How Can Tea Help To Promote Weight Loss?
The Key to Losing Weight
Many recent studies and books about nutrition say that the most important factors for losing weight are insulin sensitivity and metabolism, because these will determine whether your body stores energy as fat...or whether it burns it for energy.
More muscle = More insulin sensitivity
Running is great for burning calories...but it's not great for building muscle. In fact, running too much can actually burn muscle tissue because if the body has no glycogen to use up as energy, it will catabolize muscle for energy. So instead of spending hours running every week, try incorporating some weight training exercises like squats, deadlifts, push ups, rows and pullups.
Fiberless, Processed, Refined Food = Less insulin Sensitivity
When we eat food that is processed, has no fiber, and is full of refined sugars...that spikes our insulin, which prompts our pancreas to over-secrete insulin and this makes us insulin resistant. That's the opposite of what we want. This means that our body will secrete too much insulin, which will store energy as fat.
Foods to avoid: Simple carbohydrates such as white bread, pasta, candy, soft drinks, juice. Processed foods like bacon, burgers, pizza, and anything that's fried.
Foods to enjoy: Whole foods like vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, meat, fish and tea of course!
Fiberless, processed, refined foods are calorically dense, they provide little nutrition (vitamins & minerals) and they're not very satiating. This is why we can easily eat a whole tub of ice cream that's 1000 calories in one sitting. Yet, it's impossible to eat 1000 calories worth of spinach in one sitting. So there's no need to starve yourself in order to lose weight. As long as you eat the right foods, you will feel satiated.
The Key = Consistency
The key is simple...You don't have to stop eating the foods you like, but you DO have to make some changes. This can be as simple as adding vegetables to a delicious pasta dish! Don't think about it like you’re starting a diet, you’re simply adopting a new healthier lifestyle and losing weight as a result.
The most important thing is that YOU can maintain consistency with this new lifestyle. If you need to do cheat meals on the weekends so that you can eat healthier for the rest of the week, it's okay as long as you do it moderately. If you are like me, and need to eat large portions, try intermittent fasting so that you can eat 1 or 2 large meals and the rest of the day you are fasting.
If you find it hard to go to the gym for an hour 5 times a week, then try going 3 times a week or exercise for just 30 minutes instead of an hour. The point is that the ONLY way you're going to lose weight and keep it off is if you have a consistent plan.
Extreme diets may work in the short term... but the goal is to lose weight in the long term. That's why you should follow a plan that you can maintain. Do what you have to do in order to be consistent in your new lifestyle. It's the only way you'll maintain your health in the long run.
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Studies
Palo azul's scientific and common names: Eysenhardtia polystachya, Cyclolepis genistoides, Lignum nephricitum, kidney wood, kidney tea, palo dulce
(2021) Biochemistry, Lipolysis Fatty Acid Beta Oxidation
(2020) WebMD: Healthy Foods High in Polyphenols
(2016) Green tea, weight loss and physical activity
(2011) Anti-obesity effects of green tea catechins: a mechanistic review.
(2014) Novel insights of dietary polyphenols and obesity.
(2016) Mechanisms of Body Weight Reduction by Black Tea Polyphenols
(2018) A Review on the Weight-Loss Effects of Oxidized Tea Polyphenols