How Iced Tea Can Help You Stay Slim
Making the necessary lifestyle changes to lose weight and get healthy can be brutal. It seems that everywhere we look, from the aisles of the grocery store to the break room at work, there are temptations: two for one Doritos, that skeleton of birthday cake that still has one remaining sliver with the perfect frosting to cake ratio. It's never easy at first, but lifestyle changes aren't about the sprint; they're about the marathon, and those first wholesome steps are essential in making long-term changes to the way we think about food.
How Iced Tea Can Help You Stay Slim (Slideshow)
Usually when we talk about diet, we talk only about the food you can chew, healthy alternatives to the processed junk to which so many of us have become accustomed in our eat-on-the-go lives. But what about liquid diet derailers? In the quest to be kinder to our bodies, very rarely do we talk about the unhealthy beverages many of us depend on to get through the day.
Decades of clever marketing have led us to believe that artificially sweetened diet soda is a healthy alternative to high-calorie regular soda. So much so that many people reach for a diet soda first thing in the morning for pick-me-up and continue to sip can after can throughout the day. Unfortunately, studies have shown that diet soda can effect metabolism and actually hinder weight loss.
It can be hard to kick a diet soda habit. The average diet soda drinker downs about 26 ounces per day, and if you're looking to kick the habit in an attempt to live a healthier lifestyle, quitting can be as difficult as giving up cigarettes or any other vice. You can expect to feel typical caffeine withdrawals (usually accompanied by the dreaded "caffeine headache") and also jones for the slight high that artificial sugars give.
But it's not all bad news! You don't have to replace your beloved Diet Whatever with bland cups of lukewarm tap water. And by all means, don't trade the soda for cup after cup of coffee with cream and sugar or you'll derail all your diet progress. Why not switch to iced tea if you're looking to change your drinking habits when you revamp your lifestyle? Many teas have been proven to aid weight loss, and adding ice along with a hint of natural sweetener could help you cope with the cravings for a big bottle of bad for you soda. Plus, the natural caffeine found in tea will perk you up just like Diet Soda with no crash later. Keep reading for some delicious iced tea recipes along with some pointers for making the healthy switch.
Make It A Green Tea!
According to Dr. John Salerno, MD of The Salerno Center, green tea contains EGCG, which boosts metabolism and is ideal for weight loss. He recommends looking for organic teas with no added sugar or artificial sweeteners to get the best source of EGCG.
Jasmine Green Tea
Pooja Mottl, author of The 3 Day Reset, has high praise for this green tea variation: "For those unfamiliar with the flavor of green tea or those who find it too bitter, this kind of green tea offers a more palatable alternative as the beautiful, strong aroma and flavor of jasmine offsets the bitterness and at the same time, captivates the senses."