Green tea and weight loss?

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Dancetherapist
Dancetherapist Posts: 33 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Does green tea really help boost one's metabolism? I love drinking it but have never been quite sure if it's a myth or fact (that it helps you lose weight). What do you guys think?

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  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
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    cmuzzi617 wrote: »
    Does green tea really help boost one's metabolism? I love drinking it but have never been quite sure if it's a myth or fact (that it helps you lose weight). What do you guys think?

    Myth. It doesn't do anything but give you a bit of caffeine.
  • FrownWellington
    FrownWellington Posts: 20 Member
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    I drink green tea, but I am overweight because I eat too many calories and don't exercise enough. I drink it because of the antioxidants, and I like the taste. If it turns out there are other added benefits, score! But I don't think it is going to magically make up for years of poor eating habits.
  • evileen99
    evileen99 Posts: 1,564 Member
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    It doesn't help you lose weight. The "metabolism boosting" effect has been shown to be about an extra 40 calories a day--not enough to make a difference.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,472 Member
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    YES IT DOES!!! ITS GREAT!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,535 Member
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    Increase metabolism...........................pretty insignificantly. Don't rely on the hype.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • ruggedshutter
    ruggedshutter Posts: 389 Member
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    Metabolism boost? Nope It is reported to help suppress hunger though. I drink it in the afternoons occasionally and it will help curb small snack cravings for a bit.
  • jamie_lee80
    jamie_lee80 Posts: 176 Member
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    I use tea (green and herbal) to drink in the evenings and the afternoons. If I am hungry and have a hot drink it seems to make me not hungry anymore. I love drinking coffee for this reason too but I add cream to my coffee so drinking the tea saves me a lot of calories becuase I just sweeten it with stevia. I don't believe that it boosts my metabolism but I do enjoy it and it keeps me from snacking.
  • sweetteadrinker2
    sweetteadrinker2 Posts: 1,026 Member
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    Tea in general helps me not eat mindlessly, it's much better calorie wise to sip tea all day than snack.
  • daw0518
    daw0518 Posts: 459 Member
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    sweetteadrinker2 wrote: »
    Tea in general helps me not eat mindlessly, it's much better calorie wise to sip tea all day than snack.

    Same. I drink a lot of tea, especially in the evenings, just to keep myself from boredom eating. I don't believe the hype about it doing anything special for weight loss on it's own though.
  • muse09
    muse09 Posts: 15 Member
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    The caffeine in green tea gives you a tiny boost in metabolism. The true benefit is that it helps curb cravings. Also, the fact that it's a fluid means it will help reduce bloating and aid in digestion. Overall, tea, taken black, is a much better alternative to pop or juice! :smile:
  • foobazola
    foobazola Posts: 29 Member
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    It helps me from snacking too much, but otherwise not a metabolism booster.
  • CaitlinW19
    CaitlinW19 Posts: 431 Member
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    evileen99 wrote: »
    It doesn't help you lose weight. The "metabolism boosting" effect has been shown to be about an extra 40 calories a day--not enough to make a difference.

    40 calories a day would be about 4 pounds a year. I mean, clearly you aren't going to notice an amazing difference in weight loss if you start drinking green tea, but 4 pounds a year by that simple change is pretty good I think. Every little bit! :-)
  • Adrianox85
    Adrianox85 Posts: 17 Member
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    I found myself putting too much sugar in it to make it palatable and basically canceling out the effect.
  • fuehne777
    fuehne777 Posts: 1 Member
    edited February 2015
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    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18326618 Check out this study on Green Tea extract, seems to make a difference with exercise.
  • spzjlb
    spzjlb Posts: 599 Member
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    fuehne777 wrote: »
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18326618 Check out this study on Green Tea extract, seems to make a difference with exercise.

    Yes, but just to be clear, that research from 2008 studied the effect of green tea extract (composed of polyphenols and catechins, without the caffeine). The subjects (healthy men) took three capsules of the green tea extract (or placebos) over a 24 h period. The amount of green tea extract contained in each capsule was the equivalent to 3.5 cups green tea, so that would be over 10 cups in total. The results were indeed positive, showing increased fat oxidation during moderate-intensity exercise and improved insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance, compared to controls.

    So, based on that study, green tea extract consumed at pretty high but not pharmaceutic levels is beneficial to those men in this pretty small study. Encouraging, but there are lots of published studies that show no effect (e.g. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23247713), but nothing harmful.

    I usually prefer black teas or roobois. Like everyone else, tea helps keep me hydrated, warm and reduces snacking.
  • Dave_Bryant
    Dave_Bryant Posts: 1 Member
    edited July 2015
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    I've tried quite a few now, many of them disappointing, especially the bagged versions. I'm starting to think loose leaf is the way to go to get the most out of them. My favourite so far is from a brand called Nude Tea Australia (http://www.nudetea.com.au/product/weight-loss-tea/) they only sell organic loose leaf and each one also comes with a bag of powdered herb concentrate so the tea is super gutsy after it's brewed. I love the ginger/cinnamon flavours, the tea keeps my toilet visits regular and has the bonus of fresh breath all day too haha. So far I've lost about 5 kilos in the last 2 months. Slimming Tea had some good ones too, but they were bagged and I feel lost a little of their potency, although they did taste great. There's some other interesting combo's out there, but a lot of companies seem to find being effective yet still tasting nice hard to balance.

    Let me know any others anyone has had success with as I'm keen to give them a try.
  • Tahlia68
    Tahlia68 Posts: 204 Member
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    I drink green tea x50 every day it's low in calories (10) per sachet but it doesn't help with weight loss. Moreso a good energy booster. I also drink white tea (1) calorie per tea bag but doesn't help with weight loss.
  • bhanvi
    bhanvi Posts: 133 Member
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    I think it will help if you are using it as a replacement for a sugary drink.Black coffee is good too. :)
  • PinkDeerBoy
    PinkDeerBoy Posts: 89 Member
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    It helps me, but that's because it keeps me from drinking soda or bored eating.

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