The Decaf Diet Review and Giveaway (with a Twist)

Publisher's Summary. In The Decaf Diet, Eugene Wells explains how coffee, tea, soda, and chocolate are making a large contribution to the obesity epidemic. Wells explains how caffeine drives overeating while hindering weight loss, and in doing so he empowers readers to decide for themselves just to what extent caffeine should control their waistlines. In The Decaf Diet you will learn how caffeine makes you overeat, reduces your muscle mass, slows your metabolism, keeps your stress and insulin levels elevated, and can negatively affect thyroid function. You will also learn how to painlessly decrease or eliminate your caffeine intake for rapid weight loss, and how to reduce caffeine's fattening properties when you do have it.

Review. As someone who would like to lose a few pounds I was intrigued by Eugene Wells’ provocative book The Decaf Diet: Is Caffeine Making You Fat? I admit to being a little skeptical as I had never heard that caffeine could negatively affect one’s weight. However, after reading this well documented book (it includes over 70 pages of reference notes!) I am convinced.

According to Wells: “caffeine is at odds with weight loss because it decreases our feelings of satiety, contributes to overeating, and also decreases our energy expenditure while at rest.” Nor is weight gain the only side effect, caffeine also:

• Reduces muscle mass;
• Slows the metabolism;
• Elevates stress levels;
• Elevates insulin levels; and
• Negatively impacts thyroid function.

And if you think that being a tea drinker is any better -- think again! Wells states that regular tea is, in fact, even worse than coffee. Apparently, caffeinated tea (including green tea) contains large amounts of fluoride which can alter thyroid function.

After laying out the case why caffeine is harmful, Wells includes three decaf plans: gradual reduction; cold turkey; and optimal caffeine use (for those who want to continue to caffeine in moderation). As a caffeine lover, I paid particular attention to the last plan. Nowadays, I still have my morning java break, but I do, more often than not, skip the second cup. This, I think, is a start!

The Decaf Diet is a well researched book that may just convince you to grab a nice cup of herbal tea instead of the usual coffee and a muffin.

Giveaway Rules: Today I am giving away THREE copies of this informative book! The first three U.S and Canada residents who comment on this post and leave a valid email address in the post (you can include spaces in the email and or spell the symbols) are the winners.

Review copy provided courtesy of the author.