You’ve heard that you can drink tea to lose weight – but is it true?
Drinking tea to lose weight might sound too simple to be real. However, it really can work, when used alongside a healthy combination of diet and exercise. Although tea isn’t a magic weight loss solution, there is lots of scientific evidence that it boosts your metabolism and helps you lose weight.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through what you need to know about weight loss and tea. Keep reading to learn how tea can help you reach your goals!
Teas That Can Help You Lose Weight
There are all kinds of slimming teas and diet teas on the market today. However, despite the promises on the package, not all of them will help you shed pounds. It’s all about the ingredients they contain.
You actually don’t need to buy a fancy diet tea to reap the benefits of weight loss. All you need is some plain green tea – this is the variety that’s been shown to help people lose weight. Black tea can help too, thanks to its caffeine content, but green tea has some added benefits.
Why Green Tea Works
Both green and black tea come from a shrub called Camellia Sinensis. Black tea is put through a process of withering and oxidation. However, green tea doesn’t go through the same process. That’s why green tea is generally healthier for you – it retains more of its nutrients.
Green tea has tons of antioxidants, for example. Antioxidants help fight the free radicals that pose a risk to your health, and they give your immune system a boost.
When it comes to weight loss, green tea also contains something important: catechin. This ingredient improves your metabolism, allowing you to lose fat faster.
It’s not just hearsay – many studies have actually proven this effect. Green tea helps your body burn fat and kicks your metabolism into high gear.
Stress is often linked to weight gain and retention, but green tea actually helps with that too. An ingredient known as Theanine, which is an amino acid, helps your mind and body relax when you’re stressed. This makes weight loss even easier.
How Tea Helps You Shed Pounds
Now, let’s take a closer look at the many different ways tea helps your body lose weight.
1. Gives You Energy
Any tea that contains caffeine will give you an energy boost that makes weight loss much easier. In fact, many slimming teas and weight loss supplements contain a high dose of caffeine.
Getting up, getting going, and getting to the gym can be hard. With an energy boost, you’re more likely to stick with your exercise plan. Caffeine also boosts your body’s ability to burn fat.
2. Strengthens Your Immune System
When you get sick, your diet and exercise plans can quickly get derailed. Keeping your immune system healthy and strong means you can stick with your weight loss regimen. Tea will help you get there.
The antioxidants in tea help ward off diseases, from the common cold to cancer. Avoiding these setbacks will seriously improve your quality of life, as well as making staying on track for losing weight easier.
3. Works as a Reward
Research has shown that our habits form in a loop pattern. There is a trigger, the habit itself, and then the reward.
Habits can contribute to weight gain. You might find yourself habitually reaching for junk food when you encounter life problems, for example. But you can also reset your habits in the opposite direction and make them benefit you. It’s all about reprogramming your habit loop.
To set good habits instead of bad ones, you need a trigger to get you to start the good habit, the good behavior itself, and the reward. One of the best benefits of drinking tea is that it’s both a good habit and a reward.
When you sit down and have a cup of tea, it can feel like a pleasant, relaxing treat, not a chore. Put it in your favorite mug with lemon and honey and you have a moment you can enjoy. At the same time, drinking tea is helping you lose weight faster.
If you “reward” some of your successes by unwinding with a cup of tea, you’ll see more benefits than one. You’ll feel satisfied, and you’ll be less likely to seek out other “rewards” like junk food or television.
4. Has No Calories
It’s simple, but true – tea is a reward and a metabolism booster that doesn’t have any calories. You won’t need to do any math or write anything in your food log when you enjoy a cup of tea.
When you drink tea, you’re gaining the benefits of hydration, since it’s brewed with water. It has no added sugar or calories, but you can add beneficial ingredients like honey, lemon, or cloves if you want.
5. Reduces Hunger
If you struggle with hunger throughout the day, drinking tea can help with that, too.
You tend to feel full when you drink water. The same thing applies when you drink tea. However, tea might be even more effective, because you drink it slowly. This helps take your mind off food altogether, while still giving your mind and taste buds a pleasant experience.
6. Works Cold Too
When we reach for a cup of tea, we usually expect it to be hot. But research shows that drinking cold tea to lose belly fat might be even more effective.
According to at least one study, cold tea seems to up your body’s energy expenditure. A higher energy expenditure means more calories get burned. Cold tea also appears to burn fat faster and give you more energy. So if you prefer iced tea this summer, you’ll still get all the benefits of hot tea – and maybe more.
Will You Drink Tea to Lose Weight?
Not all weight loss strategies work well for everyone. However, it’s so easy to drink tea to lose weight – why not try it? You’ll get all the weight loss benefits in a very enjoyable form.
Tea won’t magically make pounds slip away, but it can make your exercise and diet efforts more effective. It’s a great supplement to any weight loss program. Learn more about our program here.