Green Tea for Weight Loss is a new mantra. The health benefits of green tea are no longer a secret. People all over the world, who are looking to lose some pounds, swear by the magical properties of green tea. Green tea is said to be increasingly beneficially in fat burning, based on a study that went on for 8 days. Green tea is rich in nutritional value and is packed with antioxidants that reduce the risk of heart disease, improves insulin activity, manage blood sugar and boost weight loss. Green tea has now become a part of people’s daily diet plan. Green tea helps to burn calories. Even at rest, there is usually a 3-4% increase in calorie loss (1).

In this post, we are sharing how green tea is beneficial for weight loss.

Green Tea Facts

• Green tea, which originated in China and is produced in several countries of Asia, is a tea made from Camellia sinensis leaves (2).
• They have not undergone the same withering and oxidation process used to make black tea.
• A cup of good quality green tea is packed with large amounts of beneficial substances.
• Regular green tea provides 1 calorie per 100 ml and contains phytochemicals such as polyphenols and caffeine.
• Caffeine is a well-known stimulant that aids weight loss.

Science Behind Weight Loss with Green Tea

Green tea is loaded with potent antioxidants called catechins. The most important of these is EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate). EGCG helps in boosting metabolism. Norepinephrine sends a signal to the fat cells to break down the fat. Therefore, more norepinephrine leads to a stronger signal being sent to the fat cell and more fat gets broken down, which is released into the bloodstream and is used by cells that need it as energy. Although the weight loss is not drastic, a significant percentage of the fat loss is the harmful visceral fat.

Green Tea for Weight Loss

Following is a 7-day green tea plan that must be followed for three weeks for best results.

Green Tea for Weight Loss Diet Day 1

1.  Pre-Breakfast:

A pre-breakfast meal should be quick and easy. It must be consumed within 15 mins of waking up.

• Add one tablespoon of lime juice to one cup of warm sugarless Green Tea.
• One apple or 4-5 soaked almonds.

2. Breakfast:

Breakfast should be filling and should satisfy your hunger. It must be consumed within 1 or 1.5-hour of  waking up or post workout (if you are working out in morning)

• ¾ cup cabbage salad with one tbsp non-fat sour cream or
• Regular Vegetable Upma, Sandwich, Poha or any local breakfast or
• 2-3 boiled eggs.

3. Pre-Lunch:

After 2 hours of Breakfast.

One cup of warm sugarless Green Tea. It will keep you fresh and active

4. Lunch:

• A cup of vegan borsch or
• Half cup boiled chicken breasts with no skin or bones or
• Chapati (with ghee on it) with Sabzi of your choice and Salad. Eat chapatis as per your appetite.

5. Post lunch:

After 2 hours of Lunch.

• A half cup of yogurt.
• A glass of Buttermilk

6. Pre-Dinner:

• One cup of warm sugarless Green Tea.
• Roasted Peanuts

7. Dinner:

• Quarter cup of green peas or
• Grilled salmon with tomato and asparagus or
• Half a cup of vegetable stew or
• Regular Khichdi, Dal-Rice with Ghee(Clarified Butter)

8. Post Dinner:

• A glass of warm cow milk with Turmeric. Ignore it if you are Lactose Intolerant.

Adding lemon juice to your green tea not only adds flavour but also helps boost your immunity. Pre-breakfast, pre-launch and pre-dinner green tea helps suppress hunger and prevents you from overeating. Yogurt aids in digestion and can be substituted with buttermilk. For those who do not like salmon, chicken or mackerel is a good alternative. Having the right amount of food at the right time is crucial and you will not feel weak. Do not expect results to see on the first day itself.

Green Tea for Weight Loss Diet Day 2

1. Pre-Breakfast:

• Add half a spoon of cinnamon powder to one cup of warm sugarless green tea.
• 4-5 soaked almonds

2. Breakfast:

• Half cup vegetable salad with olive oil or
• Half-sliced papaya or
• One bowl of oatmeal or
• Any healthy, local and easily available homemade Breakfast

**Healthy means No Refined flour, No added sugar or preservatives, and No junk food.

3. Pre-Lunch:

• One cup of warm sugar less Green Tea.

4. Lunch:

• Grilled chicken lettuce wrap
• One thin slice bran bread
• Spinach and broccoli salad with light dressing.
• Chapati with Sabji of your choice(without gravy). Remember to apply ghee on your chapati.

**3-5 tsp of Ghee every day is extremely important for your weight loss. It contains necessary healthy fats.

5. Post Lunch:

• One cup of fruits

6. Pre-Dinner:

• One cup of warm sugar less Green Tea with 1 salt cracker

7. Dinner:

• Half cup steamed mackerel with one-tablespoon lemon juice and spices or
• Wheat pasta with tomatoes and zucchini.
• Regular Veg Pulav or Khichdi or Dal rice with Ghee and Sabji

Cinnamon adds sweetness and flavour to the green tea along with burning fat. A cup of fruits post lunch helps you avoid unhealthy fat-rich snacks. Avoid eating a heavy lunch and dinner and keep your diet light and nutritious. Quinoa is an equally healthy alternative to oatmeal. Brown rice can substitute for wheat pasta and you can use Chinese cabbage or kale in place of lettuce. You are unlikely to feel weak as the diet chart is compact with nutritious food for the whole day and you will experience an improvement in your activity levels.

Green Tea for Weight Loss Diet Day 3

1. Pre-Breakfast

• 1 cup of warm sugar less Green Tea with honey.
• Four soaked almonds or Any fruit of your choice.

2. Breakfast:

• One portion of omelette: two whites, parsley, tomato and one tablespoon of grated cheese
• Kale and Cucumber Smoothie or
• Any healthy, local and easily available homemade Breakfast

3. Pre-Lunch:

One glass of warm sugar less Green Tea.

4. Lunch:

• One-cup vegan noodle soup
• Half cup cooked brown rice with half-cup tilapia
• Rice with dal, sabzi of your choice(without oily gravy) and salad(preferably raita)

5. Post Lunch:

• One cup buttermilk or
• One cup coconut water

6. Pre-Dinner:

• One glass of warm sugarless Green Tea.
• One cup fruits

7. Dinner:

• One cup stewed eggplants with sour cream, garlic, and parsley
• Tuna salad or one cup turkey breasts without skin and bones.
• Chapati with Sabzi and salad.

Honey is a potent antibiotic agent and the breakfast smoothie is the perfect ways to kick-start your day.  Buttermilk is a source of good bacteria and aids digestion. Protein-rich lunch and dinner help in muscle gain. You can substitute fruit salad for vegetable salad and walnuts or macadamia nuts for almonds for breakfast.by day 3, you should have lost a good amount of water weight, and results become visible.

Green Tea for Weight Loss Diet Day 4

1. Pre-Breakfast:

• One glass of warm sugarless Green Tea.
• Soaked Raisins.

2. Breakfast:

• One bowl of quinoa or one bowl of buckwheat with spices

3. Pre-lunch:

• One glass of warm sugar less Green Tea

4. Lunch:

• One slice of bran bread/ Chapati with Clarified butter
• One cup beetroot salad with 1 tsp olive oil and spices of your choice
• Grilled veggies or mackerel

5. Post Lunch:

• Coconut water

6. Pre-Dinner:

• One glass of sugarless warm Green Tea.
• Roasted Cashews/ Peanuts

7. Dinner:

• One boiled sweet potato
• ¾ cup grilled salmon with lemon juice
• wheat pasta with spinach, broccoli, and olive oil
• Your traditional dinner made with traditional technique.

**No excess sugar, oil, and salt should be present in your dinner. Avoid heavy gravy, you can make your traditional recipe without an excess of these things.

Pre-lunch and pre-dinner green tea helps suppress hunger. Vegetable soup is an equally healthy alternative to grilled vegetables for dinner. Expect a more toned figure by the end of day four.

Green Tea for Weight Loss Diet Day 5

1. Pre-Breakfast:

• One glass of warm sugarless green tea with half a teaspoon of Cinnamon
• One Banana

2. Breakfast:

• One bowl of cooked oatmeal
• Scrambled eggs
• Four soaked almonds

3. Pre-Lunch:

• One glass of warm sugarless Green Tea.
• A handful of roasted peanuts.

4. Lunch:

• One cup tossed green salad
• Rice with pulses and clarified butter or Wheat Bread/Chapati (Indian flatbread ) with any simple local vegetable cooked homemade.

5. Post Lunch:

• Sliced watermelons or
• Buttermilk

6. Pre-Dinner:

• One glass of warm sugarless green tea along with cooked salted corn.

7. Dinner:

• One cup cooked whole-wheat pasta with low-calorie dressing or Chapati and vegetable or dal-rice
• Grilled chicken or vegetables with hummus
• Cucumber Soup

Scrambled eggs are a rich source of protein and bananas provide energy. Almonds provide necessary healthy fats. Cucumber soup is light and tasty and will bring an exciting change to your diet. You can substitute scrambled whites with milk and watermelon with muskmelon. By the end of day five, your body will mobilize body fat and you will feel more energetic and happy with the visible changes in your body.

Here is an informative video from FitnessRockers India

Green Tea for Weight Loss Diet Day 6

1. Pre-Breakfast

• One glass of warm sugarless green tea with lime juice
• Small piece of brownie or one scoop of Ice cream

2. Breakfast:

• Half cup cottage cheese
• Wheat pancakes or
• Your favourite breakfast

3. Pre-lunch

• One glass of warm sugarless green tea
• One bowl of strawberries

4. Lunch:

• Chicken or egg burrito
• One bowl of Brussel sprouts
• Regular Lunch

5. Post lunch:

• Cheat item! One bowl of strawberries dipped in chocolate sauce or fresh fruit salad with cream.
• Pomegranate juice

6. Pre-dinner:

• One glass of warm sugarless green tea.

7. Dinner:

• Stuffed chicken breast with mashed potato
• Sautéed broccoli and half cup sliced tomatoes with spices

Day six can be treated as a cheat day. When you have a similar diet each day, the body gets used to it and the process of weight loss slows down. Dark chocolate dipped strawberries are the best cheat day snack but do not forget to consume green tea before the major meals to start your metabolism. Eating dessert as first thing in the morning will reduce the chances of it converting into fat.

For those who like to try out new foods, ditch the pancakes for waffles and pomegranate juice for orange food. For those who are not big fans of chocolate brownies, vanilla muffins are an equally delicious option. Remember, it is only a cheat day, not days! Do not overdo the indulgence or you will gain back the weight.

Green Tea for Weight Loss Diet Day 7

1. Pre-Breakfast:

• One glass of warm sugarless green tea with honey and half teas spoon of cinnamon
• Orange slices
• Four soaked almonds

2. Breakfast:

• 1-3 Boiled Eggs
• Kale or Cucumber Smoothie
• Vegetable Sandwich

3. Pre-lunch

• One glass of warm sugarless green tea

4. Lunch:

• Half bowl cooked chicken breast with stewed bell pepper, tomato, eggplant.
• Chicken or mushrooms with mushrooms and broccoli
• Chapati with your favourite veggie(with less oil, salt and without gravy)

5. Post lunch:

• One bowl of cucumber or watermelon
• Buttermilk

6. Pre-dinner:

One glass of warm sugarless green tea with multigrain or whole-wheat biscuit

7. Dinner:

• Half cup cooked beans
• Brown rice with Asian style chicken, vegetable or tofu stir-fry

Kick start your day and metabolism with honey and cinnamon flavoured green tea.  Grilled veggies are high carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. Multigrain biscuits are very healthy and brown rice aid digestion and proper bowel movement. Stir-fried chicken or vegetables add the needed excitement and taste to your dinner. Brown rice can be substituted with sticky rice and boiled chicken is an equally healthy alternative to boiled eggs. After completing 3 weeks on this diet, you will have a more toned down and slim body. You will feel fitter, become active, your brain will function faster, and you will have visibly clear skin and get better sleep.

Green Tea Brewing Methods

There are three simple methods of brewing the perfect cup of healthy green tea.

Method 1: Green Tea Brewing with Leaves.

1. You will require one teaspoon of green tea leaves for one cup of green tea.
2. Place the leaves in a sieve or tea strainer.
3. Boil water to 80 to 85 degrees Celsius as this the ideal temperature for green tea.
4. Next, place the sieve over a mug or cup and pour the hot water into the cup.
5. Let the tea steep for 3 minutes.
6. Drink a spoonful of tea every half a minute to find out if the flavour is right for you.

Method 2: Green Tea Brewing With Tea Bag

1. Heat the water to a temperature of 80-85 degree Celsius.
2. Put the green tea bag in a cup and pour the water into the cup.
3. Let it steep for three minutes after which remove the tea bag and enjoy the healthy goodness.

Method 3: Green Tea Brewing with Green Tea Powder

1. Boil the water to a temperature of 80-85 degree Celsius.
2. Remember overheating causes green tea to taste bitter.
3. Once the water reaches the desired temperature, add one-teaspoon green tea powder to the water.
4. The ideal green tea brew time is three minutes, after which the tea becomes brown in colour.
5. Pour the tea through a strainer into a cup and add honey for taste.

Green Tea Benefits

Green tea is by far the best beverage after water. There are many Green Tea Benefits. It has a host of merits such as it

• Lowers bad cholesterol,
• Boosts metabolism,
• Fights ageing,
• Maintains oral health,
• Improves fat oxidation,
• Helps in bone building,
• Fights obesity and
• Improves nervous functioning.

Side Effects of Excess Consumption of Green Tea

All good things, however, also have their drawbacks.

Excess consumption of green tea may lead to several side effects such as

• Headaches,
• Nausea,
• Vomiting,
• Irritability,
• Insomnia,
• Dizziness,
• Diarrhea,
• Caffeine poisoning and
• Loss of appetite.

Green tea might increase the risk of birth defects associated with folic acid deficiency. Ignoring your diet or not exercising and relying completely on green tea to lose weight is hardly beneficial and causes more harm than gain. Remember, homemade food is always better than restaurant food. If you don’t have access to it then you can eat the homemade snacks items sometimes. Avoid all sorts of junk foods and have a cup of warm cow milk with turmeric before going to bed.