What does my morning routine have to do with tea for weight loss?
I used to wake up and just lie there hitting snooze. I felt a sense of dread about starting the day ahead.
The extra weight on my body, not sleeping well and just feeling bad about myself made me not want to get up and get dressed. So I would lie in bed and avoid it as long as possible.
Not anymore! I turn off the alarm, stretch and I’m at it! Feeling strong and fresh and ready for my day. I love the look of admiration I get from my husband as we get ready.
“You’re so full of energy in the morning now. It helps me get revved up for my day, too. It’s awesome!”
With a little smile, he added that I look so fit and vibrant. I love hearing his compliments and feeling his eyes on me!
Morning Tea for Weight Loss
Part of what helped me transform my body (and my mornings) was exploring different kinds of tea for weight loss, and other belly fat burning foods.
Teas are full of natural compounds, with caffeine and catechin working together, that stoke your body’s fat-burners and even block fat cells from forming!
Plus, tea also has tons of other health benefits, like cancer-fighting antioxidants, better sleep, improved insulin sensitivity and a healthier heart. Just to name a few!
If I’m going to drink something, I want it to be healthy but it’s even better if it helps me lose weight! Here are some of the best selections of tea for weight loss.
Note that while tea has been shown to improve your metabolism, the biggest advantage of tea for weight loss is to replace high-sugar drinks like sodas with it.
1. Green Tea for Fat Loss and Fighting Fatigue
Green tea tastes smooth, sweet or bittersweet, and floral.
There are compounds called catechins in green tea that burn fat cells, especially belly fat. They also help the liver speed up its ability to turn fat into energy. Fat that never makes it to your hips and thighs!
About 2.5 cups a day helps elevate your metabolic rate, improve insulin activity and increase fat burning. Plus, the caffeine (about ⅓ of what’s in a cup of coffee) in green tea helps wake you up and improves focus.
Matcha is a green tea that’s stronger and more beneficial than others. Matcha tea leaves are ground into a fine powder to consume instead of just steeping the leaves in water.
You’ll get 137 times the metabolism-revving compared to traditional green tea! Have matcha with unsweetened almond milk and a little honey for a matcha latte.
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2. Oolong Tea for Weight Loss + Fat Burn
Or “black dragon tea” is a caffeinated Chinese tea with a smooth, light but bold taste. It helps boost your body’s fat metabolizing ability. A study showed people trying to lose weight who drank oolong tea lost a pound a week!
Catechins are the compounds found in both green and oolong teas that boost the body’s ability to metabolize fats. Oolong also inhibits the body’s ability to absorb fat with the antioxidant polymerized polyphenol.
3. Mint Tea for Weight Loss — Curb Cravings and Treat Yourself
As research shows, the sweet, stimulating smell and taste of mint tea actually curbs your appetite! When you’re feeling peckish, try sipping a cup of mint tea and breathing in the aromatic scent. You’ll feel calmer and your cravings will drift away with the steam from your cup.
Mint tea has a nice flavor and no caffeine, so it’s good to enjoy after dinner. That way, you’re not tempted to snack or have dessert. It’s a whole new meaning to your after-dinner mint!
4. White Tea for Fat Loss and a Focus Boost
White tea has a distinct flavor. It’s not as bold, but is more delicate and slightly sweet.
White Tea is less processed than other teas.
It prevents new fat cells from forming. L-theanine, another powerful compound in white tea, even helps decrease stress and promotes concentration.
Surprising herbal tea benefits and 8 caffeine-free teas (some you probably haven’t tried!) Benefits of honey and cinnamon for weight loss, insulin sensitivity & more (+recipes) Health Benefits of Cinnamon (Coming Soon)
5. Rooibos Tea for Weight Loss and Stress Relief
This lightly sweet, naturally red-tinted tea helps reduce stress hormones that make you hungry.
Rooibos also regulates fat-storage and reduces cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.
This herbal tea is another caffeine-free option that you can enjoy any time of day or even at night.
Here’s a summary of the five types of tea for weight loss and their benefits and my 4-step method to choose your best tea for weight loss:
Summary of five types of tea for weight-loss and their benefits
1. Green tea – Fat and Fatigue-Buster
2. Oolong Tea – Fat-Blocker and Burner
3. Mint Tea – Cravings-Curber and Light Treat
4. White Tea – Focus-Booster and Fat Stopper
5. Rooibos Tea – Stress-Reducer and Heart-Helper
Nagina’s 4-step method to choosing your best tea for weight loss
- Choose a tea that gives you the specific benefit that you are looking for. If you are looking for all or any of the benefits, skip to #2
- What time will you be drinking the tea? If it’s at night, choose a caffeine-free tea. If it’s in the morning or afternoon, caffeinated is fine. Maybe one of each!
- Choose the flavor that you like. It’s important to drink a flavor that tastes good to you. If flavor is more important than the weight-loss benefit, then start here.
- Try out different tea bags or loose leaf tea. Remember, every brand is different. Read Surprising Benefits of Herbal Teas for 3 of my favorite herbal tea bags that are safe and natural.
Finally, here’s the best fat burning tea recipe I’ve made. A few other tea for weight loss favorites are ginger tea, black tea and Pu Erh tea.
Tea for weight loss might just be that extra little boost your body needs to tip the scale into the fat-burning zone.
By activating your body’s fat-burning mechanisms in a safe, healthy way you’ll feel better and fit into your favorite jeans again sooner! Plus, all the additional health benefits of tea make adding them to your life an obviously good idea.
Are some of these teas new to you? Which ones have you tried? Which ones are you looking up on Amazon right now?! Let me know!
About the Author
Nagina Abdullah is a health coach for middle-aged women and professionals. She coaches women to boost their metabolism naturally, shed pounds and keep them off. Her work with weight loss clients led to the creation of Masala Body, an online weight loss platform that provides an easy and accessible system that helps women sustainably lose weight. She has helped over 1200 women successfully lose from 10-80 lbs and create a sustainable lifestyle change. Nagina earned her degree in Molecular and Cell Biology from UC Berkeley. Read More…
How can I get all of these teas or where can I get it from?
You can get it from a grocery store. You will find different brands of at least some, if not all!
Was wondering about the Matcha tea .. I was told you should not drink this tea if you are on blood pressure pills is this true as i was wanting to try this tea ..
Thank you ..
Please listen to your doctor!