If you don’t drink tea on a regular basis and are trying to lose weight, it’s one beverage you really should consider stocking up on – and for many reasons.
For those that still drink soda (including diet soda) it’s a great replacement to help you kick that bad habit that’s not doing your waistline, or your health, any favors.
Even if you don’t drink soda, sipping tea is a good way to curb the urge to snack when you aren’t really hungry. Many of us tend to feed boredom with unhealthy foods which can quickly derail weight loss plans.
Herbal teas don’t contain any caffeine or calories, but they do provide the flavor we often crave.
Numerous studies have revealed that drinking tea can actually play a powerful role in supporting our weight loss efforts. Certain teas can even help speed up the digestion process, reduce bad cholesterol levels and even assist in shrinking fat cells!
You’ve probably at least heard about the benefits of green tea, but if you haven’t picked up this great habit, there is no time like the present. Of course this doesn’t mean sweetened green tea soft drinks – we’re talking pure green tea without any additives.
Research published in the Journal of Nutrition found that those who drank green tea and participated in three hours of moderate physical activity every week experienced a significant reduction of body fat in the abdominal area as compared to exercise alone. This means that if you drink green tea on a regular basis, it can enhance the fat burning benefits of your workouts!
It’s really an excellent fat fighter as its active ingredient, EGCG, increases the rate at which fat is burned in the body, particularly belly fat.
Green tea also helps to improve endurance so that you can work out longer and harder, increasing calorie burn and pounds that are lost, provided you drink it most days of the week.
It can even keep your energy levels stable by balancing blood sugar, as EGCG has been found to improve insulin use in the body to prevent those blood sugar spikes and crashes that can cause fatigue, irritability and cravings for unhealthy foods.
If you have a sweet tooth, Bilberry tea is another good one to try as it can also help by stabilizing blood sugar levels and reducing cravings, particularly for sweets.
Oolong tea has been found to reduce bad cholesterol and even aid in fat burning, while hibiscus tea contains flavonoids and minerals that are known to help reduce the absorption of fats.
If aren’t getting enough sleep, you’ll probably have difficult losing weight and you might even see the scale go in the opposite direction. That’s because a lack of sleep causes your levels of the hormone leptin go down, and ghrelin levels to rise, stimulating your appetite the next day so that you end up eating more than you normally would.
Drinking red bush tea may be able to help you solve this problem as it’s known as an effective insomnia remedy. It contains no caffeine, but it does have a high mineral content including magnesium, calcium, manganese, zinc and iron, and can encourage calm and relaxation in addition to reducing sleep disturbances.
If you’d like to give yourself an extra edge for losing or maintaining weight, don’t forget to stock up on tea the next time you go to the grocery store!
Much love,
Danette May
P.S. Please share this important information with your friends and loved ones, and leave your comments below.
