This story has been updated since it was originally posted on 5/10/2021 to include more expert insight
When it comes to losing weight, it’s easy to wish for a quick fix to take away the time and effort that goes into making healthy choices. However, while there are a variety of things you can integrate into your day to day life which may help to expedite the process, there’s no single trick you can really implement which will rid your body of excess pounds overnight. Healthy weight loss comes from the culmination of healthy habits that you follow regularly, so it’s especially important to start off each morning on the right foot, making positive choices which will follow throughout the day.
Just as it’s vital to eat a well-balanced breakfast to work towards weight loss, there are also certain beverages which you can integrate into your routine which may improve your metabolism, increasing fat burn in the body to make it slightly easier to lose weight. If you’ve been making positive choices and following a healthy diet but still feel like you need an extra leg up for weight loss, there’s one drink you should be having each morning that health experts agree is exceptional for enhancing your chances of weight loss with ease: Green tea.
Find more info about the waist-slimming benefits of this morning beverage, including expert insight of Dietitian Trista Best and Nutritionist Lisa Richards, creator of The Candida Diet, below.
How green tea promotes weight loss
If you look forward to your morning dose of caffeine in the morning, you aren’t alone. However, while coffee certainly has its health benefits, trading it in for green tea may be more effective in the long run for boosting your metabolism and allowing your body to lose weight more effectively. Antioxidants offer you a variety of health benefits, and green tea is rife with catechin, a valuable antioxidant.
"Tea has been used for many years as a means of improving metabolism," Richards tells us. "The catechins in tea, which are classified as flavonoids, are the metabolism boosting compounds of the drink."
Studies have shown, indeed, that catechins are particularly useful in enhancing your metabolism, helping your body to burn more calories at rest and making it easier to maintain the deficit needed to lose weight. The study also showed that both caffeine and catechin which are found in green tea can help to increase energy levels in the body whilst simultaneously breaking down excess fat.
In addition to boosting your metabolism, Best notes that the antioxidants in this beverage "have widespread health benefits from weight loss, preventing illness, reducing inflammation and even potentially preventing cancer." Reducing inflammation can be an especially helpful factor when it comes to weight loss because, as she notes, "When inflammation is at a normal level in the body it is able to function at its optimal level. This means our metabolism will improve as it doesn't work against inflammation and fatigue."
It's also worth noting that the gut-healthy benefits of green tea can help you slim down. Kirstin Kirkpatrick R.D.N., consultant for Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine for the Cleveland Clinic tells Men’s Health, “I think some of the most promising ones are looking at green tea’s effects on the microbiome,” she says. Research is increasingly finding that green tea alters the gut’s microbiome, and those changes could be what makes it helpful for dropping pounds.” Learn more about how to improve your gut health here.
The bottom line
On top of a well-balanced diet and exercise routine, drinking green tea each morning is a great way to kickstart weight loss and give your metabolism a boost so it becomes even easier to see the results of your hard work. Loaded with caffeine and antioxidants, this morning beverage can offer profound benefits for improving the function of your body so you can feel your best while consuming ingredients that work towards your goals. It’s still important to integrate other healthy habits into your day to day life to really reap the benefits, but starting your day off with a cup of green tea could be just the thing your body needs to lose weight and keep it off.
