7 Tips For A Successful Green Tea Diet
Green tea diet is becoming more and more popular basically for 2 key reasons:
It is extremely easy to follow. No need for counting the calories and starve yourself. Just few cups of green tea every day and you are ready to reach your desired weight. You can also take green tea pills if you don’t like the pure tea itself, or just don’t have time to prepare it.
Health benefits and weight loss promotion of green tea was proven dozen times. So you are not risking health issues with some un-verified weight loss supplement.
Following are the 7 key tips that work great with green tea diet and will help you fasten the overall weight loss process.
Green tea diet tip #1: Get used to the green tea
Try to replace most of your daily beverages with green tea. This means that also the morning coffee should be replaced. Try to aim to have at least 6-7 glassed of the every day. Drink it whenever you like to, there are really no strict rules here. Drink it when you wake up, have a glass between the meals or with the meals, have a glass before you go to sleep. The temperature of the tea doesn’t matter, hot or cold? You decide. Or even consume green tea pills if you don’t like the taste or flavor of the tea, or you just don’t have the time to prepare the tea several times a day.
Green tea diet tip #2: Alcohol is not your friend
Moderate amount of alcohol is widely accepted among health care professionals as it has some health benefits. Especially the red wine is full of anti-oxidants, so a cup of red wine every evening is really beneficial and advised. On the other hand, alcohol carries some harmful side effects, so especially pregnant women and people with heart issues should totally avoid drinking it.
Even though the red wine is great due to its antioxidant power, it has far less antioxidants than the green tea. Also it was proven that the EGCG antioxidant found in green tea is about twice as powerful as resveratrol, the antioxidant found in red wine.
It is a known fact that alcohol is promoting weight gain, so of course it should be avoided once you are on a diet. Besides, alcohol stimulates the food cravings making you feel hungry even if you not. As a result, you consume additional calories that are transferred right into your belly.
Green tea diet tip #3: Avoid refined sugar
About 20 years ago, when the obesity epidemic was about to start, the media was flooded with different fat related rumors. As a result, an average American’s fat consumption was reduced dramatically in the past two decades. The whole idea behind the fats was simple – all fats are bad and make you fat, so avoid them at all circumstances.
So far so good, people were avoiding the fat consumption. But somehow, the whole number of obese people was not going down, actually, it started to grow. Pretty strange, isn’t it? The reason behind this was simple. Food manufacturers simply replaced all the fats with refined sugar and while buying their food, people where only checking the fats on the label. No one really noticed that even though the food was fat-free, it contained 100% refined sugar.
Besides fats, sugar is another source of energy. And of course, when you have a lot of extra and unused energy, it will be stored in a form of body fat for a future use. Also, when there is too much sugar in your blood it stimulates food cravings and makes you eat more.
Green tea diet tip #4: Don’t starve yourself
Never go on all those “starvation” diets. It was proven many times that they don’t work; and yet people trust them over and over. All the diets based on starvation work only as a quick weight fix. After some time, all the weight is gained back.
There are basically two reasons why these diets don’t work. First, they are extremely hard to follow. Sooner or later the dieter will reach a point when they can’t sustain the hunger anymore and start over-eating. Second, when you are hungry all day long, your body will switch to “energy saving” mode. As a result, the body will use the calories more effectively and store them in form of fats.
Green tea diet tip #5: Eat more with smaller portions
A lot of people is exercising on daily basis and they are still having trouble to lose even a single pound. The reason might simpler than you think. If you are eating huge portions only 2 times a day, well, that exactly the wrong approach. You should be eating up to 6 times a day with smaller portions on the table.
When you eat like this, you are proving constant fuel (energy) for your body, so it doesn’t have to store part of it in a form of fats for a future use. Instead, the metabolism will be busted that will result in fast calories burn out.
Green tea diet tip #6: Move!
A lot of people want to get in shape while sitting in front of the TV, or playing video games, or just scrolling on some social network while on their smartphone. That is never going to work, no matter what “magic” supplements you take. Regular exercise is a crucial part of every weight loss process. This doesn’t have to be anything intense, exercise just a few times a week and you will notice wonders after a while.
If workouts or exercises are something new for you, try to find something that you have fun with. You like nature and being outdoors? Take a walk and enjoy the nature around you. Waist trimmer use is also a good option while walking for a fast result. Or are you more competitive? Find a partner and challenge them. You like to swim? Great, visit a swimming pool regularly. It really could be anything; you just need to move your body.
No matter what cardio exercises you go for, start with at least 15 minutes three times a week. Increase the intensity once you feel ready for it.
Green tea diet tip #7: Be mindful of unhealthy fats
There are basically 3 types of fats, two of them you should avoid or at least eat moderately:
Saturated fats – these are found in animal products such as cheese or butter. They can increase your cholesterol level what is considered to be unhealthy.
Trans fats – these fatty acids are basically processed oils and are cancerous, thus cancer forming.
Unsaturated fats – these are the good guys. These fats can be found in fish, nuts and olive oil. They contain healthy omega 3 and 6 acids.
This photo is a guide on the ideal intake of each type of foods, as well as the types of fats you see here. As you see, trans fats are best left avoided, saturated fats should be eaten moderately, and unsaturated fats are good for you.
We hope this guide was helpful. As you see, diet is not only about what you eat (or don’t eat), it’s about changing your lifestyle. We know it may seem like you’re required to make a lot of sacrifices, but in the end you will be feeling much better than you feel now, and your extra pounds will be gone for good!