How To Lose Weight In College

Losing weight in college is just a matter of making better choices. It's easy to gain weight in college. The freshman 15 is no joke. It happens to almost everyone. Late nights studying for exams can cause you to eat way more calories than usual. Excess stress and social pressure can cause you to drink alcohol and eat extra food. This adds up over time. I'm going to give you some tips for how to lose weight in college.

Healthy Meals

In college it can be hard to find or make healthy meals. If you want to lose weight in college, it's important to replace some of your meals with healthier options. It's likely that you live in a dorm, so you probably have a microwave.

Microwave foods tend to be unhealthy, but you can find dinners by Lean Cuisine and other healthy options. The best thing to do is check the calories of the meal. For one meal, you shouldn't have more than 400-500 calories if you are trying to lose weight. So check those calories and make sure that what you are eating isn't going overboard.

Cafeteria

Many of you probably have a meal plan provided by the school which lets you eat in the cafeteria. That's where a lot of the extra weight comes from. Eating in the cafeteria is like eating at an all you can eat buffet, every meal, every day. Think about that for a second. That's a lot of potential to gain weight.

The best thing you can do is to limit your potions. It can be really hard with all that food available to you. Limit yourself to one plate of food and make sure you have a balance of nutrients on your plate. Have vegetables, protein, etc. Watch your serving sizes of the more fatty and carby types of foods.

If you have trouble resisting a second plate of food, then make yourself always get a to-go plate. You will be forced to only eat what's in your to-go plate. Fill your to-go plate with healthier foods and watch the portion sizes.

Watch Out For Soda

Sodas can add the extra calories really fast. Avoid sodas and sugary drinks at all costs. Switch to water. You can buy yourself a water bottle that can be refilled and just carry it around everywhere so that you aren't tempted to get any soda. Drink machines are everywhere you look. but if you resist the temptation for long enough, you can break your addiction to soda.

Cooking

Sometimes a dorm will have a communal kitchen. You can use those for cooking healthy meals on a stove. I know it can be rough cooking in a kitchen that is used by everyone else, but if you cook a pot of soup, you could portion it out and freeze them in resealable bowls for later. You could essentially meal prep for the entire week in one night. Having a healthy low calorie soup for dinner would help you with weight loss.

You can also befriend someone who is living off-campus. If they live in a house or apartment, you could ask to use their kitchen for cooking healthy meals.

Drinking

Alcohol is a big reason for the Freshman 15. There is a lot of pressure to party and drink when you are in college. Beware of the calories that come with some of those drinks. Beer will make you gain weight faster than anything. Liquor can be made into low calorie drinks, if you absolutely have to. Be responsible and moderate your drinking while in college. It only causes you to gain weight.

Late Night Snacking

Late night studying leads to late night snacking sometimes. You have to watch your calories if you want to lose weight. Pay attention to portions and how much you are eating. Learn how and when to say no to excess calories.

Here is a little trick I've used: Place an apple on your desk or wherever you are studying. When you get hungry, all you can have is that apple. If you don't want the apple, then you aren't truly hungry. It's a good way to figure out if you truly need the food, or if you are just craving junk foods.

Take Advantage of The Gym

I know that your college has a gym, so you should take advantage of the services there. Make time to go workout at the gym at least 5 days per week. You will be glad you did. There is usually cardio equipment, weight machines, classes, a pool, etc.

Sign up for classes you've never tried before such as spin class, yoga, or kickboxing. Make it a social event where you always go with friends. This will make you feel obligated to go, even when you feel like you don't want to. That can be a good thing because sometimes we think we don't want to do something but we feel so much better after we do it. Visit the sauna as well. It helps with general health and detox.

Smoothies

Buying yourself a blender for your dorm room is a great way to make a meal on the go. You can use frozen fruit, bananas, almond milk, chia seeds, etc. These are all healthy ingredients to put in your smoothies. Look up some popular smoothie recipes. Choosing to have a smoothie in place of a fatty breakfast will help you get rid of that Freshman 15 fast.

One of my favorite smoothies is a pineapple, banana, and berry smoothie.

I hope these tips have inspired you and given you ideas for how to lose weight in college.

6 Easy Ways To Get 10,000 Steps A Day

Walking is a great way to get in shape and lose weight. In this post I want to share with you 5 ways you can get more steps each day.

How Many Steps Should You Walk A Day?

The average person only walks about half of what they are supposed to, which is about 5,000 steps (source). For good fitness, you should aim for 10,000 steps per day, according to experts.

Why 10,000 Steps?

We want to aim for 10,000 steps per day so that we aren't sedentary for too much of the day. You want to stay active to ensure good health. That's why experts recommend shooting for 10,000 steps per day. You want to avoid any of the health issues related to being sedentary or remaining inactive for most of the day.

How Far Is 10,000 Steps?

10,000 steps is almost 5 miles. It sounds like a lot, but this is the minimum amount of walking you should be doing each day to maintain good health.

How To Measure 10,000 Steps

You can use a pedometer, which tracks your movement and steps. It's a little device that you clip onto your jeans. It follows your movements and tells you how many steps you took each day. You can also use apps on your phone, as long as your phone is on you all day. If you prefer not to always carry a phone, then using a pedometer would be the best way to track your steps.

5 Ways To Get More Steps Each Day

1. Park further away from the entrance. This will force you to have to walk more in order to get to where you are going. But don't do this if you are running late. In fact, you should give yourself extra time, so leave early knowing you will be parking a little bit further away than usual.

2. Take the stairs. This will also work your glutes a lot as well. Wherever you go, you should take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalators. You will get more steps in and improve your physical fitness level.

3. Take your dog for a walk. Your dog needs daily walking either way. Instead of getting someone else to do it, or not doing it at all, why not take your dog out on a trail? Fair warning: Once you start doing this regularly, your dog will come to expect it and will be bugging you to take him/her on a walk every day.

4. Walk around the neighborhood with a friend. This lets to spend quality time with your friend while you both get healthier. You can catch up and talk about everything which will help make the walk seem less daunting.

5. Walk on a treadmill. This is a tried and true way of getting in more steps. It may not be as exciting or entertaining as the other ways, but it'll get you what you need which is more steps.

6. Get up and walk randomly. If you work in an office or at a desk all day, find reasons to get up. Make sure that you are still doing job-related activities. I'm not telling you to skip out on your job. But find ways to get up and walk more. You will see the difference on your pedometer.

Even if you are working a sedentary job, you can do some of these things each day to get more steps and reach your goal of 10,000 steps a day.

Intermittent Fasting Benefits: A Guide For Intermittent Fasting

I have 7 years of intermittent fasting experience. Today I want to talk to you about intermittent fasting benefits and how you can start intermittent fasting for weight loss.

What Is Intermittent Fasting?

So what is intermittent fasting anyway? Intermittent fasting is when you only eat during scheduled times. You can't eat anything outside that schedule and you can't drink anything that has calories outside of the schedule either.

We have a period of time called a "fasting window" and a period of time called an "eating window". You can guess what we do during those times. And it's that simple! People drop weight easily following this plan. I'm going to explain all about how to start intermittent fasting so you can do this too.

What Can I Have During The Fasting Window?

Consuming water or no calorie beverages like plain coffee or plain tea is fine. I personally only drink water. Some people will go for the zero calorie sodas, but those often have artificial sweeteners in them which can halt your weight loss progress, so I don't advise drinking them.

You can make yourself some zero calorie lemonade by adding lemon juice and stevia to some water. That's something I drink from time to time as well. Some people place slices of lime or cucumber in their water. But more often than not, I am just sipping on water all day.

What Can I Have During The Eating Window?

The great thing about intermittent fasting is it doesn't tell you HOW to eat. It only tells you WHEN to eat. You can eat as you like during your eating window.

You will notice a funny little thing happening the more you intermittent fast. You will notice that food tastes better to you. Food that was once kind of bland is now pleasureful to eat. You will also notice a preference for nutrient dense foods. You will find yourself craving foods that give you more vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.

But as I said, intermittent fasting doesn't dictate what you can eat, so eat whatever you want. If you are vegan, that's fine. If you are keto, that's fine. Do whatever you wish.

How Does Intermittent Fasting Work?

When you eat, your body stores glycogen to use as fuel later on. Once those glycogen stores are depleted, it starts to use stored body fat as fuel. If you are eating 3+ times per day, you will never ever give your body the chance to use up all the glycogen. You will constantly replace it. Intermittent fasting allows you to use up the glycogen and start burning fat as fuel.

You might say, "Well, I know so and so eats all day but is ripped." Okay sure. That's because they are eating at a caloric deficit so their body ends up not having all it needs so it dips into the fat stores. It can also mean they are exercising a ton and using the glycogen that way. You can lose weight doing all of that. But in my opinion intermittent fasting is a better way to lose weight. Intermittent fasting is a life hack.

Also, just because you are intermittent fasting doesn't mean you can't eat at a caloric deficit or exercise. You can do all of that and intermittent fast at the same time. You will see results either way though.

Intermittent fasting increases insulin sensitivity better than any other diet or lifestyle change that I know of. This leads to weight loss in those who have trouble losing weight on other diets.

Is Intermittent Fasting Healthy?

A quick answer: Yes. It's way more healthy than most people know. In fact many people that hear about it are so quick to dismiss it, because they've been taught to believe going without meals is very bad for you. But the evidence is on the side of intermittent fasting. It has been studied and found to have many health benefits. Let's talk about some of the intermittent fasting benefits.

Intermittent Fasting Benefits

Intermittent fasting is not just for weight loss. It comes with many health benefits. Here are some of the benefits that you can expect from regular intermittent fasting:

• Weight loss (of course)
• Reduced risk of disease
• Anti-aging, longevity
• Increased insulin sensitivity
• Detox and cell renewal, faster healing
• Improved gut flora

You can receive all these benefits simply by restricting your eating to certain hours and not eating anything outside of those hours. I think you're getting a pretty good deal here.

Intermittent Fasting Meal Plan

There are so many intermittent fasting meal plans and schedules. The best thing to do is pick the one that works for your personal schedule. We all have different work schedules and different needs so what works for one won't always work for others.

Look at all the available intermittent fasting plans and select one that fits your lifestyle best. You will lose weight and receive benefits on all of the plans, so don't worry about that part.

A few of the most popular intermittent fasting schedules are:

• 16/8
• 5:2
• ADF
• OMAD

I will go into detail about each one of these to help you decide which one to pick.

16/8

16/8 intermittent fasting is fasting for 16 hours and eating within an 8 hour window. A person will likely have a couple of meals and a snack during this time frame, but it varies from person to person. Just eat normally within your eating window.

5:2

The 5:2 diet is when you eat normally for 5 days of the week and fast for 2 days of the week. Followers of this diet will eat 500 calories of low carb food on their fasting day sometimes. Some people choose to not eat anything on the fasting day because eating nothing is so much easier than eating a small amount of food. It's up to you to decide.

ADF

Alternate day fasting is basically 24 hours of fasting followed by 24 hours of eating regularly. It's a step up from the 5:2 diet. If you enjoy fasting for 24 hours at a time then this may be the diet for you.

OMAD

OMAD means one meal a day. You will eat just one meal a day, following a 23/1 schedule. For 23 hours you will fast and for 1 hour you will eat whatever you want. Then repeat. This is a pretty extreme level of intermittent fasting but I have done it here and there. You will notice an increase in energy during the day when doing OMAD. This intermittent fasting plan is not for everyone.

There are definitely other intermittent fasting schedules. One that I did for a long time and am currently doing right now is 19/5 intermittent fasting. This involves fasting for 19 hours followed by a 5 hour eating window.

Intermittent Fasting Pros And Cons

I want to talk real quick about the pros and cons of intermittent fasting. There are definitely some benefits, but there are also some intermittent fasting side effects.

Pros

The pros of intermittent fasting are (almost) effortless weight loss and weight maintenance. It's pretty easy to stick to once you find the intermittent fasting schedule that is right for you. Also, you can pretty much eat what you want and still lose weight as long as you don't go too far overboard. Chinese buffet and your daughter's birthday cake are not off limits with intermittent fasting.

Cons

No late night snacking, or eating outside of your eating window period. This can be hard for anyone who enjoys eating whenever they want. You will also experience some hunger. Over time you will make peace with the feeling of hunger. You will realize it's okay to let yourself be hungry. This comes with practice.

Also, it's not the most social diet. Oftentimes people will want you to eat outside of your eating window. Events and family gatherings will be a challenge to overcome. There are some people that you can mention intermittent fasting to and it's okay. There are others who will preach at you and scold you about it. This diet is not always accepted by everyone.

Sometimes it's best to adjust your eating window on those days that you know you have to be at an event. Do what you have to do for yourself.

Intermittent Fasting And Working Out

You can workout while doing an intermittent fasting plan. It's not going to hurt you one bit. If you do workout, I would suggest doing so right before ending your fast. That is because you are likely to get pretty hungry after the workout. But, if your daily schedule doesn't allow this it's okay. You can just fit it in when you are able to.

Working out goes hand in hand with intermittent fasting. It can help you achieve your goals much faster. You will see that you are fitting into smaller clothes pretty quickly.

Intermittent Fasting Side Effects

There are some side effects to intermittent fasting that we should go over. You may not experience all of these, but it's important to know what you might go through when starting an intermittent fasting plan.

Intermittent fasting side effects:

• Low blood pressure
• Weakness
• Hunger
• Family ridicule

That last one is just thrown in there because most people seem to have trouble with family and friends once they find out you are intermittent fasting. The rest of the side effects are all physical problems you may encounter. Some people may have issues with low blood pressure and weakness. If that's you, then you may need to adopt an intermittent fasting plan that allows for shorter fasts.

For example, if you are experiencing weakness on ADF, then you may need to switch to 19/5. Make sure you are getting plenty of minerals in all your foods as well. If unwanted side effects persist, then you may need to find a different weight loss program to follow altogether.

Hunger is something that comes and goes in waves, and over time you will get used to the feeling of being hungry. You will give yourself permission to feel hungry, and tell yourself that it's okay and nothing bad will come of it. We are so used to running straight to food the moment we feel a hunger pang. But when you intermittent fast, you can't do that. You have to wait for your fasting window to close before you can eat. This teaches discipline but it also helps you understand that hunger is not something to fear or get rid of immediately.

How To Start Intermittent Fasting

So, if you've read all this and you are ready to start intermittent fasting, it's pretty simple to get into.

First, decide which intermittent fasting plan you want to do. You can change your mind later if the one you pick ends up not being the right one. The most important thing right now is to start trying it out. Use trial and error to figure out what works for you. Then once you find the right plan, stick to it.

I would suggest for a beginner to just start with a 16 hour fast. That's short enough that it won't be too hard for you, but it's also long enough to receive many of the benefits of intermittent fasting. It gives you a taste of what intermittent fasting is like.

To help you track your fasts, you may want to download an intermittent fasting app. It will time your fasts and let you know how long until your eating window begins. It's a pretty easy way to track your intermittent fasting right on your phone.

Intermittent fasting doesn't have to be difficult, and the rewards make it so worth it. I hope you feel encouraged to give intermittent fasting a try.

What Is Intermittent Fasting?

If you want to know what intermittent fasting is, this is the right page to be on. I have a lot of experience with intermittent fasting and I'd love to tell you all about it.

What Is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting is time-restricted eating. What this means is you have only certain times that you are allowed to eat. You cannot eat outside of those times. You choose the eating schedule that you want to be on and then follow it. It's that simple.

An example would be only eating between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. That would be considered 18/6 intermittent fasting, because you are fasting for 18 hours and only eating during a 6 hour window. You don't eat constantly for 6 hours straight. You just eat as you feel hungry, like you would normally do.

Practicing intermittent fasting results in weight loss. It's actually a very effective and sustainable way to lose weight according to studies. People find it much easier to follow intermittent fasting than they do caloric restriction.

Why Do People Do Intermittent Fasting?

People practice intermittent fasting for weight loss, but there are also some other health benefits to intermittent fasting. You will experience anti-aging, insulin sensitivity, and anti-inflammatory benefits.

Many people will inflammatory conditions notice reduced symptoms while following an intermittent fasting regimen. At first glance, intermittent fasting may sound unhealthy, but it's been proven in studies to be very good for your health and body.

Intermittent Fasting Results

So what results should you expect from intermittent fasting?

People who intermittent fasting tend to lose weight at an average of 2-3 lbs per week. That would be 8-12 lbs per month. This will vary from person to person. Some people may lose weight slower and some people may lose weight more quickly. This is just an average of all people who intermittent fast.

It will also vary according to which intermittent fasting schedule you choose. You may need to tweak or change your schedule if you are not getting the desired results from the one you choose to follow.

How To Start Intermittent Fasting?

You can start today by beginning a fast after your last bite of food. Use an intermittent fasting app on your phone and start tracking your fast. End the fast tomorrow when you have reached 16 hours. That is a pretty decent first fast, just to give you an idea of what intermittent fasting is like.

One of the most popular intermittent fasting schedules is 16/8 intermittent fasting, which means you would fast for 16 hours followed by an eating window of 8 hours long. Some people choose to do more rigorous schedules. Listen to your body and go from there. The idea is to get lots of benefits from intermittent fasting, while minimizing discomforts and side effects.

If you have a condition, speak with your doctor before beginning an intermittent fasting lifestyle.

Is Intermittent Fasting Hard?

It can be, depending on which schedule you choose. The 16/8 schedule is pretty easy, but can be difficult for the first few days while you are adjusting to it. Most people will find it feels pretty natural to skip breakfast. It just feels right, like how our bodies wanted it to be.

Some of the harder intermittent fasting schedules include long periods without food, up to 24 hours. That can be a challenge, so it's best to work up to that if you are new to the lifestyle. No matter which schedule you choose, it does get easier over time. You will get used to feeling hunger, and you will actually enjoy the taste of food so much more. Even bland foods start to taste really flavorful after practicing intermittent fasting.

The good news is studies actually show that people tend to feel more hungry on calorie restriction than they do on intermittent fasting. That is because you are constantly spiking your blood sugar all day long leading to sugar crashes.

I hope this article helps explain what intermittent fasting is for you.

How To Get A High Metabolism

Everyone wants to have a high metabolism, but how do you do it? There are certain tips I can give you to increase your metabolism so that you can have a higher metabolism and lose weight more easily.

Rule Out Medical Conditions

First things first, make sure your low metabolism is not a health-related problem. Maybe you have PCOS that makes weight loss seem impossible, or maybe you have thyroid issues. Maybe you are on a prescription medication that causes weight gain or prevents you from losing weight. Rule out the possibility that this is all medical related.

If it does happen to be a medical issue, you may have to resolve that issue in order to get your weight to come down again. Work with your doctor on a treatment plan if you find that your weight is a result of medical issues. If it's not a medical issue, then try the following tips:

Weight Loss Teas

Weight loss teas can really boost metabolism. There are some great teas that have been scientifically proven to increase your energy expenditure. That means the antioxidants in the tea actually make your body burn more calories throughout the day, thus increasing your metabolism.

One of the best teas that is the most backed by science is green tea. It's a pretty popular ingredient in weight loss supplements because it's proven to work. Click to read my article about which green tea is the best. That article will explain how green tea helps you with weight loss and how to use it.

Some other popular and effective weight loss teas include oolong tea, pu-erh tea, rooibos tea, and hibiscus tea. Now, if you are caffeine sensitive, you will need to choose an herbal tea such as rooibos or hibiscus. The other teas mentioned here contain caffeine, so be aware of that.

You can use any of these teas to lose weight, and you can combine different teas, drinking them at different times of the day. You choose what works for you. What works for everyone is different and don't be afraid to try the different teas out to see how they work for you in particular.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar can help boost a lowered metabolism. We burn less fat when we are insulin resistance. Apple cider vinegar is one of the best remedies for insulin resistance. It increases your insulin sensitivity, helping you access stored fat to burn it.

I personally know people that have lost weight and all they did was add apple cider vinegar. They didn't change their diet or exercise. But I do suggest making more than one change if you want to see real and lasting results.

If you are going to take apple cider vinegar, you can try this weight loss drink recipe. It helps the ACV taste better so that you can down it more easily. It also contains other weight loss ingredients that you likely already have in your kitchen right now.

Exercise

If you don't already have an exercise plan, it may be a good time to start. Exercising will give you a high metabolism. You will burn more calories while you are exercising, and even after you exercise. The muscle you build while exercising also helps you burn more calories every single day.

My advice is to start at your current level. Don't expect too much out of yourself. Just build your strength up from where you are at. Start small and build as you can. Make sure you are doing an activity that you enjoy as well. This will help you stick with exercising long term.

Exercising at least 4 days per week will keep your metabolism high and help you shed the fat. It is worth the time you put into it as well. Building muscle will help your body look leaner, trimmer, and more toned.

Eating Whole Foods

Getting enough nutrients in your foods will help your metabolism stay healthy and help you bodily processes to run as they should. Eating a whole foods diet is the best way to make sure that you are getting all the nutrients that you need.

Whole foods are foods that are minimally processed. They often don't come in a package, or if they do have a package there will be few ingredients and those ingredients won't be anything processed.

For example if you buy a can of pecans. They may have an ingredients list that says: pecans, sea salt.

That would be an example of a whole food. If you can't pronounce or understand all the ingredients in a food, it isn't a whole food.

Shopping in the perimeter of the market helps you make sure that you are getting whole foods. This is the outer edges where the fresh produce, dairy, and meat are all located. You can find some whole food products on the shelves as well though, depending on where you look.

Whole foods help with metabolism by making sure our bodies get all the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients we need. We all need fiber to keep our digestive system running. We need protein to build muscles, etc.

Fix Slow Digestion

If you have a slow digestive system, this can cause unneeded weight gain. It's important to fix your digestive system so that you can increase your metabolism and have a high metabolism. Taking probiotics and eating fermented foods are a good way of improving your digestive system.

Eating lots of organic fruit and vegetables that are high in fiber will also help keep things running along smoothly in your intestines.

If you feel like you need a little bit of help, a cleansing tea made with senna can help you have more regular bowel movements. These teas are not meant to be taken for longer than 2 weeks at a time. They are just there to give you a boost when you need it. Fixing your gut flora and eating the right foods will give you more of a long term solution to the problem.

I hope these tips are helpful for anyone looking to get a high metabolism.

How To Suppress Hunger And Lose Weight

I have combined all of my appetite decreasing tips into one post right here. In this post I will teach you how to suppress hunger so that you can lose weight.

Oftentimes when we try to diet, we end up ravenously hungry. This can ruin our entire weight loss plan, because we end up binging on all the foods we crave. I have been there a time or two and I know it's hard to keep up with your diet when you have nagging hunger all the time. These tips will help you suppress hunger.

Water

Water is a natural appetite suppressant. Studies have proven that if you drink a full glass of water before each and every meal, you will increase your weight loss. The participants of the study lost 44% more weight just from adopting this one easy trick.

All you have to do is pour yourself a glass of water and be sure to drink all of it right before eating each main meal of the day. It would be a good idea to begin drinking about 20 minutes before you eat, just to give yourself enough time to drink the glass of water comfortably.

This will help you consume less calories, because you will feel more full and be less hungry. Plain water curb your appetite successfully without anything added to it. But, there are some things you can add to your water in order to speed up your weight loss further, such as apple cider vinegar.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar is another natural appetite suppressant. Adding 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to your water twice per day will curb your appetite even further. This is due to the fact that apple cider vinegar helps to keep blood sugar stable, therefore reducing your cravings for calorie dense foods. But that's not the only way apple cider vinegar suppresses hunger.

Apple cider vinegar actually decreases your appetite by telling your brain that you aren't as hungry as you think. Studies prove that apple cider vinegar has an effect on appetite.

Yes, it may not taste the best but you do get used to it over time. Diluting it with water is preferred, and make sure that you drink it through a straw. You wouldn't want apple cider vinegar touching your teeth and possibly causing dental problems.

Cinnamon

While your at it, why not add a splash of cinnamon to your apple cider vinegar water? It will also work in decreasing your appetite. Cinnamon works by increasing your insulin sensitivity which can have many effects on weight loss. It effectively reduces cravings, especially for sugary foods.

Add cinnamon to your foods or drinks, or you can get a cinnamon supplement to help you increase your intake of cinnamon.

Hibiscus Tea Appetite Control

Hibiscus tea will decrease your appetite. Hibiscus tea is a sour tea that has been used for weight loss for many years. It works very well for those who eat under lots of stress. If you are a stress eater and tend to grab a bag of donuts during times when you are stressed, use hibiscus tea instead. It will lower stress hormones, therefore reducing your cravings for sweets.

Increase Nutrients

When you are eating foods that are nutrient dense, you will be fuller for longer and you will have less cravings for foods. That is because you are giving your body what it needs the most.

Think about it. Why does our body need food in the first place? It needs vitamins, minerals, and nutrients in food in order to give us energy, repair and rebuild our bodies, and keep vital functions going. We eat so that we can live healthy lives.

As long as you are giving your body a bunch of junk food, you are not giving it the nutrients that it truly needs. It will keep letting you know by sending signals making you hungry for certain foods. This will cause you to eat more. All you really need to do is make sure you are giving your body adequate nutrition.

Fiber

Fiber helps curb your appetite. You should be eating fiber rich foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and legumes. If you are unsure of how much fiber is in a certain food, look at the nutrition label. You will find the information there.

Women should be getting 25 grams of fiber per day and men should be getting 30 grams of fiber per day. If you have trouble getting this much fiber through foods, you can look into taking a supplement such as psyllium husk. If you have been neglecting your fiber intake, you may want to ramp up slowly. Increasing fiber too quickly can lead to gas, bloating, and discomfort.

Increase your fiber intake gradually and drink plenty of water as well.

Green Tea

Green tea is a well known weight loss tea. The caffeine content of green tea helps to suppress hunger and prevent food cravings.

If you are drinking green tea for weight loss, you should drink 4-5 cups of green tea per day. You will get the best results from this amount of tea consumption.

I wrote a whole article about how to use green tea and which green tea to use. If you are interested in green tea, give that article a read.

Exercise

Exercising is a natural appetite suppressant. It's actually one of the strongest appetite suppressants there is. If you are someone who tends to experience hunger all day, especially when dieting, you should consider adding in some exercise. Visit the gym or begin walking down trails. Start practicing a sport, or play with your dog. These are all good ways to add more activity into your day.

Maybe You Aren't Eating Enough

If you are still hungry, it's very possible that you set a calorie goal that is way too low for your body type. We all have different calorie needs depending on weight, height, age, and activity level. You will constantly feel hungry if you are under-eating.

Calculating how many calories you need can be complicated, but I made it easier in a blog post. I show you how to figure out your caloric needs so that you can lose weight in this post.

How Fast Are You Supposed To Lose Weight

In this post, I will be discussing how much weight you can expect to lose on a weight loss plan. I will go in depth about different diets and how much the average person can expect to lose. I will also be talking about how the weight will generally come off. If you are beginning a weight loss journey, you won't want to miss what I have to say.

How Much Weight Per Week?

Experts often say that you should lose 1-2 lbs per week if you are on a diet. They say that losing more than that is unhealthy. This is standard advice and it could be different depending on your situation. We will explore this statement in depth a little bit more and talk about how much weight you lose on various diets.

The First Week

The first week of a weight loss plan is usually the exception to the "1-2 lbs" rule. Don't be surprised if you lose 5 to 10 lbs in your first week of dieting and exercising, depending on how much you weigh at the start. This is because your body is shedding water weight. But don't worry! Some of that weight is fat and your body will begin burning more fat as you go throughout the weeks.

It's important to stick to your weight loss plan beyond that first week so that you can really get into the fat burning and develop good habits. You don't want to fall into a cycle of yo-yo dieting.

Yo-Yo Dieting

Over time, yo-yo dieting actually causes steady weight gain. You do not want to keep hopping on and off weight loss plans over and over. This will be horrible for your health if you continue. You will always gain back the weight you lose and then some. This will repeat over and over until you finally decide to stick with something.

Weight Loss Is Not Linear

One reason people quit their weight loss plan is because weight may fluctuate and this causes them to lose motivation. They don't see a point in depriving themselves if they aren't getting the results they were wanting.

What you have to remember is that weight loss isn't linear. What this means is that some weeks you will lose less weight than others. Some weeks you'll lose more weight than others. Some weeks you won't lose any, and some weeks you may even gain weight. This will happen all through your weight loss plan.

It's very easy to get discouraged when this happens. What you need to do is try to weigh yourself only once per month. It will help you realize that you are losing weight over all, even if there are weekly fluctuations. The monthly weigh-in should always show a loss as long as you are following your weight loss plan.

If you are following your weight loss plan religiously, but stop losing weight for weeks, we call that a weight loss plateau.

Weight Loss Plateaus

Weight loss plateaus typically happen after you've lost a bit of weight. You may lose 15-20 lbs at first and then get stuck, even though you are doing everything right. Depending on how long your weight loss journey is, you could run into more than one plateau. This can be frustrating, but it's not a reason to stop.

Listen, if I had stopped the very first time I hit a plateau, I would have been stuck at 165 lbs forever. But instead I found a way to break the plateau and got myself down to 115 lbs. You don't have to give up and there are ways out of it. Read my article on how to break a weight loss plateau.

Your Period Matters

You have to remember that weight will fluctuate week by week and your period does make a difference. This is one reason I stress only weighing once per month. You don't want to get discouraged because your weight went up around your period. That may cause you to stop your diet.

Pick a day of the month to weigh and try to hide the scale for the rest of the month so that you aren't tempted to get on it. I know I get tempted if the scale is just sitting right there on the floor. It's so easy to weigh yourself without even thinking much about it. Weighing yourself too often can lead to discouragement.

Loose Skin

Let's revisit the "1-2 lbs per week" rule that I mentioned before. Most experts will tell you that you should be losing weight at a rate of 1-2 lbs per week.

One reason experts say you don't want to lose weight too fast is because you may develop loose skin. Those who weigh more and those who have less skin elasticity (such as the elderly) are more prone to having loose skin from weight loss. It's generally not something you should worry about unless you are morbidly obese or losing weight much too rapidly.

Average Keto Weight Loss

Keto is a popular diet that many people follow for weight loss. I searched the internet and compiled some data to figure out the average weekly weight loss for those on a keto diet. The average weight loss for keto is 2.74 lbs per week. As you can see that is above the standard 1-2 lbs that is preached by the professionals.

Average Intermittent Fasting Weight Loss

The average person who intermittent fasts loses 2.23 lbs per week. But as I said previously, some lost more and some lost less. The lowest recorded weight loss per week was 0.5 lb. The highest recorded weight loss per week was 3.5 lbs. Your weight loss could be anywhere within this range.

Half a pound of weight loss per week is not a lot. But if you keep at it, you will have lost a ton of weight by the end. These averages come from all kinds of intermittent fasting schedules.

Remember that these averages also varied throughout that person's weight loss journey. For example, they may have lost a total of 20 lbs, but they lost different amounts each week. They may have lost 5 lbs one week, 3 lbs another week, 0.75 lbs another week, and so on. This goes back to the saying that "weight loss is not linear." You will lose different amounts each week.

Your Average Weight Loss

Remember that I'm sharing averages here. While the average person's weight loss is around 2-3 lbs per week, some people were losing more and some were losing less. It changes from person to person. You should stick to a weight loss plan for at least a month to get past any weight fluctuations and find out if it's truly working for you or not.

If you give up too soon, you may never see the results you were looking for, and you might gain the weight back and then some. It's best to just stick it out. If you haven't lost much weight after a month, tweak your weight loss plan slightly until you feel like it's working for you.

Weight Loss Maintenance

Persistence is key. The reason people say weight loss is a "lifestyle change" is because if you lose a bunch of weight and then go back to old habits, you will gain it all back. You have to watch yourself even in maintenance. I promise it's not as hard as it sounds though, because once you lose the weight you can be a little more relaxed with everything. The problems only happen when you get too relaxed or completely go off the rails.

It's definitely easier to maintain weight loss than it is to lose the weight all over again. So make sure you do what you need to do to maintain your weight once it's lost.

Eating 1200 Calories For Weight Loss

In today's post I want to discuss 1200 calorie diets and how effective they are for weight loss.

What Is a 1200 Calorie Diet?

1200 calorie diets have created interest in people who want to lose weight for a while. But what is a 1200 calorie diet? A 1200 calorie diet is a diet that consists of a person only consuming 1200 calories each day. These diets are mostly popular among women, but many people use 1200 calorie diets in order to achieve their weight loss goals. Those who tend to be attracted to 1200 calorie diets are people who are short and people who are sedentary.

People who are on 1200 calorie diets track their calories in a food diary. They tally up the calories and stop eating once they reach the 1200 calorie daily limit.

Why Is a 1200 Calorie Diet Used?

A 1200 calorie diet is typically used when someone wants to lose weight quickly. Since 1200 calories is very few calories, it causes rapid weight loss in most of the people that partake in the diet.

Some people use 1200 calorie diets for anti-aging and longevity. There is proof that a reduction of calories can help with life extension and disease prevention. In this case, a 1200 calorie diet would be taken on as a way to stave off illnesses and increase your lifespan. Those who use 1200 calorie diets for life extension plan to spend most of their life on the diet.

How To Count 1200 Calories

Counting calories can be a bit confusing for anyone who has never tracked their calories before. When you read a food label, you will want to look at how many calories is in a serving size. Then look at how much a serving size is.

For example, let's say we have a bag of chips. There are 15 chips per serving and 140 calories per serving. That means that 15 chips is all you can eat for 140 calories. If you were to eat the whole bag, which has 3 servings in it, then you would be consuming 420 calories. So it's important to know how much a serving is and to count and measure your food.

The numbers of servings per container vary depending on what you are eating, so it's important for you to learn how to read food labels if you want to follow this diet. Small mistakes can lead to big problems when trying to lose weight with calorie counting. It's very easy to make mistakes in counting your calories, so be sure to practice and get help when you need it. There are apps that allow you to scan the barcodes to see how many calories there are in a food. But you still need to make sure you are only eating one serving.

In some cases, it's vital for you to use a food scale in order to measure the grams of food that you are consuming in order to make sure it is a serving size.

Sometimes a food label will tell you how much is in a serving size and how much is in the whole package. The numbers are beside each other on the label. Just read the label carefully to find this information.

Who Shouldn't Use a 1200 Calorie Diet?

Most people need much more than 1200 calories in order to maintain their weight, so eating 1200 calories will cause weight loss in almost everyone who follows the diet.

1200 calories may be too few calories for men, very active people, or some very overweight/obese individuals. It will still help you lose weight no matter what, but it's just not sustainable for those who need a lot of calories. Those people who are very active or weigh a lot could lose weight on much more than 1200 calories. They may want to try eating a 1500 calorie diet for weight loss. This will ensure they don't experience a lot of negative effects such as headaches and low energy.

Some people actually find that they lose even MORE weight after they increase their calorie intake to 1500 from 1200. This is because their metabolism slowed a bit on the 1200 calorie diet and now their metabolism is waking up again after they began eating 1500 calories a day.

Who Should Use a 1200 Calorie Diet?

A 1200 calorie diet works very well for certain people. Those people are:

• Those who are shorter than average
• Those who need to lose "the last 10 lbs" or don't have much weight to lose
• Those who are sedentary and don't do much activity

Anyone can decide to follow a 1200 calorie diet if they wish, but these are the people who will benefit the most from a 1200 calorie diet. In fact, some of these people HAVE to eat at 1200 calories or they will not lose weight at all. This is because their TDEE is so low that they cannot create a deficit if they eat much more than 1200 calories per day.

If You Aren't Losing Weight On 1200 Calories

If you are on a 1200 calorie diet, but you are not losing weight there could be a few reasons for this. If you initially lost weight on the 1200 calorie diet, but then the weight loss stopped, you are at a weight loss plateau.

A weight loss plateau happens when you are doing everything right according to your diet, but your weight stalls for at least 2-3 weeks. This happens because your metabolism has adjusted to what you are doing. Our bodies are very clever and they will lower their energy needs according to our lifestyle.

If you have hit a weight loss plateau, there are a few things you can do to help yourself break the plateau and lose weight again.

1. Eat at your TDEE for a week or two, then restart the diet you were on before. Your TDEE is the amount of calories you need each day in order to maintain your weight. So in other words, you will increase the amount of food you eat for a week or two, essentially going off the diet completely. Then restart your diet fresh. The weight should start coming off again.

2. Calorie zig-zagging can wake up a lowered metabolism. This is where you eat a different number of calories each day. You have some low calorie days and some high calorie days, but your overall average calories will be at a deficit for the week, so you will lose weight. You can use this calculator to help you get a calorie zig zag plan.

3. Intermittent fasting can break a weight loss plateau. Try eating your calories during an 8 hour window and fasting for 16 hours each day. The plan will look like this:

• Begin eating your first meal at Noon.
• Stop eating your last bite of food at 8 p.m.
• Do not eat again until Noon the next day, skipping breakfast.

Any one of these plans is a great way to break a plateau when on a 1200 calorie diet, or any calorie counting diet for that matter.

If you just started a 1200 calorie diet and you have not lost weight at all, this wouldn't qualify as a weight loss plateau. You may need to talk to your doctor, because there could be an underlying issue there.

It also could be because you are super short. Those who are 5' likely won't lose weight on a 1200 calorie diet, for example.

Can You Exercise On a 1200 Calorie Diet?

Yes, you can exercise on a 1200 calorie diet, but I would advise anyone who is exercising to eat back at least a portion of the calories they are burning through exercise. This is because you don't want to create too much of a deficit. If you create too much of a deficit, you may experience many negative effects from the diet.

Most people who are on a 1200 calorie diet will likely want to eat back some of those exercise calories because it will help give them more energy while on the diet. Exercising helps to preserve muscle as well.

1200 Calorie Diet Side Effects

Those who lower their calories to 1200 per day may experience some negative side effects. These may include:

• Headaches
• Hunger pangs
• Low energy

The effects will likely continue throughout the duration of the diet. Many people who are on a 1200 calorie diet tend to feel miserably unless they already have low calorie needs.

How Much Weight Can You Lose On a 1200 Calorie Diet?

This depends entirely on a person's TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). As an example, if you need 2000 calories to maintain your weight, you could lose 6.8 lbs in a month of eating a 1200 calorie diet. That's a pretty decent amount of weight loss.

Weight loss will vary from person to person because we each have different calorie needs depending on our weight, height, age, and activity level. In order to estimate your weight loss on a 1200 calorie diet, you will need to know how many calories you burn each day. You can find out by using this calculator.

What Type of Foods Should You Eat On a 1200 Calorie Diet?

You can eat whatever foods you want to eat as long as they fit in the 1200 calorie limit. But, those who eat high volume, low calorie foods will likely feel better. High volume, low calorie foods include most vegetables. Vegetables will help you fill up on less calories and they are nutrient dense, so they help you get all your nutrients on such few calories.

Be sure to get plenty of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients while eating a 1200 calorie diet. It can be difficult to fit everything in, so make sure you are keeping track of how much protein, fiber, and other nutrients you are receiving on your diet.

Is a 1200 Calorie Diet Effective For Weight Loss?

A 1200 calorie diet is effective for weight loss for most people. I have heard of very very short people who cannot lose weight on 1200 calories. But for the most part, you will lose weight on this diet if you follow it correctly. Weight loss will vary from person to person, but most people will see satisfactory results.

Tools To Help You On a 1200 Calorie Diet

There are some tools that can help you with a 1200 calorie diet. You can use calorie counting apps for keeping track of how many calories you are eating. Some of these apps even let you scan the barcode of your food to tell you how many calories are in a serving. They will track your calories for you so that you can keep up with it.

Some people still like to use a good old pen and notepad to keep track of their calories, and that's fine too. Both work just the same.

A food scale is also a good tool to have when on a 1200 calorie diet. You need to be pretty precise when measuring food while you are eating so little. It's easy to make mistakes and miss the mark completely.

Hibiscus Tea Weight Loss Benefits

In this post, I will be discussing the weight loss benefits of hibiscus tea and how to use hibiscus tea for weight loss. So let's dive right in.

What Is Hibiscus Tea?

Hibiscus is a sour tea that can be enjoyed either hot or cold. It tastes great both ways. This tea is made from the flowers of a hibiscus plant, and when it's brewed it becomes a dark reddish color.

How Does Hibiscus Tea Help With Weight Loss?

Hibiscus tea contains several plant compounds which contribute to weight loss. One of the main ways hibiscus tea helps with weight loss is it acts as a carb blocker in the body.

Hibiscus tea prevents your body from absorbing and using some of the carbs you consume. So it's almost like eating a reduced carb diet, without having to eat less carbs! Nice little trick huh?

Hibiscus tea also helps prevent fat storage. Since hibiscus tea improves your digestion, more of the food you consume will actually be used as energy for the body instead of being stored as fat on the body.

Research has proven the weight loss benefits of hibiscus tea.

Which Hibiscus Tea To Use

Loose leaf hibiscus tea will give you the most benefits, but any hibiscus tea you can find will give you some benefits for sure. I just want to make everyone aware that there are different qualities of tea, and loose leaf tea seems to be the best quality you can get. If you are interested in getting the most out of your tea, you may opt for drinking loose leaf tea.

How To Make Hibiscus Tea?

Heat some water on the stove or microwave. Once the water is very hot (not yet boiling) place the tea bag inside a cup and pour the water over the tea bag. Let the tea bag sit in the hot water for 5-10 minutes. The longer hibiscus tea brews, the darker the color, stronger the flavor, and more benefits you will receive from drinking the tea.

I recommend sweetening the tea with stevia if you need a sweetener. The tea does have a sour/tart taste, so some people may want to sweeten it up, although it does taste great plain as well.

When To Drink Hibiscus Tea For Weight Loss

The main ways hibiscus tea helps with weight loss involves blocking carbs and improving digestion, so I suggest drinking hibiscus tea with each meal. When you take hibiscus tea with food, it will be able to do all of these things but if you take it on an empty stomach it will be less effective for weight loss.

Drinking right before eating a meal is also fine. As long as the tea and food are both being processed together, you should still see results.

Other Health Benefits of Hibiscus Tea

Weight loss isn't the only benefit of hibiscus tea. You can gain other health benefits from regular consumption of hibiscus tea.

Hibiscus tea may help with:

• Stress reduction
• Better digestion
• Lower inflammation

How To Increase Weight Loss With Hibiscus Tea

I wanted to include some things you can do for weight loss along side drinking hibiscus tea. Hibiscus tea alone may give some weight loss, but when paired with other healthy habits, your weight loss will soar. Try some of the following tips.

Get More Fiber

Make sure you are getting plenty of fiber rich foods. The recommended amount of fiber for an adult male is 30 grams and the recommended amount of fiber for an adult female is 25 grams. Foods that are rich in fiber are whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes. Fiber rich foods aid the body in weight loss, and help prevent weight gain.

Get More Active

Try to be active at least 4 days out of the week. You will want to choose activities you already enjoy doing. Walking the dog, swimming, and dancing are just a few suggestions you may like to try. Remember that when you are doing an activity that you love, it doesn't feel like a chore and you are more likely to continue doing it for many months.

Cut Out Sweets

Try to cut back on your intake of processed sweet foods such as cookies, cakes, and candy. These foods will be a hindrance on your weight loss journey. They will only slow your weight loss down. Cut back your portions and try to enjoy your dessert slowly.

A good suggestion is to buy a quality 70% dark chocolate bar and eat a square. It will increase your satiety because of it's rich flavor but it will also quench your cravings for sweets.

Low Carb Diet

Since hibiscus tea is a natural carb blocker, pairing it with a low carb diet would increase weight loss exponentially. Reducing your carbohydrate intake to 50-80 grams per day would be a good place to start if you want to see results.

When Will I See Results?

If you are drinking hibiscus tea and doing at least one other activity or habit to promote weight loss, you should see results the first week. Give it at least 3 weeks to see any changes, because your body will need to adjust to the new routine.

I hope these weight loss tips help you on your weight loss journey. Adding hibiscus tea to your weight loss plan can really increase the weight loss results you receive.

Can You Mix Intermittent Fasting Schedules?

I see this question a lot: Can you mix intermittent fasting schedules? So I wanted to address it in a post. But first I wanted to include some definitions.

What Is Intermittent Fasting?

For those who don't know, intermittent fasting is when you have a period of fasting (only consuming water) and a period of eating. This can also be called "time restricted feeding." You essentially eat all your calories of the day within a certain time frame and do not eat outside of that time frame. It has many health benefits including anti-aging, cancer prevention, and lowered risk of disease. Here are some popular intermittent fasting schedules.

Intermittent Fasting Schedules

Intermittent fasting schedules are the schedule at which you eat/fast. Some majorly popular ones are 16/8, 18/6, 24/24, OMAD and 5:2.

16/8

16/8 is where you fast for 16 hours and have an 8 hour eating. It's essentially just skipping breakfast. This is one of the most popular schedules, especially for beginners because it's one of the easiest to stick to.

18/6

This is a schedule where you would fast 18 hours and eat for 6. So this is like eating lunch and an early-ish dinner, reducing late night snacking and skipping breakfast.

24/24

This is a schedule where you eat normally for 24 hours and fast for 24 hours. There are some popular programs that revolve around this intermittent fasting schedule.

OMAD

OMAD stands for One Meal a Day. Usually your eating window every day is just 1-2 hours, so you fast for 22-23 hours. This is a tough schedule, but some really like it.

5:2

5:2 is when you eat normally for 5 days of the week and fast for 2 days of the week. The 2 days should be separated by at least one day, since you are only fasting for 24 hours at a time. This is a more relaxed version of intermittent fasting.

Most people that do intermittent fasting will keep the same schedule every single day. But what if you want to have different schedules? Let's explore that further.

Mixing Intermittent Fasting Schedules

For most intermittent fasting schedules, you could mix and match to meet your needs. As an example, let's say you enjoy OMAD but can't do it every single day. Then you might choose to mix 16/8 with OMAD, doing each on alternate days. That would work very well for someone who just gets too hungry or weak on OMAD.

Let's say you want to have a relaxed weekend, but really buckle down during the week. So Monday thru Friday you could do 20/4 and on the weekend you could do 16/8 to give yourself a little extra treat. I've done something similar to this and it worked.

If you are choosing to do a more weekly schedule, such as 5:2, mixing may not work since you are scheduling weekly and not daily. Something you could do is switch it up weekly. You could do 5:2 one week and 24/24 the next week.

Benefits of Mixing Intermittent Fasting Schedules

If you mix your intermittent fasting schedules, it can provide lots of benefits. One of the big concerns I see with intermittent fasters is they have to go to this event, or that birthday part, or this company lunch and, "What do I say to my coworkers/family/friends?"

Some of them even feel like they have to come out and tell everyone they are intermittent fasting just because everyone keeps asking. As you may know, not everyone understands the science behind intermittent fasting and that it is truly a very healthy way of living. So when you come out with it, you can be met with a lot of criticism and lectures from others that you will have to endure from now on.

This can make you feel depressed and feel like an outsider. Suddenly your mom, sister, aunt, coworker is an expert nutritionist (even if they have weight to lose themselves). Suddenly they know all and begin to argue with you and try to "educate" you. This can be very frustrating and can cause problems with relationships.

Now, it's not always bad when people find out. Some people are more open minded or have heard of it before, so they are more apt to listen to you when you talk about it. And you may notice that some of them start doing intermittent fasting just because you told them you were doing it.

Benefit #1

Mixing intermittent fasting schedules might mean not having to tell anyone that you are intermittent fasting. On the day that you have to eat earlier than normal because of some social event, you can just choose to have a different eating window that day. It's okay to have different eating windows some days. You will still benefit and still lose weight.

On days like those, a 16/8 schedule would probably work just fine. And if you know ahead of time about the event, then you can plan ahead. All it would take is ending your eating window earlier the previous day. That way once the event comes, you will have fasted the full amount.

Let me give you an example so we can put this into context. Let's say you are eating a 19/5 intermittent fasting schedule. You have to go to a birthday party at 1 p.m. tomorrow. All you have to do to stay on schedule is stop eating by 6 p.m. the day before the party. When it's time for the party, you will have fasted 19 hours. Simple right?

If this helps you avoid telling everyone about intermittent fasting, then it's probably the way to go. Most people are not open minded about it yet, so telling them can be hard on you.

Benefit #2

Mixing intermittent fasting schedules could help you stick to intermittent fasting much easier. If you allow yourself to have more relaxed days here and there, you may be able to do this more long term. On your relaxed days, you are still intermittent fasting. You are just choosing a more relaxed intermittent fasting schedule than other days.

I would try hard not to fast for less than 16 hours, because you still want those benefits of intermittent fasting. So do your best to at least keep that rule going as you mix intermittent fasting schedules.

I hope this answered your question and gave you some tips for how to mix intermittent fasting schedules and still be successful.

How To Lose Weight With Weight Loss Teas

In this post, I'm going to cover weight loss teas and how you can use them to help you on your weight loss journey. So let's get started.

What Are Weight Loss Teas?

Weight loss teas are teas used for weight loss. Pretty self explanatory right? The teas are made of dried plants that are steeped in hot water in order to bring out the flavors and compounds used for health benefits. These teas come in a large variety. There are some herbal combination teas which feature more than one herb for weight loss. There are caffeinated and non-caffeinated teas, for those who may be sensitive to caffeine. There are many weight loss teas available with various flavors and benefits.

Types of Weight Loss Teas

As I said, there are many types of weight loss teas. I want to go over each type of tea and give a brief overview of how it works.

Laxative Teas

The laxative style weight loss teas help you lose weight by increasing your trips to the bathroom. They make you poop. Most everyone has backed up waste inside of them, so these teas can be useful every so often. They are NOT something you would want to take every day for an extended period of time. Why? Because your body may start to rely on the tea to help it go to the bathroom and this may cause you to have constipation if you stop taking it.

Laxative teas typically have a main ingredient of senna. Senna is an herbal laxative that increases your trips to the bathroom. You don't want to be taking any products with senna for very many days in a row.

There are definitely side effects to taking these teas for too long. You should always read the box that comes with the tea and follow the instructions on the box. It will usually tell you to only take the tea for a certain number of days in a row. You need to give your body a rest after that. My recommendation is to give your body at least 2 weeks' rest after taking a weight loss tea for many days.

Detox Teas

Sometimes laxative teas are mislabeled as detox teas. A laxative tea really doesn't detox your body. It just gets rid of waste. A true detox tea will have herbs that purify the blood, help move the lymph, and cleanse your liver.

These teas typically have herbs such as dandelion, parsley, and sarsaparilla. Yogi has a detox tea that is amazing and has many good herbs for true detoxing.

Detox teas can be used for weight loss if you feel like your body is toxic. I've spoken about this in another post, but if your body has excess toxins, it is more likely to hold onto fat. So in that way, detox teas can encourage weight loss. But you will also need to add a few things to help your body detox. I suggest daily saunas, warm epsom salt baths, and exercise which will all detox the body further.

Detox teas may not lead to as much weight loss as some of the other weight loss teas. It just depends on your body. But it is very important to help your body detox, especially while losing weight so I encourage you to do a detox cleanse every so often just to help your body clean out.

Metabolism Boosters

Last but not least, we have the weight loss teas that boost metabolism. These teas boost your metabolism. You burn more calories throughout the day, and typically burn more fat as well. Some of these teas also reduce fat storage. These are usually the best teas to use for weight loss. The previous mentioned teas may give some weight loss, but there will be a point where the weight loss stops. Metabolism-boosting teas will help you achieve more weight loss.

Some metabolism boosting teas include green tea, oolong tea, and white tea.

Hyped Instagram Teas

A word about weight loss teas and sponsored posts: I just want to say that I noticed there are a lot of weight loss teas that get advertised on Instagram, Facebook, and elsewhere. It's usually a pretty and fit celebrity or other popular influencer that is telling you they love this tea and you should go try it.

What you need to know is they got paid a whole lot of money to say that. It's important to keep this in mind. Some of those teas are grossly overpriced and some of them don't even work very well. You need to remember that just because a celebrity tells you to buy something doesn't make it a good product.

The celebrity in question probably didn't lose weight from the tea. They were probably already fit to begin with, or used other means to lose weight. It's kind of deceptive because they are making it look like they use this tea to look amazing when it really probably has everything to do with their diet and lifestyle.

Always do your own research. Look into the real online reviews. Look at their Amazon reviews. Research the ingredients in the tea. I'm not telling you not to buy the tea. I'm telling you to educate yourself on these teas before buying them.

Herbal Teas

There are some herbal teas that are known to help with weight loss. These teas can be consumed by those who are caffeine sensitive. Herbal teas contains antioxidants which give many health benefits.

Rooibos tea has been studied for it's ability to help people with weight loss. It helps to curb your appetite and improve digestion.

Chamomile tea also curbs appetite and improves digestion. Chamomile tea will work for those who tend to eat when they are stressed. Chamomile tea lowers stress hormones in the body, therefore making you less stressed and less hungry.

Hibiscus tea is a sour tasting tea that can help you with weight loss. It works by preventing you from absorbing some of the carbs you eat. So it naturally reduces your carb intake for you. Hibiscus tea also prevents your body from forming new fat cells, and it uses ingested fat as energy for your body.

Drinking 4 to 6 cups of herbal tea per day can help you lose weight.

When To Use Each Type of Tea

Because there are so many types of weight loss teas, it can be confusing to know when to use each kind of tea. I will give you some suggestions to help you figure out the type of tea you should be using.

Laxative teas and detox teas are best used at the very beginning of your weight loss program. They help clean you out and prepare you for the lifestyle changes that are about to take place. It kickstarts your weight loss program and increases the initial weight loss. This keeps you motivated to stick with it as well.

Metabolism boosting teas can be used all throughout your weight loss program. They are made to help boost your metabolism so that you burn more fat throughout the day. They can really potentiate your weight loss benefits from any weight loss program.

How To Make Weight Loss Teas

Teas typically come in these small bags. You would take a coffee mug, fill it with water, and heat the water in the microwave until it's hot. Then add the tea bag and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. The taste and concentration of the tea increases as you let it sit for longer periods of time. You will notice you get a darker and stronger tea if you let it sit for 10 minutes instead of 5 minutes.

If you don't have a microwave or don't like microwaves, you can heat the water in a pot on the stove until it's warm. Place the tea bag in the cup and pour the hot water over the tea bag. Then let it sit.

I suggest that you don't add any sugar, honey, or other calories to your tea. This adds calories where you don't want any extra calories. Try to get used to the flavor without it, or just use no calorie stevia sweetener. But trust me when I say that none of these teas taste bad plain. You just have to get used to it.

Loose Leaf Teas

Rumor has it that loose leaf teas are actually higher quality and may provide better benefits. So what are loose leaf teas?

Loose leaf teas are not in individual bags like the other teas. They come as dried leaves which you will have to put in a tea ball. A tea ball is a little round ball that you would place the tea leaves in so that you can steep the tea (like a tea bag). Some people buy these loose leaf teas because there are reportedly better benefits to these teas.

I have never consumed loose leaf tea, so I cannot make remarks about the taste or quality, but I believe it would be better quality than tea bags. You can order loose leaf teas online. I have no affiliation with Mountain Rose Herbs, but they are a company that provides good quality herbs so I do recommend them.

Most Effective Weight Loss Teas

There are a few teas that are considered the most effective weight loss teas. Those would be green tea, white tea, oolong tea, and pu-erh tea. What is really interesting is that all of these teas come from the camellia sinensis plant. The pu-erh tea and oolong tea are both fermented teas.

All of these teas have amazing health benefits. They aren't just used for weight loss, but they are also anti-aging, anti-cancer, and protect against a variety of diseases. They are consumed across Asia for the many health benefits they provide.

An interesting note here. The top effective weight loss teas tend to contain caffeine. Some would argue that it's the caffeine itself that accounts for the increase in weight loss. That's just not true. While caffeine does help with weight loss, various studies have concluded that there are other factors at play that help you lose weight, such as antioxidants and plant compounds.

If you are sensitive to caffeine, you should find an herbal tea that fits your needs and taste buds. They are caffeine free and help with weight loss as well.

Weight Loss Teas and Studies

Green tea is probably one of the most studied weight loss tea around. From studies we have learned that consuming green tea will increase your 24 hour energy expenditure by 4-6%. So green tea is proven to boost metabolism and help you lose weight.

Oolong tea has also been proven to help you lose weight in studies. The study says that oolong tea boosts energy expenditure by 2.9%. This was only a small study though, and more studies are needed to show the benefits of oolong tea.

White tea is another popular weight loss tea. It hasn't been studied as well as green tea either, but a study showed white tea's ability to break down fat and help prevent you from storing fat.

Pu-erh tea is well known in some parts of the world as a great tea for weight loss. It has been shown in studies to help people lose weight and prevent weight gain.

Rooibos tea is an herbal tea that has proven weight loss benefits as well. Rooibos tea has been proven in studies to burn fat and help prevent fat cell from forming in the first place. This can be a great ally in your weight loss plan.

Green tea, oolong tea, white tea, pu-erh tea, and rooibos tea are all teas that I highly recommend for anyone that is trying to lose weight. They are tested and proven to help with weight loss. Plus, all of these teas have other amazing health benefits as well.

Personal Experience

I wanted to speak for a moment about my personal experiences with these teas. I have tried green tea, white tea, and oolong tea. I've never tried pu-erh or rooibos tea.

Green tea has a nice flavor. It's not strong like black tea. I do feel more energy from drinking green tea. I believe green tea helps with dental health as well.

White tea has a very light and mild flavor. I like the taste much more than green tea or oolong tea. I did experience weight loss while drinking white tea, but I was also going to the gym regularly at the time. You will lose inches from your stomach by using white tea and exercise together.

Oolong tea has a pretty strong flavor. I prefer to drink it hot, because if you drink it cold it's very bitter. It will actually make you sweat. You can feel the fat burning when you drink oolong tea. I feel like oolong tea is the strongest weight loss tea of the three that I've tried. I feel the effects much more with oolong tea than the others.

You can find many people talking about their experiences with weight loss teas online. I would trust a normal person and not a public figure that is being paid to talk about it. There are plenty of regular people giving testimonials on youtube and other places.

What To Expect When Using Weight Loss Teas

If you are going into this thinking you will drop 20 lbs in a week or two, you've got to get that out of your head. The weight loss that comes with drinking weight loss teas is still very natural and normal. You can expect to lose 1-2 lbs a week. You may lose more in the very beginning due to water weight.

I realize what the advertisements tell you. They are really trying to sell products to people and they do that by promising outrageous things. I'm telling you this so that you will know what to expect and have patience until the results come. You have to be willing to stick with it for at least a few weeks to see what kind of results it will give you.

A Weight Loss Tea Diet Plan

I suggest choosing one weight loss tea and using that tea to help you lose weight. Drink about 5 cups of tea per day while on this weight loss plan. Remember not to add sugar or calories to the tea when drinking it.

You will want to use just one tea because you want the benefits of that tea to compound. You will receive more benefits from sticking to one tea than you will from trying to drink several different teas. If you don't feel like that's the tea for you, switch to one of the other teas mentioned here.

Things To Do While Using Weight Loss Teas

I have seen where weight loss teas can help people lose weight all on their own, and I provided studies in this article to give you an idea of how much you could lose from weight loss teas. I wanted to talk about other things you can do to speed up weight loss while using weight loss teas.

Exercise

Exercise is a good way to increase your weight loss. It works with the weight loss teas to help burn even more fat. Green tea and exercise combined has shown to burn more belly fat than just green tea by itself. It's important to choose an exercise that you enjoy. Don't worry about how many calories the activity burns. If you enjoy it, you will end up burning more calories in the long run due to the fact that you aren't making yourself do something uncomfortable for you.

Counting Calories

Keeping your calories in check will help speed up your weight loss while using weight loss teas. You don't have to restrict yourself too much in order to see weight loss. Since you are already using the weight loss teas, just try to cut your portions. Control your snacking throughout the day and make sure you just have one serving instead of the whole thing.

There are small things you can do to easily cut calories. You can replace all your drinks with either water or weight loss tea. No sodas, no sugary drinks, not even diet soda. Just water and weight loss tea. If you are a big soda drinker, doing that by itself is enough to lose a ton of weight.

Takeaway

Weight loss teas can definitely be effective. Many teas have scientifically proven weight loss benefits. You likely won't get down to your goal weight just by adding weight loss tea alone (although it's possible). You may want to consider making at least one other lifestyle change to help you lose weight. That may include cutting portions or exercising.

Remember that losing 20 lbs per week is not possible and not something you would want to do. Aiming for 1-2 lbs a week is definitely a better goal. Slow and steady weight loss helps to prevent loose skin and relapse into old habits.

Trying one tea at a time can help you make sure that you get all the benefits possible from the weight loss tea.