Do Tea Diets Really Work?

Green Tea is probably the most popular weight loss beverage other than pure water. Drinking Green Tea has shown to increase thermogenesis (metabolism) and promote fat oxidation in the body, as was found in a study published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Because of Green Tea’s fat-burning power it has become a common ingredient in herbal diet pills and as a diet enhancer in many weight loss programs.

In addition to Green Tea, other teas are becoming popular for the supposed belly-shrinking abilities. Wu Long Tea (also known as Oolong Tea) even has its own diet – Wu Long Tea Diet. To follow this diet all you need to do is substitute all of your normal beverages for Oolong Tea. If you do this it is said that the tea will do the rest, including raising your metabolism, reducing carbohydrate absorption, suppress appetite, aid in digestion, and more.

Sounds pretty good, but do tea diets really work? A friend of mine tried the Wu Long Tea diet and called me about a week after starting it, totally excited. “I’ve lost 5 pounds!” she exclaimed. I admit I was pretty impressed. The Wu Long Tea diet appeared to just make the pounds melt away for her. So, with a new hope of a newly found flab cure I rushed out to the grocery store and bought the best Oolong tea I could find. As soon as I got home I brewed myself a big pot and started guzzling that stuff non-stop. I replaced all of my beverages I would normally drink with Oolong tea and you know what….I gained three pounds in a week.

So why do tea diets work so well for some people and terrible for others? Well, there is one theory I have come up with – success of a tea diet will be greatly influenced by what you were drinking before you started. For example, my friend loved to drink butter milk before bed (yes, it is milk with butter melted in it), but when on the Wu Long Tea Diet she just had tea. Just this switch alone may have been enough to account for some of her amazing weight loss. So if you consider how many calories people drink during the day in juices, coffees, sport drinks and carbonated beverages it is not far fetched to imagine that they will lose weight if all they drink is tea because there is almost no calories in it.

Why did I gain weight? Well, I already know not to drink beverages high in calories so drinking Wu Long Tea instead did not make a big difference in my daily calories consumed. What did make a difference was the “Green Light” I gave myself when it came to eating . I didn’t go crazy, but I ate more than usual and had some higher calorie stuff because I thought the tea was going to work miracles for me like it did my friend. The bottom line is that diets and diet products work differently for everyone. There are so many factors to consider before jumping on the band wagon. Your best bet is to stick to what you know works – eat a healthy diet, control your calorie consumption, and get regular exercise.