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Coffee diet
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025

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The coffee diet is one of the strictest diets, which is very popular among those who want to lose weight, but causes the most condemnation from medical experts. Does coffee help you lose weight? More likely yes than no.
The thing is that coffee is a stimulant of brain and physical activity. Coffee makes us more mobile and active, which naturally leads to getting rid of excess fat. However, the main focus of the coffee diet is based on the diuretic effect of caffeine. Therefore, most of the lost weight when following a coffee diet is liquid. What else makes the coffee diet so popular? Let's look at the most common variations on the theme of coffee and its use for weight loss.
Coffee with milk diet
A cup of regular freshly brewed coffee without sugar contains only 2 kcal. Coffee with added milk – depending on its fat content – contains from 40 to 60 kcal.
Why add milk? Firstly, not everyone can drink coffee without sugar, and during the diet, you understand, you should give up sugar. Milk makes the drink more pleasant to taste, while preserving calcium, washed out by regular coffee, and also provides the body with energy and lifts the mood.
There are at least two variations of the coffee with milk diet.
- Every morning for 2 weeks you should drink coffee with milk without adding sweeteners. Lunch should consist of a cup of coffee with milk, as well as a moderate amount of your favorite fruits of your choice and 100 g of boiled lean meat. Dinner - fresh vegetables of your choice (you can simply make a vegetable salad) and the same coffee with milk. This diet should be followed for 2 weeks, without breaking down on sweets and flour products.
- The second diet option is designed for 1 week. Every morning you need to drink a cup of coffee. For lunch you can choose from: fruits, vegetables, 100 g of boiled meat, soft-boiled eggs, washing down the meal with coffee with milk. For dinner, a fruit or vegetable salad is recommended. If you follow this diet exactly, then in a week you can get rid of 5 kg, and in 2 weeks - up to 8 kg.
In order for the coffee with milk diet to bring the best results, you should engage in physical activity at least every other day. You can go jogging, fitness or swimming, or simply walk long distances.
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Coffee with sugar diet
As a rule, coffee diets do not include sugar. If you add 2 spoons of sugar to a cup of coffee, its caloric content will increase from 2 kcal to 60 kcal. And if you add milk to such coffee, the energy value of such a drink will reach 120 kcal. Agree, such caloric content is a bit high for those who want to lose weight.
A diet of coffee with sugar can be useful only for those who lead an active lifestyle with constant physical activity, those who spend more energy per day. If your day consists mainly of sitting at a desk or computer, then you should not add sugar to your drinks.
If you can’t imagine coffee without sugar, you can add it, but in small quantities, partially replacing it with milk and lemon juice.
By the way, the French prefer to make coffee that contains sugar, while at the same time having a low amount of calories. The recipe for such a drink is simple: add 1/3 teaspoon of sugar and a pinch of salt to freshly ground coffee. They prefer to drink such coffee, periodically taking a sip of cold water to shade the taste of the drink.
True coffee lovers add spices to it instead of sugar: cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, orange zest. A properly prepared drink with spices will not only lift your spirits, but also energize you for the whole day, speed up your metabolism and help you lose weight, while enjoying your diet.
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Chocolate and Coffee Diet
This diet is perfect for those who can't imagine life without chocolate and are partial to good coffee. However, there is one "but": apart from these two products, everything else is taboo.
The chocolate and coffee diet can last 3-4 days, but not more than one week. There is information that in 6 days of the diet you can get rid of 7 kg of weight.
It should be noted right away who should not “go on” such a diet:
- those who suffer from chocolate allergies;
- those who have liver problems;
- those who have had or currently have stomach diseases;
- those who are prone to high blood pressure.
What is the chocolate and coffee diet? Firstly, you can only eat dark bitter chocolate with the maximum cocoa content. One bar of chocolate (100 g) is provided for one day. It should be divided into three equal parts - this will be your breakfast, lunch and dinner. In between meals, you are allowed to drink a cup of coffee without adding sugar, you can with milk (no more than 2% fat). You can't eat anything else except this. Drinking clean drinking water is also allowed.
If you feel unwell at any stage of the diet, stop the diet immediately and return to a standard diet.
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Morning Coffee Diet
Many of us cannot imagine the morning without a cup of freshly brewed aromatic coffee. This drink not only wakes up our brain and body, but also starts metabolic processes in the body after a night's rest. Experts say that a morning cup of coffee without sugar, containing about 2 kcal, allows you to burn 300 kcal of energy in the body. In addition to everything, coffee reduces appetite, so often those people who drink coffee in the morning skip breakfast and feel quite comfortable until lunch, without feeling hungry.
A relatively safe amount of coffee per day for a healthy person is three cups. It should also be taken into account that coffee, if consumed regularly, can cause some addiction, that is, over time you may want to drink more cups.
You should not drink coffee in the morning if you suffer from diseases of the stomach, urinary system, liver, and also if you have a tendency to hypertension.
When drinking coffee daily, it is necessary to take into account the diuretic properties of the drink. Therefore, during the diet, it is necessary to drink at least one and a half liters of clean drinking water without gas.
As for food consumption, for lunch and dinner you can allow yourself vegetables, fruits, white meat (100-150 g per serving), steamed or boiled fish, boiled eggs, greens, fermented milk products, cottage cheese. Of course, sweets and flour products are prohibited, including bread and pasta.
You can drink coffee not only in the morning, but also during the day. In the afternoon, try to limit your consumption of the drink, otherwise it may result in insomnia.
Most often, the morning coffee diet lasts one week. True, many adhere to this diet much longer, but remember that not everyone can drink coffee constantly and often. Watch your well-being: if you feel that sometimes you start to feel dizzy or have a headache, feel nauseous, have problems with digestion and stomach, then this means that the diet must be stopped immediately.
Green Coffee Diet
Green coffee is considered very popular during diets. These are unroasted coffee beans, rich in useful substances, especially antioxidants. For example, the active component of such coffee is chlorogenic acid, which, according to scientists, has "fat-burning" properties. According to studies, it is green coffee that does not allow the body to fully absorb simple carbohydrates. As a result, our intestines allow fewer carbohydrates into the blood, and in the meantime we successfully lose weight.
The green coffee diet can optimally last 14 days. During this time, you can lose about 6-7 kg, depending on your initial weight. Of course, when choosing such a diet, you must completely eliminate all sweets, bakery products and alcohol from your menu. It is also recommended to limit the amount of salt. You should drink clean still water every day, about 2 liters per day. If you strictly follow the rules of the diet, the result will not take long to come.
An approximate meal plan for each day of the week might look like this:
- On day 1, our breakfast is a cup of brewed coffee, without sugar, of course. At lunchtime, it is recommended to eat carrot salad with vegetable oil, 1 boiled egg and wash it all down with a cup of coffee. Dinner is a couple of green apples.
- Day II – in the morning you are allowed to eat some carrot salad with lemon juice and, of course, coffee. At lunchtime: fish fillet baked in parchment, 150 ml of tomato juice. For dinner – fish fillet and cabbage salad again.
- We continue the diet: instead of breakfast, we drink a cup of coffee. At lunchtime, we eat 2 eggs and any vegetable salad, preferably from cabbage leaves and cucumbers (or tomatoes). We have a piece of fish and cabbage salad for dinner. Do not forget to drink the required amount of water.
- Day IV: in the morning – a cup of coffee. Lunch: vegetable salad and a couple of green apples. Dinner consists of 100 g of white meat and cabbage salad.
- In the morning – a cup of coffee and a piece of unsalted cheese. For lunch – a fish steak and a cabbage salad. For dinner – a couple of eggs and a glass of yogurt.
- Instead of breakfast we drink coffee. At lunchtime we allow ourselves boiled chicken fillet and vegetable salad. We have boiled eggs for dinner.
- On the 7th day, it is recommended to repeat the diet of the 4th day.
If you feel well, you can extend the diet for a few more days. Listen carefully to your body, and if you feel worse, be sure to stop the diet.
Coffee and tea diet
This diet involves alternating coffee and tea. You can choose black or green coffee, but tea should be mostly green, without sugar. The coffee and tea diet is considered low-calorie and very effective. Its duration is 7 days. In this case, nutrition is based on the consumption of protein-carbohydrate foods, while coffee or tea can be consumed in the amount of 3 cups per day.
An approximate diet plan for 7 days looks like this:
- Breakfast: a cup of coffee or tea without sugar + 150 g of low-fat cottage cheese. Lunch: 200 g of chicken fillet + a cup of coffee or tea and low-fat kefir. Dinner: a cup of tea or coffee.
- We have breakfast only with tea or coffee. We have lunch with cucumber and tomato salad with vegetable oil + a cup of tea or coffee. We have dinner with a 250 g portion of vegetable stew, as well as coffee or tea.
- Breakfast: a glass of yogurt and a cup of coffee or tea. Lunch: the same as breakfast. Dinner: a piece of boiled fish fillet and a cup of tea or coffee.
- Breakfast: oatmeal with milk + a cup of coffee or tea. Lunch: any fruit + a cup of coffee or tea. Dinner: coffee or tea.
- In the morning – coffee or tea with milk. At lunchtime – 200 g of boiled white meat + coffee or tea. For dinner – boiled eggs (no more than 3 pieces) + tea or coffee.
- Breakfast: 50 g of dark chocolate + tea or coffee. Lunch: tea or coffee. For dinner: up to 3 apples, 2 crackers + tea or coffee.
- Breakfast: one processed cheese without additives + tea or coffee. Lunch: 200 g of boiled chicken or turkey fillet + coffee or tea. Dinner: tea or coffee.
You can drink still water without restrictions.
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Diet on coffee and cigarettes
One of the most famous French diets is the coffee and cigarette diet – a very controversial way to lose weight, which can also have a detrimental effect on health. French women call this diet a “forced diet” or a “when your loved one has left” diet: as you know, when your loved one leaves, there is no time for food, all you can do is nervously smoke and drink coffee.
According to experts (let's skip the lectures about the harm of smoking in general), cigarettes not only do not help, but also hinder weight loss, since they slow down the digestive process, worsening the digestion of food. The success of the coffee and cigarette diet is explained only by the fact that such a diet is actually fasting, when nicotine and caffeine are used to dull the feeling of hunger. In this case, a decrease in appetite is simply a consequence of the suppression of the motor function of the digestive tract. As a result, sooner or later, such a diet can "come back to haunt" with gastritis, enterocolitis, cardiac disorders and other unpleasant consequences.
Whether or not to have such a diet is up to you.
Coffee and Apple Diet
The coffee and apple diet has become increasingly popular lately. Brewed coffee and apples are available in any season, so this diet is one of the most accessible and inexpensive ways to lose weight. What is the secret of the coffee and apple diet?
Coffee is a stimulating drink that relieves fatigue and drowsiness, increases productivity, activates memory and thinking processes. Coffee makes us forget about food and do other things: work, active recreation, etc. Coffee never gets boring: it can be consumed with milk, lemon, orange zest, spices, cinnamon, cream.
Apples contain vitamins (group B, as well as vitamin A, ascorbic acid, vitamins K, E, PP), microelements (fluorine, iron, manganese, zinc, potassium, iodine, copper). The pulp of the fruit contains organic acids, pectin, and fiber. Apples have a positive effect on the function of the digestive and urinary systems, increase intestinal motility, and help remove excess fluid and toxic substances from the body.
Apples should be eaten with the skin, even with the seeds.
In addition to coffee, you can drink still water without additives.
The diet lasts one week. Every day you should drink 3 cups of brewed coffee and eat up to one and a half kilograms of apples. As a rule, you can lose from 3 to 6 kg of excess weight in a week.
Ginger Coffee Diet
For the ginger coffee diet, you can use regular black or green coffee. It is better to take fresh ginger, as it is more effective than dried.
The essence of the diet is in the properties of coffee beans and ginger root. Coffee stimulates metabolic processes, accelerates fat metabolism, and helps remove toxins from the body. Ginger helps activate metabolism, destroys harmful bacteria, and accelerates blood circulation.
How to make coffee with ginger?
The coffee beans need to be ground in a coffee grinder. A 5 mm thick circle of ginger should be peeled and finely chopped. Put 2 teaspoons of ground coffee and chopped ginger into a Turk, then pour in clean water and brew as you always brew coffee.
It is recommended to drink 3-4 cups of this ginger coffee per day.
There are no special nutritional recommendations for such a diet. Of course, if you remove sweet, fatty and floury foods from the menu, the process will certainly speed up. If you drink coffee with ginger every day for 10-12 days, you will definitely lose 2-3 kg.
By the way, sugar is usually not added to ginger coffee, otherwise the weight loss process will be very delayed.
Cheese and Coffee Diet
The cheese and coffee diet is one of the so-called "fast" diets, when you need to lose a certain amount of weight in a relatively short time. Natural ground coffee without sugar is used for the diet. Cheese should be light: unsalted (or soaked) feta, mozzarella, ricotta, as well as hard varieties, for example, Swiss. You should not choose spicy, salty and fatty high-calorie cheese for the diet. The most preferable fat content of cheese is from 10 to 12%.
The cheese and coffee diet is allowed to be followed for no more than one week. In such a short time, you can get rid of 6-7 excess kilograms.
In addition to proteins and fats, cheese contains phosphorus, calcium, and essential amino acids. The benefits of cheese for the body are obvious: it supports our musculoskeletal system, replenishes calcium washed out by coffee, and improves digestion.
What does the cheese and coffee diet consist of? Here is an approximate menu for such a diet for one day:
- instead of breakfast – a cup of coffee without sugar;
- after 2 hours – 1 soft-boiled egg;
- 2 hours later – lunch: 200 g of cheese;
- After another 2 hours – afternoon snack: a cup of coffee (with milk if possible);
- for dinner – 100 g of cheese;
- at night – a glass of kefir.
Throughout the day, you can and should drink regular, clean, still water, about 1.5 liters per day.
Green Coffee Ginger Diet
We have already talked about the classic recipe for coffee with ginger above. Now let's talk about some non-traditional, but no less effective recipes for this drink.
- If you add 1-2 cloves (seasoning) to the Turk at the beginning of making ginger coffee, you will get a more aromatic and pleasant drink. Perhaps this will not affect the weight loss process, but the taste of the coffee will become more pleasant, which is especially important for those who are still indifferent to this magical drink.
- A wonderful "weight loss" effect is observed when drinking ginger green coffee with mint and spices during all kinds of diets. Brew regular green coffee in a Turk (200 ml), adding ground cardamom (1 box), one and a half centimeters of crushed ginger root and 5 mint leaves (fresh or dried). After the drink is ready, strain it and add lemon juice to taste. It is not recommended to add sugar to such a drink.
- An interesting option is offered to those who are fans of classic black coffee, but choose a diet on green coffee with ginger. What to do to remember the taste of your favorite brewed coffee? You can mix one part of black coffee beans with two parts of green coffee beans, then grind them together and make regular ginger coffee for weight loss, which we wrote about earlier. Such a drink will be no worse, and maybe even better for losing weight and toning the body.
If you drink any of the above drinks daily, and also limit your consumption of sweets, flour and fatty foods, then the results of weight loss will not take long to come. It is great if the diet is combined with measured physical activity in the gym.
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Coffee Diet Reviews
Reviews of the coffee diet are quite contradictory. Some users rightly point out the harm of constant consumption of large amounts of coffee. Others, on the contrary, claim the effectiveness of the coffee diet for weight loss: at the same time, they feel great and intend to stick to such diets in the future. Medical experts are unanimous in their opinion that diets for weight loss simply cannot be useful initially, and especially those that involve active and regular consumption of coffee.
Of course, coffee can suppress a "wolfish" appetite and stimulate a slow metabolism. However, you should be aware that you should not drink more than 2 or 3 cups of coffee a day. Otherwise, you can easily "earn" yourself a sleep disorder, increased heart rate and increased blood pressure. In addition, frequent coffee consumption on an empty stomach can negatively affect the functioning of the stomach and intestines, as well as the urinary system and liver.
Why is coffee so popular for weight loss? Thanks to this drink, those losing weight get rid of the headache "hunger" pain, dizziness, nausea and increased appetite, which often haunt most people on strict diets.
It is recommended to drink coffee mainly in the first half of the day, otherwise insomnia and difficulty falling asleep may occur. Considering that lack of sleep contributes to weight gain, potential sleep disturbances should be avoided. If you feel that the coffee diet is negatively affecting your sleep, then review your diet: perhaps you should reduce the amount of the drink you drink, or make it less strong.
Another important note: any coffee diet involves drinking natural brewed coffee, not instant coffee. Remember all the most important components of effective weight loss: adequate sleep, eliminating sweets, flour products and unhealthy food from the diet, as well as drinking regimen: at least one and a half liters of clean drinking water per day. And coffee can be a good and, most importantly, pleasant addition to successful weight loss.