Secrets of Success

Overcome Cravings with Tea/Coffee

I always experience a food craving after lunch. To keep myself busy and tasty,I make myself a cup of tea or coffee. When I have coffee I add a stevia sweetener and semi-skimmed milk. It saves me calories and I feel satisfied.

Make Green Tea Flavorful with Lemon Juice

The health benefits of green tea are often touted, but usually some additive is necessary to make it palatable. Add a splash of lemon juice to plain green tea to cut the harsh, tannic flavor of the tea while reducing (or eliminating) the need for sugar/honey/artificial sweeteners. The citrus juice will also maximize the impact of the tea's antioxidants, making the drink not only more tasty but also more healthy.

Special types of TEA + LEMON = weight loss!

Yogi Tea's = Green Tea Super Antioxidant, Detox, (kidney and liver) and Healthy Fasting + 1/2 a lemon juiced (you can just squeeze it in). Not only are you detoxing, but you are kick starting your metabolism in the morning AND kicking your hunger to the curb. No sweeteners needed for this drink. Its really good... make sure to drink warm as it tricks your brain into thinking that you are full.

Low Carbs

I have been eating less than 100g of carbs per day, and less than 25g of sugar per day. I have lost over seven pounds in two weeks. Just be sure to drink plenty of water, eat vegi's and fruit, and eat meats and cheese. I suggest unsweetened tea to stay busy.

Break a Weight Plateau with Green Tea!

When you are stuck in a plateau, drink four or more glasses of green tea a day with a squeeze of lemon or lime! Do not add sugar. If you must have a sweetener, add a little bit of honey!

The tea will detox your body, boost your metabolism, burn fat, increase exercise endurance and block fat absorption!

Adding green tea to your diet twice or more a week will improve your overall health and weight loss efforts!

Beating a sweet craving

Sometimes at night, I get a craving for something sweet. Rather than having a cookie or piece of pie or whatever other bad thing is around, I make a cup of tea. I use a sweetener that has probiotics in it, and I can add as much as I need to, in order to beat the craving. The warmth and extra sweetness of a cup of Vanilla Caramel hot tea really stop my need for eating junk!

Self made flavored water for 0 calories

Every once in a while I get sick of plain water, but the flavored waters here in Germany are either full of sugar or artificial sweeteners.
I found out how to make my own 0 calorie flavored water threw accident!
We have great fruit teas here in germany, I use 5 bags of fruit tea on a pitcher of hot water and just let it cool down. Then I mix it with sparkling water and finished. Flavored Water!

Cut Sugar Cravings with Herbal Tea

Sometimes at night I get a hankering for something sweet. Instead of grabbing sweets or even fruit, I make a strong cup of fruity (decaf) herbal tea. I especially like tea that has a bit of a kick to it, like the various Zinger teas or minty teas. I don't add sugar because the tea is naturally fruity. An added benefit: it helps you to relax at the end of the day AND it counts as water.

Fruit Teas

I have invested in a large stash of fruit flavored herbal teas. Peach and mint medley (bigelow) herbals are my favorite and I do Pomegranate Green tea when I need a little caffeine. This has really helped me increase my water intake during the day and right before meals. I don't like regular water, but I will drink my peach tea all day long!

Restaurant Tip

Most restaurants are really cold, which always makes me want to order something hearty and comforting. If I get a hot water with lemon (hot tea would work, too) and warm up a little before I order my meal, I'm much more likely to order something that's actually good for me.

Stash Chocolate tea

I love flavored hot tea in the winter, but decided to try some cold. I couldn't believe how great this was cold with a little sweetener added. I have also tried other hot teas cod.

drinking Green tea burns 30% more kcal through the day

Drinking a cup of unsweetened green tea will help your metabolism speed up and allow your body to burn 30% more calories throughout the day - not only that but its great in a detox too!!!

Tea to manage overeating

When I'm struggling with overeating cravings, I make myself a cup (sometimes 2) of unsweetened tea. The tea itself is good for you and stifles cravings, but also the process and time it takes to make it helps distance you from that immediate craving.

Celestial Seasonings True Blueberry Tea

100% natural, herbal, caffeine-free tea.

I really like the flavor of this tea -- it's good hot or cold, and is a great way for me to get some extra glasses of water in. It has a nice, strong, flavor -- a little bit tart, a little bit naturally sweet.

Sometimes I just put a bag in my bottle of cold water -- that's enough to flavor the water enough to help me drink it!

Study health benefitrs of teas

Study health benefits of teas. You can relax and help your health at the same time.

Hot tea with a little milk

The tea is good for you and calorie free while the milk is a little hit of calcium and other good things. You can spread out a cup a milk a long way in tea.

I drink black tea in the morning for some caffeine but not enough to get jangled. Then I switch to decaf for the rest of the day.

And for a change up I switch to a clear herbal.

This works better for me than high cal juices, soda's or sweetened tea. And I enjoy it more than cold water. Try it!

Sprinkle a little Cinnamon on it!

When enjoying a meal of cereal (hot or cold), dessert or even nuts consider adding a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. This fragrant spice has been shown to help stablize blood sugar (it works for me), as well as making food taste great!

yay coffee!!

I found a good list of under 200 calorie drinks at Starbucks. I haven't been there in a while as I am somewhat addicted. These were listed on their website so you can arm yourself before you step in the door

I love Truvia for Sweetening

Nature's Calorie Free Sweetener

Your Tea Party Cook Book on Spark

Establish a Tea Party CookBook for your self under Spark Recipes. Add all the 12 Days of Cookies to this cookbook and other appropriate recipes so you'll find them for tea time or tea parties.

Mmm...tea

I've recently become addicted to Dr. Teas craving teas, which come in flavors like Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream and Blueberry Pie. They are a great replacement for high-calorie, high-sugar desserts!

Tea Instead of Snacks

Try drinking herbal tea instead of having dessert after dinner or snacking at night. It became a new routine for me and definitely helped me lose 120 pounds.

Don't drink caffeine after noon

Don't drink caffeine after noon. It will increase your appetite and make you crave carbs & sugar. Instead, have a cup of decaf herbal tea.

Herbal Tea

Drink a cup of herbal tea every night before bed. It relaxes you and reduces hunger!

Combining Exercise with Other Daily Tasks

I used to have trouble working strength training into my schedule. When making tea, I used to put the water on, go sit down and wait for the water to boil, get up, pour the water into the teapot, set the timer, go sit down and wait for the tea to brew. Now, instead of sitting down, I perform strength training exercises while making tea - wall pushups, lunges, etc... Making 2 cups of tea a day can help me get up to 20 minutes of strength training.