In recent years, there have been many weight loss pills, programs, and diet supplements that have focused on caffeine as the primary stimulant of weight loss.  Seems like a no-brainer, right?  'Caffeine gives you energy, and energy keeps you moving enough to burn all your excess calories, so you'll lose weight.'  But is it really able to provide long-term results in weight loss ' or is it just short-term hype?  Even though some studies may have shown that caffeine can slightly increase weight loss in people who already have healthy lifestyles, there is no evidence that this naturally-occurring drug is able to increase metabolism, on a long-term basis, or is capable of causing permanent weight loss or cellulite reduction.  Much of the recent research into this subject has yielded mixed results.

One study showed that caffeine in diet supplements and weight loss pills may act as an appetite suppressant. Several people who underwent the study did, in fact, eat less after consuming caffeine. However, these results are brief; they do not last long enough to lead to any significant drop in weight, unlike other natural appetite suppressants such as Hoodia extract.

Another study showed that coffee may increase the body's ability to burn calories. It has been proven that caffeine stimulates the process known as thermogenesis. This particular process is one of the ways our body generates heat and energy from digesting food; however, caffeine is not a fat burner; its role in thermogenesis is minimal. Many researchers believe that its impact upon this process is so minimal that it would not lead to a considerable, long-term drop in weight, and therefore its usefulness in diet supplements and weight loss pills is questionable.

One of the last studies on caffeine proved that this particular ingredient is a diuretic. What this means is that caffeine causes an increase in the amount of urine we excrete. However, this does not mean you lose weight.  Because caffeine is a diuretic it simply means that it leads to temporary water loss. So as you can see, there is no actual evidence which proves caffeine to be a weight loss supplement. There are without a doubt numerous other natural plants, diet supplements, and even weight loss pills which suppress the appetite and stimulate weight loss, but coffee is not one of them.