Slimming Tea: Lose 10 pounds every week!

Research reveals an approach that turns Tea into a slimming agent so effective, women are losing 10 pounds every week.

With a few strategic adjustments to the normal routine of most tea drinkers, tea can seriously fast-track weight loss, helping millions of women losing 10 pounds every week.

Here are the benefits you’ll enjoy just by following these smart –sipping strategies that will make slimming a cinch.

1. Drinking tea calms cravings. Savoring a strong cup of tea when you feel the urge to eat shuts down food cravings in as little as two minutes. In fact, the slimming magic of tea sets in before you even take the first sip. “When inhaled, tea’s odor molecules travel from the olfactory bulb to the limbic lobe of the brain, where they activate the brain’s satiety center”, explains Alan Hirsch, M.D., neurological director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago.

2. Drinking tea soothes stress eating. Ingesting L-theanine, an amino acid in tea, stimulates the production of alpha brain waves, UCLA scientists report. This includes a calm state that inhibits stress eating in as little as 10 minutes.

3. Drinking tea speeds metabolism. Research suggests that within 24 hours of starting a tea-drinking habit, your resting metabolic rate rises. “This helps the body burn 100 additional calories daily,” says Jeffrey B. Blumberg, Ph.D., senior scientist at Tufts University at Boston. That alone can shed 10 pounds a year. Thanks to tea’s catechins, they block the breakdown of noradrenaline, a hormone that stimulates the release of trapped fat so it can be rapidly burned for energy.

4. Drinking tea steadies blood sugar. Drinking 8 oz. of tea 15 minutes before meals helps dieters lose four times more fat than women who count calories without adding slimming tea, according to research in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. “The credit goes to tea’s theaflavins, tannins and other polyphenols,” says Steven Pratt, M.D., assistant clinical professor at the University of California at San Diego and coauthor of The SuperFoods Rx Diet (Rodale, 2008). “These antioxidants nourish the body’s insulin-regulating system and optimize the burning of carbs and fat.”

5. Drinking tea targets belly fat. Women who switched from coffee to green tea reduced visceral fat (the kind that accumulates in tissue surrounding the abdominal area) by 76 percent in four months, according to research in the journal In Vivo. “Tea’s L-theanine reduces production of the stress hormone cortisol by as much as 47 percent,” explains Mark Ukra, author of The Ultimate Tea Diet (Collins Living, 2008). “Cortisol increases belly-fat deposits and prevents fat breakdown, so as cortisol levels drop, belly fat is lost, slimming your waist line.”

6. Drinking tea keeps weight off. “On most diets, at least half of the weight lost is calorie-hungry muscle, which is a recipe for disaster because less muscle means a sluggish metabolism and a higher risk of regaining pounds,” says Harry Preuss, M.D., professor of physiology and biophysics at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. “But on a tea-rich diet, up to 90 percent of weight lost is fat, and many women actually gain three to four pounds of metabolism-boosting muscle. This makes it easier to stay slim since metabolic rate hasn’t slowed down”. What’s more, preliminary research reveals that the powerful tea antioxidant epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) helps block the formation of new fat cells. In one study, taking EGCG helped women keep off 60 percent more weight than those taking a placebo.

Look at what Tea can do:
Tea’s health benefits extend beyond slimming. It’s a proven remedy for bad breath and dry mouth, it lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, and it doubles the effectiveness of antibiotics.

Drinking five cups a day can also reduce:
1. Breast and colon cancer risk by 30%.
2. Ovarian cancer risk by 46%
3. Rheumatoid arthritis risk by 50%
4. Stroke risk by 69%

Drink five-plus servings of tea a day, including one cup before each meal. For best results, eat three balanced meals that contain at least 50 percent veggies, fruit and whole grains, plus a serving of lean protein and a bit of fat.

Cook with Tea to Slim even faster.
Seasoning dishes with tea (pulverize loose tea in a coffee grinder for one minute) will significantly up your antioxidant intake. "Fruity teas can eliminate the need for sweeteners in breakfasts or desserts", says Ukra. "Or use tea as a seasoning, which enhances flavor and seals the juices into meat so less fat, sugar and salt are needed. This simple step can help you shed an additional two pounds weekly."

For a healthy spice rub: In bowl, mix 2 tsp. ground black pepper, 1 tsp. dried thyme, 1 tsp. kosher salt and 1 tsp. finely ground oolong tea. Sprinkle on chicken before baking for a full-bodied smoky flavor. Slimming benefit: Blending black pepper with tea leaves enhances absorption of pound-paring catechins by 60 percent.

Enjoying these tea-packed products can deliver similar slimming benefits as drinking the brew:

Overwhelmed by Stress? Each packet of Kashi Heart To Heart Instant Oatmeal contains a hefty dose of green tea (100 mg) and white tea (50 mg). For a sweet start to the day, try the apple cinnamon flavor.

Craving Fizz? A 12 oz. bottle of fruity pomegranate or raspberry Steaz Organic Sparkling Green Tea fills in for an afternoon soda while delivering the health benefits of a cup of green tea.

Need a Chocolate fix? Smile Chocolatiers Choclatea bars (at Whole Foods Market stores)are an infusion of crushed tea leaves and chocolate. Coconut-Green Tea dark chocolate is truly tasty.