it might be as high as 1500 calories. Depending on various other factors the recommended daily calorie intake for women is around 2000 and men about 2500 which leaves not much to play with after a snack of 1500 calories; but it's not the coffee!

Most reputable coffee shops and certainly the big chains show the calorie content on most, if not all, of their products. Nevertheless, trawl the web and have a look at the calories shown in your favorite coffee shop snack. Many of the tasty and attractive sandwiches have a generous helping of mayonnaise and you will be positively amazed at just how many calories you can total at a lunch break. To say nothing of the coffee shop staples such as flapjacks, muffins and smoothies.

If you like sandwiches (and most of us do)you really should dip out on the mayonnaise and avoid the butter if you want to keep the calorific content with reasonable bounds. There are healthy options and most of coffee shop chains do a good job at providing these which means it is possible to have an adequate lunch of a coffee and sandwich without busting the calorie bank.

Most folk realize that a cooked breakfast every day is not a healthy option. However, it may not be generally understood that some muffins come close to, if not exceeding, the calorie content of a reasonable cooked breakfast. In extreme cases a muffin can add as much as 650 calories to your daily intake.

Another sleeping giant, so far as calorie content is concerned, is that favorite accompaniment to a cup of coffee; the flapjack. There goes a calorie wolf decked out in sheep's clothing especially for calorie content. An average flapjack may contain as many as 375 calories, enough to make a sizeable dent in your recommended daily calorie content.

So now you know; it is certainly not the coffee that's adding on the pounds. In fact, you can be quite sure that you now have the answer to "does coffee make you gain weight"?

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