How Matcha Can Help With Weight Loss

Welcome to Week 3 of my 4 week Body Shaping plan! If you’ve just joined me this week, you can read my Week 1 and Week 2 Body Shaping tips. 

This week is about reconsidering your daily coffee, latte or store bought snacks. It’s easy to overlook those sneaky and unnecessary kilojoules in your diet that can be holding you back from your body shaping and weight loss goals.

On my Body Shaping Plan this week, I recommend:

• Swapping your coffee, milky café beverage or store bought snacks with a cup of metabolism-boosting organic matcha or by making a smoothie bowl or healthy protein balls using this amazing superfood.
• Continue with Week 1 and Week 2 tips.
• Continue to replace one meal a day with my Body Shaping Smoothie.
• If matcha isn’t your cup of tea, Genmatcha (Uplifting Zen) is a milder easy drinking green tea that is loaded with health  boosting and body shaping benefits.  Green tea is rich in polyphenols such as EGCG, the most studied polyphenol compound in green tea. According to Journal of the American College of Nutrition, green tea has a higher total antioxidant capacity than black tea and higher antioxidant activity than vegetables such as garlic, kale, spinach and brussels sprouts.
• Green Goddess (oolong tea) is rich in the polyphenol Eeasaponin.  Easaponin, one of the polyphenols contained in oolong, can accelerate the process of metabolism, assisting the body to burn more fat. Studies in the International Journal of Obesity have shown that drinking 2 cups of unsweetened oolong tea daily supports sustained weight loss.

WHAT IS MATCHA TEA?

A fine powdered green tea obtained form the grinding down of green tea leaves. Matcha green tea is essentially a more potent and concentrated form of green tea as it provides all the nutrients from the entire leaf rather than loose leaf green tea.

Recognised as a superfood, matcha contains extremely high levels of antioxidants as well as various compounds associated with improving health and gently supporting weight loss. One serve of matcha is more potent than a regular cup of steeped green tea.

CEREMONIAL GRADE MATCHA VS FOOD GRADE MATCHA

Like different types of chocolate, the difference between ceremonial grade and food grade matcha green tea lies in how they’ve been processed and sourced.

Ceremonial grade matcha is difficult to source. It is the highest quality matcha tea you can get in the world, as it uses the young leaves of the green tea plant. Unlike food grade matcha tea, ceremonial grade is higher in antioxidants and provides a much smoother and richer taste than food grade matcha tea.

Food grade matcha tea is made from more mature green tea leaves and is often combined with other ingredients to make matcha-flavoured foods and drinks you see in cafes.

MATCHA AND WEIGHT LOSS

Matcha is an excellent source of EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), with levels significantly higher than regular green tea. EGCG is a molecule with naturally has metabolism boosting and thermogenic affects in the body, meaning it gently supports weight loss.

According to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, green tea may play a role in the control of body composition via sympathetic activation of thermogenesis, fat oxidation, or both.

In addition, a 2005 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that participants who drank catechin-rich green tea extract daily dropped almost twice as much weight in 12 weeks as participants who didn't.

HOW DO YOU HAVE MATCHA?

I love a hot cup of Matcha green tea to start my day  - it invigorates and makes me feel energised. Just take 1/4 – 1/2  teaspoon of matcha powder and add hot water. In the warmer months, I love mixing matcha with coconut water and a squeeze of lime for a delicious energising and refreshing cooler. As a pre- or post workout formula, I add a serve of Healthy Chef protein.

I also love my matcha almond milk lattes, prepared by whisking Healthy Chef Matcha with home made almond milk then gently heated, but not boiled. A little raw honey helps to round out the flavour.

And there you have it - how matcha can help with your weight loss and body shaping goals! Hope you're enjoying the plan so far.

Stay tuned for this Thursday’s NEW Matcha Body Shaping Smoothie Bowl recipe! A perfect superfood snack on my 4 Week Body Shaping Plan!