5 Nutritious Drinks for Weight Loss

By Joanna 05/06/2015 In
Recipes
Drinks

The key to losing weight isn’t just watching what’s on your place, it is also watching what’s in your glass. If you are eating really well, exercising regularly, but the weight isn’t shifting, sometimes it can be down to not being aware of your daily beverages.

Drinking soft drinks, energy drinks, packet fruit juices, “health” drinks, “fancy” coffee or tea loaded with sugars or artificial sweeteners can sabotage your weight-loss goal. With all the commercials and claims nowadays, we have to be extra careful with the products we choose.

Not drinking enough water daily can also slow down weight loss. Our body need between 2.5 – 3L of water a day. Water is essential in filtering waste products and toxins from your body so that it can function at its best. So I’m going to share with you 5 nutritious drinks, which you can drink daily and speed up your weight loss goal.

DRINK 1 – Green Tea

If you have been watching my videos, I’ve recommended Green Tea over and over again as a great natural “Fat Burner”. That is because green tea is rich in antioxidants, which aid in burning fat, especially belly fat by triggering the release of fat from fat cells. So if you’re looking to reduce belly fat, then drink green tea as part of your daily beverages. Consume between 3 – 5 cups a day to gain the most benefits.

And if you sip green tea before a workout, it can also increase fating burn during aerobic exercise. The caffeine contain can also boost your energy level and increase your performance, hence producing better results.

Other unsweetened teas, which can aid with weight loss include, Oolong Tea, Peppermint Tea, Pu Er Tea and White Tea

DRINK 2 - Whey Protein

Whey protein isn’t just for men or body builders. In fact, combined with your regular exercises, it can speed up weight loss while maintaining and building lean muscles.

Some of the known benefits of consuming Whey protein include:

1) Reduce Hunger & Eating Less.

Protein is a more satiating nutrient compared to carbs or fat. What this means is that, adding whey protein to your diet can make you feel fuller for much longer, hence encouraging you to consume less calories throughout the day and even boost your metabolism. For those of you who are already drinking whey protein, I’m sure you’ll agree that just one scoop will keep you full for at least 2 – 3 hours.

2) Whey promotes body fat loss by blocking fat storage and enhance fat burning effects of exercise.

So if you’re looking at toning up by losing fat and gaining lean muscles, consuming one scoop of whey protein prior to working out can increase calorie burning over the next 24 hours.

And of course, to lose weight, you will still need to stick within your recommended calorie requirement. Rather than adding extra calories to your diet by drinking a whey shake in addition to others meals, use the shake as a replacement for a daily snack or small meal.

And besides consuming whey protein as a supplement, you can always add it into your recipes, for instance, adding a scoop into your morning oatmeal, muffins, pancake mixture and more.

DRINK 3 – Lemon Water

I’m sure we’ve all heard about the benefits of drinking lemon water, especially in the morning on an empty stomach. Lemons are rich in Vitamin C and potassium, which is a key nutrient for healthy metabolism.

Drinking a warm cup of lemon water in the morning has been proven to:

1) Improve digestion and rehydrate the body.

When we get up in the morning, our body is dehydrated from not having any fluid for at least 7 – 8 hours. So it is very important to rehydrate your body by drinking at least 2 – 3 cups of water first thing in the morning.

And by squeezing just 2-3 tbsps of lemon juice into a glass of water, it can improve your digestion, reduce bloating, flush out body toxin and even boost your energy level.

2) Reduce Wrinkles & Clearer Skin

Drinking lemon water can also reduce wrinkles and lead to clearer skin.
It contains Vitamin C, which is needed for collagen production for strong, smooth, healthy skin.

3) Maintain a Healthy Weight

And of course, lemon water is also known to help with maintaining a healthy weight. Because lemon juice improves digestion, this will also indirectly improve the body’s ability to burn calories and boost metabolism.

This simple habit of drinking warm lemon water 1st thing in the morning and drinking at least 3 cups daily can support a healthy weight loss.

I would suggest that you try these different combinations for even more added benefits:

1) Lemon juice, Honey / Maple Syrup, Cayenne Pepper

2 tbps of freshly squeezed lemon, 2 tbsp Maple Syrup / Honey, 1/8 tsp of Cayanne Pepper, 1 cup of water

2) Lemon juice, ginger juice & honey

2-3 tbsp lemon juice, 2tbsp ginger juice, 2tbsp honey, 1 cup of water

3) Lemon juice, honey, apple cider vinegar, 1 cup of lukewarm water

1tsp ACV, 1tsp lemon juice, 1tsp honey, 1 cup of water

4) Lemon Juice & Honey

2tbsps lemon juice, 2 tbsp honey, 1 cup of water

5) Lemon Juice & Green Tea

Add 2 tbsp of lemon juice into 1 cup of green tea

**Use only Raw Honey. Mixed with 1 cup of lukewarm water.

The addition super ingredients such as cayenne pepper, ginger juice and apple cider vinegar have the benefits to boost metabolism, shrink fat cells, stimulate the body’s fat burning mechanism, reduces water retention, keeping your hydrated and refreshed throughout the day.

You don’t have to go on any crazy Lemonade Diet or take extreme measures, instead drink Lemon Water regularly to support a healthy weight loss regime.

DRINK 4 – Naturally Flavoured Water

I guess we all would agree the best choice for effective weight loss and to maintain a healthy weight is to drink enough water everyday, at least 2.5 – 3L. However, water can be a boring choice to some of you. So transform it into a delicious glass of healthy, refreshing, naturally flavoured water instead.

I’m going to keep the recipe really simple so that you can make it in under 5 minutes and you can keep trying different varieties of flavoured water. The combination is simple to use:

1) Fruit or Vegetable (1 or 2 selections)
2) Herbs or Spices
3) 1L Water

Place all the ingredients into a pitcher chill it in the fridge for about an hour before serving. If you like a stronger flavor, then allow it to sit in the fridge overnight and consume within 24 hours.

Here are few of my favourite combinations:

1) Spiced Apple & Cinnamon Water
- 1 medium apple, sliced
- 1 cinnamon stick

2) Cucumber Mint Cooler
- ½ a Cucumber, thinly Sliced
- ½ Lemon, thinly sliced
- A small handful of fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped

3) Orange & Vanilla
- 1 Orange, thinly sliced
- ½ tsp Vanilla Extract

4) Cucumber & Lemongrass Cooler
- ½ a Cucumber, thinly sliced
- 1 stalk Lemongrass, smashed with a rolling pin

5) Citrus Boost (Orange, Lime & Lemon)
- ½ Lemon, thinly sliced
- ½ Orange, thinly sliced
- ½ Lime, thinly sliced

You can add or reduce each ingredients depending on how strong you want the flavours to be. Pour a glass, add some ice in and enjoy!

These naturally flavoured drinks provide a subtle, refreshing taste to your palate without adding many calories, plus you body will also benefit from the fruits, vegetables or herbs infused water. You can refill the water 1 to 2 times and let it infuse again, but the flavors won’t be as strong.

Now, if you were to buy flavored waters, they could be made with added colors, sugars, and other unhealthy agents. So why would you want that?

DRINK 5 – Black Coffee

And finally, coffee lover, you’ll be happy to know that Black Coffee made it into my Top 5 Nutritious Drinks for Weight Loss list! Black coffee is calorie-free and rich in antioxidants. Caffeine is known to boost metabolism and suppress hunger. Drinking a moderate amount of coffee, 2 – 3 cups a day, can also improve mood and concentration.

So your morning cup of Joe isn’t that bad after all. But just be careful about what goes into your coffee. I would either stick to black coffee or add just a small amount of semi-skimmed milk.

Drinking “fancy coffee” with high amount of full fat milk, sugar or syrup on a regular basis can actually lead to weight gain. They tend to be high in calories ranging from 150cals a cup and even up to 400cals depending on the size and added toppings. Keep your coffee simple and basic to gain its benefits.

These 5 nutritious drinks are not miracle weight loss drinks. Just drinking them on their own without changing your lifestyle, will not help you lose weight. So you will NOT lose weight by drinking green tea on a daily basis AND eating junk foods at the same time.

However, if you eat a clean, well-balanced diet, exercise regularly and add these nutritious drinks into your new lifestyle, you will see improve on your weight and overall health.

 

#jsohactive
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