6 Drinks That Help Women Shed Belly Fat
Are you looking to shed some pounds and improve your body composition? If so, swapping in some drinks packed with functional ingredients designed to help boost metabolism and burn body fat can be a huge help! These are the best types of drinks if your goal is to reduce bloating and lose weight–especially around your belly.
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What you’re drinking can make or break your weight loss efforts
Choosing the right beverage (even if it’s just water) to get you through the day makes a big difference in your body’s ability to lose weight. The right drinks can help you consume fewer calories and provide beneficial nutrients for weight loss.
But many drinks that are marketed as “healthy” (and especially the prepackaged ones) can do the exact opposite, contributing to weight gain by spiking blood sugar and triggering body fat storage. Common culprits are soda and fruit juice, plus some types of blended vegetable juice. Sugar sweetened drinks like soda may be obvious to avoid, but it’s always important to read the label, especially if the front of the bottle claims it has certain health benefits for promoting weight loss.
If your goal is to reduce calorie intake or lose weight in a healthy way, here are the weight loss drinks I recommend.
Green tea
Drinking 2-4 cups of green tea per day may prevent weight gain, and might even help you lose weight. Green tea is packed full of antioxidants and other phytonutrients that show potential to boost metabolism and help with weight loss. Special kinds of antioxidants called catechins show particular potential for weight management—and green tea is full of them.
So much so, that participants who drank green tea burned more calories over an 8-week period than those who didn’t drink green tea (1).Â
Apple cider vinegar detox tonic
Cleanse and boost your energy with this apple cider vinegar detox drink recipe. Drinking a cup in the morning primes your digestive system to absorb nutrients, may help reduce body fat, and helps fight off bacteria overgrowth like Candida.
A 2009 study published in Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry found that consuming acetic acid, the main ingredient in apple cider vinegar, lead to significant decline in body weight, belly fat, waist circumference, and triglycerides after 12 weeks (2).
Watch: How to Detox Naturally At Home
What you’ll need:
- 10 oz waterÂ
- 2 tablespoons ACV
- 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger, or ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 dash cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon raw honey (optional)
How to make:
Bring filtered water to a simmer in a saucepan, then turn off the heat. Add all ingredients to the pan and stir until all ingredients are combined. Allow to steep for 3-5 minutes. Then, filter the apple cider vinegar detox drink through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth and into your favorite mug or travel bottle. This drink can be enjoyed warm or iced, depending on your preference.
Learn more: Detox Methods That Actually Work + 5-Day Cleansing Meal Plan
High-protein smoothie
This smoothie does it all—it has protein to build muscle, healthy fats for balanced hormones, and zero added sugar. This smoothie leaves nothing out, and will keep you satisfied throughout the morning because it’s loaded with appetite-quenching ingredients to keep you full and focused.Â
Getting adequate protein is key when losing weight. In studies, women who consume at least 30 grams of protein with breakfast lost significantly more weight and had less cravings than women who ate less protein (3).Â
What you’ll need:
- 2 scoops collagen powder or protein powder of choice (providing about 20 grams of protein)
- 1 Tbsp ground flax
- 1 Tbsp chia seeds
- 1 Tbsp cashew butter*Â
- 1 ½ cups unsweetened almond milk (Pro tip: keep an ice cube tray in the freezer of your milk of choice for an extra thick smoothie)
- ¼ cup frozen or fresh mixed berries (or another berry of your choice)
- One handful fresh spinach
- Optional: Handful of ice cubes if you’re not using frozen almond milk cubes
How to make:
Add all ingredients to a high-powered blender and puree until smooth. Add additional ice cubes if you prefer and blend again. Best enjoyed right when you make it, but it travels well in a thermos.
*Note: Substitute almond butter or another nut butter if you don’t have cashew butter on hand.
Read more: How Much Protein Do I Really Need?Â
Simple Dandelion & Citrus Cleansing tea
This tea combines the best of both worlds: herbal dandelion and fragrant citrus. The combination is great for fat burning, healthy digestion, and can help reduce bloating. Many of my patients have trouble losing weight due to an imbalance in the liver—and that’s exactly why dandelion tea is so beneficial.Â
Since your liver is a key part of your metabolism, processing all manner of toxins and metabolic waste, it can become overburdened and quickly stall your efforts to reduce body weight. Dandelion tea supports detox in the liver and can facilitate weight loss by unburdening your liver. It’s especially helpful if you’ve overindulged on fats, sweets, or alcohol.
What you’ll need:
- 8-12 oz. of hot water
- 1 bag of dandelion root tea
- 2 Tbsp of unsweetened 100% organic cranberry juice
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 teaspoons of raw honey (to reduce bitterness and support immune function)
I like to let this dandelion tea steep overnight in a large mason jar with a lid, with just the tea and water. Then in the morning I add the remaining ingredients and honey.
Try these: Ayurvedic Teas for Digestion & Bloating
Gut health shot
The green juice recipe to beat all green juice recipes! Feeling sluggish or like your gut just isn’t moving the way you want? This tonic helps support digestive detox, plus a little extra TLC for your liver, too. Not to worry, this gentle wellness shot won’t have you wondering if you should stick near a bathroom all day, but it will help clean up a few things in your gut that could be slowing you down.
Cilantro is great for helping upregulate detox enzymes in the liver, which is responsible for removing a big portion of the unwanted toxins and waste from your tissues, including heavy metals and endocrine disruptors (4). Fresh ginger helps keep food moving through a sluggish digestive system, while a healthy splash of kombucha supports those beneficial bacteria in your gut that work hard to keep you feeling your best (5).
Cucumber and kiwi round out this detox drink with phytonutrients and a bright, refreshing flavor that will taste so great you’ll have no problem making this a regular part of your daily routine.
Watch: Myths Behind Green Smoothies—Are They Doing More Harm Than Good
What you’ll need:
- 1 small cucumber, choppedÂ
- 2 ripe kiwis, peeled
- ½ cup kombuchaÂ
- 1/2 ripe avocado, about 1/4 cup
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
- Ice cubes
How to make:
Add all ingredients, minus kombucha, to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a large glass and stir in kombucha. Enjoy immediately!Â
Ayurvedic Golden Milk
Golden milk is the coziest beverage that you’ll love in place of sugar-sweetened beverages like hot chocolate or a flavored latte. It’s a combination of ingredients that decrease inflammation while helping to boost metabolism. These functional foods have uses dating back centuries in Ayurvedic medicine.
Turmeric has anti-viral, gut supporting, and anti-inflammatory properties, in addition to supporting immune function and a healthy digestive flora (6). Ginger is packed full of phytonutrients as well as compounds which facilitate the movement of food through the digestive system. Bye-bye belly bloat!
A teaspoon of manuka honey helps marry all these rich flavors together while providing a hint of sweetness and its own therapeutic benefits.Â
You’ll need:
- 1 bag green tea
- 8 oz filtered water
- 1, 1/4 inch slice of fresh ginger
- 1, 1/4 inch slice of turmeric root (if using powder, add ½ teaspoon)Â
- 1 tsp Manuka honey
- 1/4 cup coconut milk
How to make:
Bring filtered water to a gentle simmer in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add tea bag, ginger, and turmeric, then remove from heat. Let the mixture steep for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth into a mug and stir in honey and coconut milk.
Best drinks to lose fat
For the best fat-loss results, you should include a variety of drinks in your daily diet, and plenty of water. But if you’re looking to replace things like soda or fruit juice, these can help support weight loss goals while also giving you something more exciting to drink besides plain water! Each beverage contains beneficial ingredients that promote fat burning and boost metabolism naturally. By incorporating these drinks into your routine, you can get on track to achieving your goals without feeling like you’re depriving yourself!
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