Green Tea - Weight loss?
 

Well, I read alot of health boards and ive read some about green tea, many people say that it aids in weight loss due to something in it, I know caffeine in general dehydrates you but I see people losing up to a pound more a week drinking a glass or 2 of green tea a day. Anyone know exactly why it helps in weight loss? I know caffeine speeds up metabolism a bit however, there really isnt that much caffeine in green tea as I understand, or at least not enough to lose as much extra weight as some people have been.

Im gonna start trying to have a glass of green tea though before I go to bed just to clear out the system since I understand its good for you, I looked at labels and caffeine never wakes me up so im not concerned with that and theres no sugar, anyone see any problem with this?

(I drink like a gallon - gallon and a half of water a day so im not concerned with the glass of green tea dehydrating me.)

any opinions/knowledge about green tea weight loss is appreciated!

and, anyone notice my threads are like covering the health forums lol? I make one ever few days they just never seem to go down ><

My brother drinks a shitload of green tea and he's still fat.

I drink about three to four cups of green tea a day. I havent lost any weight, but I'm not trying to either. green tea has anti-oxidants which are good for fighting cancer. It really does jack me up though with the caffeine. I have been hitting the gym hard and often.

The caffeine in it aids in boosting up your heartrate during a workout. Some people like to drink a cup of it before they work out. As far as it, in itself, making you lose a lb a week... well i'm sorry to burst your bubble but it is false :( (would be cool if it was true though).

I have always heard that too, but I have been drinking it at a clip of several cups a day (because I like it and for the antioxidents) for a good while and haven't noticed any weight loss from it. It is still a little bit healthier replacement for coffee whether or not it has any weight loss benefits.

green tea is a stimulant. Plus, you get all the anti-oxidants that pappamojo mentioned.

it acts in a way like ephedrine, without the bad side effects.

Yerba Mate is a type of green tea that has almost no caffeine, yet has all the positive effects of caffeine without the negatives.

I have a question myself on green tea. Is arizona Diet green tea good for you? Or does it lose it's good stuff in the processing? I like to drink about 3 glasses a day, because I know green tea is good for you, but am I just wasting my time?

green tea's antioxidant EGCG stimulates the body to burn calories, about 80cals for 2-3 cups to tea.

You burn 80 cals for every 2-3 cups, or 2-3 cups contains 80 cals?

......burn

Hahaha sorry... I misread what you posted. Now I realize how ridiculous my last post was :D ;)

bah wrong thread :)

It will boost your metabolism a bit and make you burn more calories. But without a proper exersize regime + heathy eating, it won't help you lose any weight.

The majority of "supplements" like green tea, fat burners, etc, actually do work..its just that they do so little that only people who are really exersizing right and eating right will see the results.

for example: (all "percentages" were just pulled out of my ass, but they give you an idea of what im trying to say)

exersizing + diet = say, 95 percent of your results, then you can get another 5 percent from using green tea/caffeine/fat burners/etc.....but you can't skip the first 95 percent, you need to be eating right and exersizing first.

Plus, unsweeted green tea has almost no calories. If you normally drink soda, switching to grean tea can shed quite a few pounds.

It most certainly is healthier than soda, maybe even coffee, but it alone probably won\'t make you lose any weight. Your weight is determined by your genes + diet + exercise; I doubt any food by itself can significantly aid weight loss, not even grape fruit, and not even green tea.

What I have noticed about teas, low carb diets, etc.... is that when on a diet of watch what you eat, you tend to work out more. When I try to eat better, I also find myself working out more, so the benefits are unclear. It is probably more from the working out than what I eat that helps my body. I think that both eating right and exercising are good though. Just a thought. I don't know anyone who says I am going to eat nothing but cakes and cookies but is in the gym wondering why they are still out of shape. Working out and eating right go hand in hand.

One can of coke = 140 dietary calories
2 can's of coke per day = about 1/2 lb of weight per week, or about 30 lbs per year (3500 KCal/lb)

So, replacing 2 cans of coke with 3 cups of unsweetened/milked green tea would lose you 1/2 lb of weight per week. =)

One concern about the 'tea before you go to bed bit' -- it could make your sleep less restful without waking you up. Not certain.

Green tea is herbal..no caffeine.

False. Green tea contains about half as much caffeine as black tea, which is about the same as a can of cola.

I think all of these fad weight-loss ideas (low carbs, green tea) are BS. But aside from that, green tea is great stuff. It's about the only caffienated substance I drink now, and I have about 3 cups a day. It makes me feel pretty good, and if I drink a couple of liters of water every day I feel great. Antioxidants have a lot more benefits then fighting cancer and obesity, they're great for just about every tissue you have in your body.

But if you're looking to lose weight, trying to make yourself stick to a work out schedule or something usually won't work because it's not fun. Take up hiking, and don't hike on trails. Blaze your own trail. Go places where nobody has been before. The curiosity about what's over the next hill will keep going a lot longer than what you thought yourself capable of. You'll come home so sore you can barely move, but the difference between that and abusing yourself in a gym is that you'll be smiling as your legs feel they're about to fall off.

Oh, also, remember to drink plenty of water. A lot of people with weight problems probably suspect that they have slow metabolisms. One of the main reasons for slower metabolisms in today's society is that people aren't getting enough water. When your body doesn't get enough water, it slows down. Soda, coffee, hard liquor, ETC usually have so much stuff in them the amount of water you gain from drinking it is negligible.

Good luck.

In making a cup of tea, does it really matter if the water is hot or not?

I mean, in terms of extracting the antioxidants, caffeine, etc.

The water cooler here sucks ass and is SO slow... and I get a cup every 30 mins or so. It's pretty irritating to sit there and wait for the water to trickle out. It seriously takes about 2 or 3 minutes to fill a cup. We don't have an extra coffee maker, otherwise I'd fill it w/ water and keep that hot all day.

So screw it, I'll just use the cold water, but I wanna make sure it doesn't dumb down the benefits you'd normally get.

There are recommended water temperatures for each kind of tea. The temp (and steep time) can really make a difference in flavor. Temp and steep time do also affect the extraction of whatever else is in there (tannins, polyphenols, antioxidants).

Black tea should use boiling water; green tea should use water cooled off a minute after a boil. Going too hot on green tea will make it bitter, and going too cool will get you tasteless, murky water (yes, with less of the "good stuff").

Re: your slow water cooler--try bringing in a portable electric water boiling pitcher. I just bought one from my local drug store for $15...it kicks ass.

as far as i know, green tea has anti oxidants as stated above. it also helps clean out your system of grease and such. i wouldnt go as far as to saying that it will make you lose weight, but it might aid in it. as also stated above, when trying to shed of some lbs. one is conscience of it thru diet and excersize. i believe it helps your digestive system too, which in essence can help your metabolism, which can increase calories used/burned.

waste of time. get your ass out there and walk/jog/run. get an mp3 player with all that money you were gonna spendd on tea

The reason there are studies that link Green Tea consumption to weight loss is because tea drinkers often lead healthier lifestyles, including exercise and proper diet.

In short, drinking green tea, exercising 3 times a week, and burning more calories than you consume will most likely result in weight loss.

Drinking green tea, only lifting a remote control, and eating your weight in cheeseburgers over a week will not.

It's also relative to other beverages being compared. Of course drinking tea is healthier than drinking Cola. Does that prove that green tea makes you lose weight? No, it just proves that you eliminated the extra calories from the cola. Replacing your drink with tea or not, you're just consuming less calories.

I've lost 40lbs since last year through a lot of willpower, eating healthier, being more active (although not working out) and drinking at least 3 or 4 mugs of green tea a day. I'm certain the green tea helped by speeding up my metabolism a bit.

My grandmother is also hooked on green tea, and she has lost 9kg (20lb) in a year just from the green tea alone. She changed absolutely nothing in her diet or regular physical activities.

I use green tea to battle the onset of a cold/crud. As soon as I feel it coming on, I drink 32oz a day of tea with honey. I have not missed a day of work due to cold/flu or crud since I started.

BTW, a small pot of tea with dinner is very satisfying.