One of the most effective strategies you can do for weight loss is to replace any calorie beverages with zero-calorie drinks. My favorite options are zero-calorie energy drinks like Bang because they are packed with caffeine and other ingredients.
Today I will explain are bang energy drinks are good for weight loss, and if so, how often should you drink them.
In general, bang energy drinks are good for weight loss because it doesn’t have any calories. Zero-calorie bang energy drinks contain a lot of vitamins, minerals, and caffeine, which can help you maintain energy levels and suppress your appetite. However, they also contain sodium benzoate, which can impair memory performance when consumed in high doses.
Here you have my general answer, but below you can read more about how I used bang energy drinks to shred 20 pounds during my intermittent fasting.
Why do I drink Bang energy drinks during weight loss?
Bang energy drinks are one of my favorite weight-loss strategies, especially when I do intermittent fasting. Keep in mind that you could drink any other zero-calorie energy drink like Monster or RedBull.
The reason why I choose bang is that they are packed with many ergogenic ingredients like caffeine, amino acids, and even creatine.
However, according to independent lab testing performed by Alpha Testing Labs, the ingredients in Bang did not exactly match what was on the label.
Here are some of the benefits and reasons why I like to drink Bang energy drink during my weight loss.
Bang helps me to train harder
If I drink 2 cans of bang per day, I ensure that one of them is just before I train.
I like to use bang drink as my pre-workout because it contains caffeine, as well as leucine, isoleucine, and valine.
Caffeine helps to reduce my fatigue and maintain my workout intensity, whereas the amino acids help to reduce muscle damage and muscle soreness, so I don’t feel destroyed the next day.
For me, strength training and weight loss go hand in hand.
Lifting weights not only helps to maintain lean muscle mass but also increases insulin sensitivity and ensures I lose weight from fat, not from muscle.
However, keep in mind that one 16 fl. oz (473ml) can of bang contains around 20mg of isoleucine and 105 mg of leucine, which to be frank, is not enough to trigger any anti-catabolic effects.
It makes BCAA taste better
To get more amino acids before your workout, I recommend mixing a bang energy drink with a serving of unflavored amino acids.
Branched-chain amino acids (leucine, valine, and isoleucine) are great to trigger muscle protein synthesis and reduce muscle protein breakdown. However, they also taste horrible.
On the other hand, bang energy drink comes in 8 different flavors that range from lime, orange, and watermelon to even chocolate.
Mixing the bang energy drink with unflavored BCAA makes them taste better and helps to neutralize the horrible bitter aftertaste of leucine.
Bang energy drinks help to reduce my appetite
Bang energy drink is good for weight loss because it contains caffeine, which is well known for its ergogenic effects, as well as appetite suppressant properties.
One can of bang contains 300 mg of caffeine, which is equivalent to two cups of coffee.
Controlling your appetite and hunger is important for weight loss because they both will impact how much food you want to eat.
Anna Gavrieli, Ph.D., a professor from Harokopio University says “a moderate caffeine amount (around 6mg caffeine per one kilogram of body weight) could effectively reduce food intake, compared to lower or no caffeine intake.
(Moderate caffeine intake is around 300-500 mg of caffeine, depending on your body weight).
Apart from lowering appetite and increasing satiety, caffeine also reduces the sensation of exercise fatigue, it reduces the perception of work effort and even muscle pain.
Helps to build muscle and speed up metabolism
Bang energy drink can help with fat loss because it contains creatine. Creatine alone does not help to burn fat. However, creatine together with resistance training helps to increase muscle mass, which increases metabolic rate.
Creatine is one of the most popular nutritional ergogenic aids. It helps to maintain high-intensity workouts, as well as reduce post-exercise recovery. One can of bang energy drink contains just under 5g of creatine.
The creatine dosing is divided into two phases:
- Loading phase
- Maintenance phase
According to Thomas H. Trojian, MD, a professor of sports medicine, during the loading phase, you should take 20-25 grams of creatine per day for 5-7 days.
During the maintenance phase, you should take 5-6 grams of creatine for 4 to 6 weeks.
Bang energy drink is a good source of creatine, especially if you’re in the maintenance phase. However, I would not recommend drinking 4-5 cans per day just to increase your creatine intake.
For the loading phase, I suggest mixing 1-2 cans of bang with 20 grams of creatine monohydrate powder.
Bang energy drinks have zero calories but taste good
I have a sweet tooth, and if I could, I would probably live on doughnuts and Toblerone chocolate.
I also have strong self-discipline during my weight loss and I can stay away from sweets for weeks.
However, self-discipline doesn’t mean that I don’t have cravings for sweets.
The longer I stay away from sweets, the more cravings I have.
Food cravings are common during calorie restriction, especially in the first few weeks, therefore drinking 1-2 cans of bang per day can help with weight loss.
Bang energy drinks don’t have any calories, yet they have a sweet taste, which helps to combat the intense desire to consume sweet foods.
What do Bang Energy Drinks do to your body?
Bang energy drinks have a positive short-term effect on the body because it’s loaded with several ingredients like caffeine, vitamins, minerals, and essential amino acids.
These ingredients help not only to boost your physical but also your cognitive performance.
Here’s photo of the ingredient list found on bang energy drink label.
Bang energy drinks contain many ingredients but the label does not show the amounts.
Plus, one can of bang 16 fl. oz has around 65mg of Coenzyme Q10, a popular over-the-counter dietary supplement.
CoQ10 is a natural antioxidant that the body produces, however, aging and certain cholesterol-lowering drugs can lower its levels.
Brittany Sood, DO, a family physician from Bristol said that people who suffer from health problems like fibromyalgia, migraine, diabetes, cancer, mitochondrial diseases, muscular diseases, and heart failure has also low levels of CoQ10.
Bang energy drink is also a good source of vitamin B12 and vitamin B6, which is important for people who do a plant-based diet.
On the other hand, Bang energy drink is also loaded with preservatives like sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate.
According to the article published in the Journal of Biochemical and Molecular Toxicology, sodium benzoate has been linked to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children.
Sevcan Mamur, Ph.D., a researcher from Gazi University, said that potassium sorbate significantly increases chromosomal aberrations.
In simple terms, chromosomal aberrations are changes to the genetic material.
According to FDA, these two chemicals are both generally recognized as safe when used in accordance with good manufacturing practices.
I’m not a biochemistry expert, so I cannot tell you how much of this stuff is in one can of Bang.
I personally don’t drink more than 2 cans per day during dieting. When I’m not dieting, I normally stick to coffee or tea.
How many Bangs can you drink in a day to lose weight?
In general, you can drink 1-2 cans of bang energy drink per day (ideally between meals) to help you lose weight.
Bang has no calories, which means it does not cause an insulin spike.
However, it does contain artificial sweeteners, which may trigger food cravings in the long term if consumed in large amounts.
Qing Yang, Ph.D., a professor and biostatistician at Duke School of Nursing, said that artificial sweeteners do not activate the food reward pathways in the same fashion as natural sweeteners.
Let me explain (take a look at the graph below).
- Drinking calorie beverages activate the food reward pathways in the brain (specifically in the hypothalamus area).
- Once the food reward pathway is active, this triggers the “post ingestive component” (also known as post-ingestive satisfaction) and lowers the desire to eat.
It’s like a craving that has been satisfied. Once the satisfaction occurs, the body doesn’t seek out more.
On the other hand, a lack of caloric contribution generally eliminates the post-ingestive component, according to Dr. Yang.
See below.
- Drinking zero-calorie beverages with artificial sweeteners doesn’t activate food reward pathways in the brain.
- Once the brain doesn’t get post-ingestive satisfaction, the appetite and cravings may continue, which can trigger unwanted food-seeking behavior.
Will you gain weight from drinking bang?
Drinking 1-2 cans of bang won’t make you gain weight because it has no calories.
However, it does contain artificial sweeteners, which if consumed in large amounts can increase appetite and food cravings.
The more bangs you drink per day, the more cravings and appetite for food you may experience.
On the other hand, reducing energy drink intake lowers the chances of sugar cravings.
Conclusion
Bang energy drinks are zero-calorie beverages, which can help to lose weight, especially during calorie restriction or intermittent fasting.
Drinking 1-2 cans per day provides you with 600 mg of caffeine, which can reduce cravings for foods and enhance performance.
No sugar means no insulin spike which helps the body to burn fat for energy. However, you have to be aware that the more you drink artificial sweeteners, it can actually increase those cravings even more.