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Though starting the day with a glass of lemon water is the thing for many people who want to lose weight, there are actually more effective ways to painlessly shed the pounds. Here are three common and very easy-to-prepare beverages that help a person lose weight faster than lemon water.
Green Tea
Green tea gets its name because of its color, which occurs because it does not go through the extensive fermentation process of black tea. It is full of health-giving properties that arise from special types of flavonoids called catechins. There are five types of catechins, and they are all antioxidants. Antioxidants are substances that can neutralize free radical molecules that cause damage to other molecules, including the molecules that make up the DNA of a cell. There are over 120 milligrams of catechins per 100 grams or about 3 and a half ounces of brewed tea.
During one study, healthy Japanese men were divided into two groups. Over a 12 week double-blind study, one group was given green tea or oolong tea. The men who were in the green tea group lost significantly more weight than the men who drank the oolong tea. Scientists believe that the caffeine and the catechins in the tea enhance the effectiveness of the weight loss. A type of green tea powder called matcha is especially effective at burning calories and boosting a person’s metabolism without raising either the heart rate nor the blood pressure. One study found that drinking matcha can raise how quickly the body burns calories from 8 to 10 percent to 35 and 43 percent.
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Experts recommend that a person who wants to lose weight drink the green tea brewed with fresh, hot water with no added sugar. If the taste of tea is too bitter or bland, the person can add a teaspoon or two of stevia, a plant-derived sweetener that adds no calories yet is 200 times sweeter than sugar.
Coffee
Coffee seems to work in weight reduction by giving a person the will and energy to exercise longer, which means that they burn more calories. It is best if the coffee is drunk black because adding cream and sugar defeats the purpose of trying to lose weight. Again, if black coffee is a bit too bitter, stevia can be added.
Ice Water
The interesting way ice water or any cold beverage causes weight loss is by forcing the body to work to maintain its normal internal temperature of 98.6 degrees. This causes the body to use energy, which burns calories. The best thing about drinking a glass of water is that the water itself has no calories at all. It actually costs the body more in the way of calories to drink the water than the water contains.
Health experts recommend that a person drinks an 8-ounce glass of ice water in the morning, at lunch and at dinner. This can cause the body to use up as much as 100 extra calories, which can result in a weight loss of 10 pounds over a year. If a person finds plain ice water day after day to be boring, they can liven it up with the addition of fresh fruits, herbs, and spices.
Losing weight doesn’t even have to involve something as strenuous as slicing lemons. All it takes is a couple of ice cubes and fresh water, a teabag or a spoonful of powdered green tea, some fresh ground coffee and fresh, boiling water.[/nextpage]