Tea to lose?

If you’ve been following me, you know that I’m trying the best I can to shed the 50 pounds that I’ve put on over the last few years. I’ve tried a multitude of efforts to achieve my goal from Weight Watchers to Jenny Craig, to joining a gym; but it wasn’t until a shopping trip this past weekend that I realized my love for tea could help!

I stopped in the mall at my favorite place to get tea, Teavana, just to get a glass of iced tea; much better and more satisfying than a soda from the food court. On the counter they had a canister of diet blend tea. Curious, I asked about it and why it was considered “diet” since to me, diet simply meant without sugar. Here’s a bit of what I learned.

All types of tea have their own health benefits and most teas promote well-being and a less caffeinated option to coffee or soda. There are three different types of tea that can help you with weight loss specifically:

• Maté is an Argentinean tea that has the equivalent caffeine to coffee, but has added health benefits. It can act as an appetite suppressant. It’s great to have in the morning instead of coffee and it can help keep your snacking to a minimum before lunch. I chose to try the Raspberry Riot Lemon Maté because I like fruit flavored teas.

• Oolong teas are typically fragrant and have fruit. They help with weight loss because they help to burn fat. I chose to try the Kamiya Papaya Oolong Tea because I thought the tropical fruit flavors would be complimentary to summer.

• Pu-Erh is a type of black tea that can help with dieting by breaking down fat and oils in the body. I chose to try Strawberry Slender Pu-Erh because I love anything with strawberries!

When I got home and tried the Raspberry Riot Lemon Maté and not only was it delicious, but I really did feel full. The best part was that I didn’t even have to add sugar. The natural flavors made the tea sweet enough. I was even able to forgo the sugar substitute that I typically use. Hopefully by drinking tea to curb my appetite and burn excess fat, I can make it further toward my weight loss goal.

Happy tea drinking!