Drinking coffee offers a host of health benefits, but did you know that excess coffee consumption (hello, third skinny mocha before 11am) could be hampering your efforts to tone up your tummy?
Why? Well, it's all down to the stress hormone cortisol.
Because caffeine is a stimulant, it encourages your adrenal glands to release a little cortisol every time you drink a cup of coffee.
This isn't a bad thing if you only enjoy a cup or two of coffee each day, but if you rely on that caffeine hit to get you through, all that extra cortisol your body produces raises your glucose levels and excess glucose is stored as (you guessed it) body fat.
Signs that you may need to look at your coffee consumption and give your system a break include hard-to-shift belly fat and constant fatigue. So basically if you're constantly wrecked and that twice weekly kettle bell class is having no effect on your muffin top, it's time to make a change.
Our advice? Keep the coffee hit to one per day (ideally before your workout) and swap the rest for caffeine-free herbal teas.
