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Step 1
When it comes to lowering your weight, there's no magic formula. It really comes down to expending more calories than you take in through exercise and a healthy diet. Even though there are no quick fixes for losing those excess pounds, there are simple ways to put the odds of losing weight more in your favor. Keep in mind that small changes in lifestyle habits can add up to significant weight loss over time. One way to give yourself an advantage is to use tea to help lower your weight. Here's why this option works for some people.
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Step 2
You're probably already familiar with the many studies that show the health benefits of green tea and, to a lesser extent black tea. One such benefit is a subtle metabolism boosting effect thought to be related to the catechins present in the tea. Most studies show regular intake of green tea can burn anywhere from eighty to one-hundred and thirty additional calories per day. Over time, the addition of green tea to the diet could result in significant weight loss.
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Step 3
Another tea that's been shown to be beneficial for controlling weight is oolong tea. This tea comes from the same Camellia sinensis plant as black and green tea, but it's allowed to ferment more than green tea and less than black tea, resulting in the presence of a higher concentration of polymerized polyphenols than seen in green or black tea. These polymerized polyphenols seem to stimulate fat metabolism. Oolong tea has also been shown to slightly increase metabolic rate in studies which may be beneficial in helping to lower weight when combined with a healthy diet and exercise.
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Step 4
When making the decision to use tea for controlling weight, it's important to keep in mind that it's not a substitute for exercise and a healthy diet. The key is to use it as an adjunct to a healthy lifestyle. For it to have an effect, you'll need to use tea consistently rather than drinking an occasional cup here and a cup there. To see results over time, around five or six cups a day would be needed as a substitute for your regular beverages. When you use tea in place of a high sugar drink, you're automatically reducing calories which is helpful for controlling weight.
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Step 5
To use tea in your own weight control efforts, instead of drinking soft drinks and other high calorie beverages, drink tea instead by alternating between unsweetened green tea and oolong tea. In this way, you benefit from the polymerized phenols in the oolong tea as well as the high catechins present in the green tea. If you're sensitive to caffeine, have high blood pressure, or heart disease, talk to your doctor before adding green or oolong tea to your diet for controlling weight.
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Step 6
If you use tea that's unsweetened as your beverage of choice, drink it frequently and consistently, and combine it with a healthy diet and exercise plan, there's a good chance you'll see those pounds slowly start to drop off. Don't be tempted by unhealthy weight loss supplements, use tea and a healthy lifestyle for controlling weight instead. It's a better alternative.
Comments
ashiflett said
on 3/5/2009 Excellent advice! I gave you five stars!
amyva said
on 2/26/2009 great advice! I had no idea that you had to drink it consistently for the desired outcome. Does it change the benefit if you add splenda and ice to your green tea?5*, recommend