When to drink coffee

[Lien Sdrawde]

I know ive seen it somewhere but i'm short of time to find it - when should I drink coffee as part of my effort to burn fat whilst cycling?

I'm doing 100 miles per week easily, and the weight is literally falling off - but if the coffee helps, I may as well make use of it. TIA. Neil

 

[Fiona N]

While you're cycling, not when it's hot (according to Joe Beer)

I seem to recall it requires quite large amounts of caffeine, so you might be better off with a Proplus before you go unless you want to spend a fortunate of caffeinated-gels. A cup of coffee doesn't usually cut it.

 

[amaferanga]

200-300mg of caffeine about 90 mins before a ride may give you a bit of a performance boost - not sure if that's the right time/amount for increased fat burning as well though. I think that's about 2 espresso's or several cups of foul instant coffee (most caffeine gels only have about 30mg of caffeine). I use caffeine powder that I bought from Myprotein.co.uk - cost a few quid for 100g so cheap as chips given how little is required. I only dose up for races mind, not every time I ride my bike.

 

[newbiebiker]

A couple of shots of espresso in a small hip flask with a squeeze of lemon - that'll kickstart the old ticker.

 

[Melonfish]

wow does this really work?
whats the theory here, extra energy so you pedal that bit faster?

 

[Globalti]

No, it makes you jittery and you just ride faster. Read Paul Kimmage's book about doping, he writes about professionals using caffeine suppositories as the first step on the slippery slope towards more serious molecular chemistry.

 

[Lien Sdrawde]

I think (but i'm not sure) that it makes your heart tick faster, therefore you burn more calories / increase metabolic rate beyond what you'd get naturally when you're out on the bike. If thats not right hopefully someone will chip in.

 

[srw]

I think (but i'm not sure) that it makes your heart tick faster, therefore you burn more calories / increase metabolic rate beyond what you'd get naturally when you're out on the bike. If thats not right hopefully someone will chip in.

It all sounds desperately hocus-pocus. Focus on taking more exercise (including strength exercise) and eating fewer calories (but not too many more) and you'll lose fat.

 

[Melonfish]

i think i'll focus on exercise and eating rather then caffeine suppository's....

 

[Garz]

I wouldn't mind knowing for a given heart rate how much a cup would increase your bpm by. Maybe we should all take a CC coffee cup HR test!

 

[yello]

In my case, rarely. Which is a real shame because I like coffee. After experimenting for several months, I have found coffee raises my blood pressure. After 4 or 5 consecutive days of a coffee a day, my blood pressure is around the 150/90 area or more. So I drink chicory these days instead of and only allow myself the occasional coffee.

Btw, I'm not saying coffee will do that for everyone. Peoples systems are different. And I'm already pre-hypertensive even without coffee!

Edit: I know that studies do not support the notion that coffee increases blood pressure, but I am one person so what I say is anecdotal. You'll probably find a caveat in each of those studies that says words to the effect of 'but some people may find...' etc etc etc.

 

[Panter]

I did look into this some time ago, it appears there may well be a link between caffeine and fat burning, unrelated to the actual intensity of excercise.

"Because caffeine enhances fat burning, within our body, there has been much interest into whether it may promote fat loss. Research has shown that caffeine consumption before exercise enhances fat burning during exercise by around 30% (Spriet, 1995) as well as increasing the amount of calories burned after exercise (Chad and Quigley, 1989)."


Taken from here

Personally, I know bugger all about it, just a bit of reading I did a while back in case it's of interest

 

[gb155]

for the last 18 months, I have always had a Red-Bull before my morning commute, does it help weight loss? Hard to say TBH but but my guess is that it does TBH

 

[Herzog]

for the last 18 months, I have always had a Red-Bull before my morning commute, does it help weight loss? Hard to say TBH but but my guess is that it does TBH

It may give you more energy, and therefore the ability/will to extend your commute. If the extended commute uses more Kcal than is in the Red Bull, then I suppose you could say it aids overall weight loss, but does not cause it. Bit of a shaky theory though!

 

[gb155]

It may give you more energy, and therefore the ability/will to extend your commute. If the extended commute uses more Kcal than is in the Red Bull, then I suppose you could say it aids overall weight loss, but does not cause it. Bit of a shaky theory though!

I'd agree with that tbh