Everyone seems to be looking for quick and easy ways to lose weight. Diet plans, weight loss pills, rigorous workout routines, and special weight loss foods and shakes seem to be everywhere.
But researchers suggest there's something else you can do.
Drink tea
Prevention reported that according to The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that those who drink tea are slimmer. Dutch researchers examined studies and meta-analyses on how green, white and oolong tea affected body weight and "found that tea's natural ingredients-catechins and caffeine-help increase a person's energy expenditure, or the calories they burn just by being. The compounds also increase fat oxidation (fat breakdown) in the body."
Is that all?
Well, maybe not. Though there may be health benefits beyond weight loss, Prevention notes that the results are much less remarkable when tea drinking is not combined with healthy diet and exercise.
Drinking tea or not, weight loss still takes work, but it's doable.
Add healthy foods to your regular diet
Diet is more important than exercise when it comes to actual weight loss. If you're working out at the gym religiously, but your diet is full of carbonated beverages, fast food, and sugary desserts, then you won't make much progress (if any).
However, by giving your body the proper nutrition it needs, you will be much more likely to get and maintain a healthy-for-you body weight. Avoid processed food as much as possible because all those added chemicals have adverse effects on your body.
WebMd suggests several foods to help improve your weight: beans, soup, dark chocolate, pureed vegetables, eggs and sausage, nuts, apples, yogurt, and grapefruit. These foods can help with higher satiety levels due to fiber or protein content.
If tea isn't for you, make sure you drink plenty of water. One suggestion is to divide your weight in half and then drink that number in ounces of water. Not only will water help you feel full faster, but it also helps your body rid itself of toxins.
Whatever you do, be mindful of what healthy is for you. Foods that may work for one person, may be bad for another. If you're not convinced, try giving up processed and sugary foods for a month a see if you physically—and even emotionally and mentally—feel better. Eating healthy has more benefits than seeing lower numbers on a scale.