Losing weight is already a challenge for many people, but trying to lose weight while suffering from type 2 diabetes can be even harder due to the fact that instead of energy, your body converts the blood sugars into fat. Thankfully, however, there’s Ozempic.
Ozempic is a diabetes medication that is specifically meant for those with type 2 diabetes. While its main purpose is to help in blood sugar control, it also has a secondary function, which, if combined with a healthy diet and regular exercise, can result in successful weight loss. Specifically, this medication slows down the digestion process, making the person taking Ozempic feel full for longer and resulting in them eating less throughout the day without feeling hungry.
However, just like any medication, Ozempic also has its downsides – one of them is that there’s a number of foods that you need to avoid when on it, as they might cause the drug to work less efficiently. Is coffee one of them? Let’s take a look.
Ozempic and Coffee Consumption
If you’re a coffee lover who is set to start an Ozempic treatment or you’ve just started taking Ozempic and can’t imagine having to give up drinking coffee, we have good news for you – you don’t have to. However, you might have to limit how much you drink simply to avoid experiencing side effects such as stomach pain, indigestion or nausea.
As for the type of coffee you should drink, if you have type 2 diabetes, it’s best to stick with a classic black coffee – adding sugar or creamer to your beverage can result in high blood sugar levels.
While some clinical trials have already been conducted in order to find whether coffee consumption, specifically caffeine intake, can affect insulin sensitivity and have a negative effect on a person using Ozempic, the results have been inconclusive, and more research, as far as this particular topic goes, is needed.
Coffee and Weight Loss
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If you’re taking Ozempic primarily for its weight loss effects, you might be wondering whether coffee consumption can help in making your weight loss efforts more effective. While coffee intake won’t substitute a healthy lifestyle and balanced diet, classic black coffee has many health benefits, some of which can positively affect your weight loss. Let’s take a look.
Enhances Performance and Metabolism
First of all, caffeine can increase a person’s energy levels, which in turn can improve their performance and allows them to perform longer workouts.
Coffee can also improve your metabolic rate, which means that you’ll be able to lose more weight in the same amount of time. According to several studies, drinking coffee can increase the resting metabolic rate (RMR) by several percent. It’s also worth mentioning that according to one study, the magnitude of the effect depends on the person’s build – it was generally higher in lean participants and lower in the case of participants with obesity.
Mobilizes Fat Tissues
By increasing the levels of epinephrine, also known as adrenaline, in your blood, caffeine can send signals to the fat cells so that they break down fat and release it into your cardiovascular system. However, it’s important to note that this will only be effective if your calorie intake is less than the amount of calories you burn.
Sheds Water Weight
It’s not uncommon for people to carry water weight, which happens when excess water builds up in your body. When you drink coffee, you encourage your body to urinate, allowing it to decrease the amount of water stored in your body.
Is Good for Low Calorie Diets
In order to lose weight, you should widen the gap between the number of calories you consume and how many of them you burn. You can do it in two ways – either by increasing your physical activity or by changing your diet to a low calorie one. As far as the second one goes, changing your eating habits can be hard, so it’s best to start with small steps – and choosing drinks that have little to no calories is a great way to do it.
Since regular black coffee has very few calories, it’s a great addition to your diet when you need that energy boost but don’t want to reach for an energy drink. To put it into perspective, a regular cup of coffee has only about 2 calories. A glass of an energy drink, on the other hand, has about 110 calories on average.
What to Avoid When Taking Ozempic
While Ozempic and coffee is not a combination you should avoid unless you want to, there are a few foods that you better stay away from while on this medication. Keep in mind that there isn’t any strict “off-limit” position on this list, as at the moment, there is no evidence of any food or beverage affecting Ozempic to the point it should be prohibited to consume.
But, without further ado, here are some things you should try to avoid while on Ozempic:
- High-fat foods – while this is a very broad category of foods, in general, it concerns fried foods and greasy meals. There’s nothing wrong with consuming them every once in a while, but eating them regularly can increase your likelihood of experiencing gastrointestinal issues.
- Trans and saturated fats – similarly to the previous point, eating too many foods containing highly saturated fats can cause you to suffer from an upset stomach.
- Foods with a lot of sugar – if you are diabetic, consuming foods containing high amounts of sugar can result in Ozempic not working as well as it should.
- High-sodium foods – it’s no secret that many people are already eating too much sodium, which can lead to increased blood pressure and cardiovascular health issues, such as heart disease. If you have type 2 diabetes, this combination is extremely dangerous and, in some cases, can even result in death.
- Refined carbohydrates – consuming too many foods with refined carbohydrates can result in your blood sugar levels increasing. This is not to mention that they lack the nutrients that whole, unprocessed grains come with.
- High-glycemic starchy vegetables – there are certain vegetables that should be limited when you have type 2 diabetes. These include potatoes, peas, carrots, and corn.
Can You Drink Alcohol When Taking Ozempic?
Technically, yes, you can drink alcohol while on Ozempic. However, you should be aware of the fact that alcohol might cause your blood sugar levels to drop. When you combine it with Ozempic, of which one of the main functions is to lower blood sugar levels, you might experience hypoglycemia.
Some of the symptoms of low blood sugar levels include an irregular or fast heartbeat, fatigue, dizziness, headache, anxiety or irritability, sweating, and more. If it happens to you, you should consume sugar as quickly as possible so you can raise its levels in your blood.
Coffee and Ozempic – The Bottom Line
Ozempic is a medication typically used by patients with type 2 diabetes, but it is becoming more and more common to use it “off-label” for weight management and weight loss. If you are a coffee lover who is about to start taking it, you’ll be glad to know there’s nothing stopping you from continuing to drink coffee even when on this medicine – however, you might want to limit how much you intake.
Just like with any other medicine, it’s best that you learn as much about it as you can so that you can make decisions that will be the best for you, even when it comes to seemingly unimportant things like your diet. And for more Ozempic knowledge, don’t hesitate to check out our blog section – who knows what else you might learn.
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