We know that two of the best ways to lose weight naturally [1] are having a healthy diet and regular exercise. If you've been researching other natural weight-loss methods, drinking green tea [2] has more than likely appeared in your search. In order to find out whether drinking green tea for weight loss is just another myth, POPSUGAR spoke to nutritionist Maya Feller, MS, RD, CDN of Maya Feller Nutrition [3] and GMA contributor.
"In animal studies, mice fed a high-fat and high-sucralose (sugar) diet along with green, black, and oolong tea polyphenols had significantly lower body weight [4] in comparison to mice only fed high-fat and high-sugar diets," Feller said. This may sound promising for humans, but research has shown that "there is an effect but not as significant," Feller told POPSUGAR. While researchers have found a minor decrease in the overall fat mass of obese and overweight people [5], Feller said that it hasn't been found to be clinically relevant. If you like green tea, Feller said there's no reason to stop drinking it as it does have various health benefits.
Some steps you can take to lose weight naturally are: eating minimally processed whole foods [7], eating fewer calories than you burn [8], and beginning an exercise program like strength training [9].