Green Tea: The Key to Weight Loss and Maintenance

Have you been looking out for a way to drop those pounds without sweating it out in the gym? Or are those workout sessions not yielding you the much anticipated results? If your answer to these questions is yes, then put all your worries to rest and start steeping some green tea.

You might think that it’s just another fad and there is actually no benefit of sipping green tea; however, a lot of research is being done on the value of this drink. Rich in anti-oxidants, this tea is herbal, refreshing and packed with energy.

The various benefits of this drink make it a favorite of a lot many people. However, the best part about it is that it can be had both in summers and in the winters. For best results, drink green tea early in the morning, on an empty stomach. Drinking it half an hour before your meals has been a proven way of dropping weight. There is simple science behind how green tea functions. We shall discuss much about this wonder product in this article, which hopefully helps you know it better.

Green tea for weight loss has been consumed by people all across the world since times immemorial, but it is just now that the researchers have been waking up to the numerous therapeutic benefits that it offers. To put it straight, long drawn researches have indicated that consuming this zero calorie beverage is one of the healthiest ways to lose weight.

Why Green Tea?

Produced from non-fermented leaves, green tea contains fairly high levels of antioxidants and bioactive ingredients known as polyphenol. The polyphenol found in green tea benefits for weight loss and helps you protect from a number of diseases and are classified as catechins, which are believed to stimulate the metabolism of fats. Furthermore, the polyphenols function together to activate an enzyme in your body that helps cut down the excess fat from your body. However, you should be consuming green tea on a regular basis for this to happen. Additionally, green tea is believed to do wonders when incorporated into your weight loss program.

Selecting a Suitable Green Tea

While the benefits of consuming green tea are many, it is important to note that you must find a green tea that you can enjoy sipping. This is because, often the people who are new to green tea find its taste unpleasant and bitter. Well, the fact that the green tea people buy could be of an inferior quality or it might not have been brewed properly could be the reason why people do not quite like the flavor of green tea initially.

Green Tea Brands

Listed below are some of the most popular and best-selling green tea brands in India:

• Lipton Green Tea
• Tetley Pure Green Tea
• Taj Mahal Green Tea
• Twinings Green Tea 
• Organic India Tulsi Green Tea
• GAIA Green Tea 

Whenever you buy green tea, read the ingredients on the label carefully. If the tea contains added sugar then you should probably not buy it.

Flavors of Green Tea

Green tea is available in a variety of flavors. You can choose the one that suits your tastes. The commonly available flavors include ginger, mint, lemon, jasmine, ginseng, honey, etc.

Brewing Green Tea

When brewing green tea, the temperature at which water is heated makes all the difference. The green tea might taste bitter if you heat the water more than it is required. Therefore, it is recommended that you heat the water at a temperature of 75 to 80 degrees Celsius. If you have to use tea bags, you should brew the green tea for 2-3 minutes. But if you are using tea leaves, you should brew the tea for about 3-4 minutes.

Note that to maximize the fat burning potential of the green tea, you should not add any sugar to it. Furthermore, you should go for freshly brewed green tea instead of decaffeinated and instant tea as these contain lesser antioxidants that trigger the fat metabolism.

How Much Green Tea Can You Take?

As already mentioned, the benefits of consuming green tea are many. Since the caffeine content in green teas is quite low, therefore, there is no harm in taking even 3-4 cups of green tea in a day. However, to start with, you can go with 1-2 cups of green tea in a day and gradually increase your green tea consumption.

Though green tea is a healthy alternative for those willing to kick off the extra pounds, it must be worth noting that green tea alone cannot do wonders to your body. You need to follow a diet plan or hit it off in the gym and include green tea in your daily routine to be able to achieve the best results.