Weight Loss with Green Tea

Is green tea good for weight loss?

The benefits of green tea have been extensively researched through the past decade. Some studies shows that green tea extract may boost metabolism and help burn fat. Scientists believe that while caffeine acts as a stimulant, something else in tea may be promoting a preference for the use of fat as an energy source. Since both of these are predictive of weight loss, it is tempting to draw the conclusion that drinking green tea will lead to weight loss. But researchers caution us that comparatively few studies have been done and that other variables in the study may have also contributed to the participants’ weight loss.

All tea comes from the same plant–black, green, and oolong teas all have the same parents. The difference in the teas lies in how the teas are prepared after picking. Black and oolong tea are fermented, but Green tea is not. Therefore the active constituents remain unaltered in green tea. The most important ingredient in green tea is the phytonutrient eppigallocatchin or EGCG for short. This substance is a polyphenolic compound that acts as an antioxidant.

Green tea is made from unfermented leaves, which means that they are not exposed to air. The longer the leaf is exposed to the air, the darker it becomes. Over the centuries, as tea plants grew in the sun they protected themselves from photosynthetic stressors by forming chemicals known as polyphenols. We are probably more familiar with one group of polyphenols called flavonoids, a compound similar to those found in many fruits and vegetables that we particularly value due to their antioxidant properties.

It is also important to stress here that even if green tea consumption does lead to weight loss, certain people should not drink it. People with heart problems, kidney disorders, stomach ulcers, and anxiety disorders should not take green tea. Pregnant and breastfeeding women should avoid it as well. Green tea can also interfere with many prescribed medications, so it may be necessary to first talk to your doctor before drinking it just to be safe. Generally speaking, there is probably nothing dangerous about drinking green tea or Wu-Yi oolong tea as a beverage, but when people are using any food or drink as a weight loss aid, they tend to go overboard…and this can create problems.

Drink green tea often in moderation and take green tea supplements that contain EGCG on a daily basis as an excellent insurance policy for your good health.

Three Diet Mistakes To Avoid

Even though there are tons of information available about weight loss on and off the Internet, the same diet mistakes are being made over and over every day. We are not talking here about little slip-ups where you ate a slice of pie that was not on the plan, but big mistakes that lead to failure to lose the weight that you want to lose. Understanding these errors can help you develop the attitude that will lead to permanent weight loss for you.

1. The All Or Nothing Attitude

All or nothing dieters will often pick out a complicated diet that is almost impossible for them to maintain. Before beginning, they will search the kitchen for anything that does not fit the plan and throw it in the garbage. They are planning to be the perfect dieter, and so they will be, for one day, three days, seven days or even a couple of weeks. Then, inevitably, something happens that means they cannot keep to the diet one time. Immediately the whole thing is ruined in their eyes and the diet is over. They go to the store and buy all the things that went into the garbage last week and proceed to gain back all the weight that they lost, as fast as possible.

If you are this kind of dieter you need to ask yourself some tough questions. Do you really want to lose weight permanently, or just lose a few pounds so that you can enjoy putting them back on again? The way forward is to make small changes to what you eat so that you have a slow but steady weight loss.

2. The Attitude of Sacrifice

Another common mistake is to view your diet as a period of sacrifice. You do not allow yourself the foods that you enjoy most while you are on your way to your target weight. You may have a great diet plan and be very successful in losing weight, but what happens when you reach your goal? You have not learnt to eat ‘bad foods’ in moderation so as soon as you start, you are likely to go out of control. It is better to include a little of everything in your diet and learn to enjoy it in small quantities. Yes, even chocolate!

3. Goal Failure

Setting achievable goals is vital in any weight loss plan. Goals should be clear, realistic and set out in writing. While you probably do have an ideal weight in your mind, unless you are only very slightly overweight it is probably too distant to be useful. A more useful goal would be to lose two pounds per week for the first five weeks and then one pound per week after that. Some weeks you will lose more and some less, some weeks you may even gain, but if you track your progress on a graph you will see that ups and downs are natural and do not stop you progressing steadily toward your major goal.

If you have been making these mistakes, do not worry. The most important point in dieting as in so many other things is to move on. Learn from your failures as well as your success and do not use a mistake as an excuse for giving up. The only way to achieve your goal permanently is to make a commitment to become a healthier person. Remember that eating normally includes eating more some days and less others. Learn to enjoy food in moderation and you have every chance of avoiding these bad diet mistakes.