Learning to not Hate Green Tea (Love is Out of the Question)

It’s five weeks since I started my diet and exercise regimen… now with assistance from green tea in lieu of my preferred beverages: coffee and diet soda.

I used to hate green tea. Hate it.

H-A-T-E

This is one of the reasons I suspected it was probably very good for me. I tend to dislike healthy things. Not on principle, but by design.

There’s this odd inverse relationship between my dislike of certain foods and their health benefits. The more I like them, the worse they are for me. The more I loathe them… What? You’ve heard of this?

I was disappointed, but not surprised to learn that green tea can benefit weight loss. So, I forced myself to start drinking a couple of tumblerfuls per day. Without sugar. So long as I was going to suffer I figured I might as well go all out.

After a few weeks I’m pleased to report that I’m still alive and doing rather well. Also: I might have been overly harsh about green tea. In fact, it’s not nearly as vile as other things I’ve drank in my life, such as:

  • Gin
  • Kaopectate (bismuth subsalicylate)
  • Motor oil

No, I’m not being facetious. I did accidentally drink motor oil once. Just that one time.

It would be premature (and anecdotal) to say that green tea has been burning the pounds off me, but it doesn’t seem to hurt, and it’s forcing me to drink at least 4-6 cups of water a day (in lieu of coffee). Just the idea that it’s widely regard to help, and that I’m seeing (possibly unrelated) improvement is enough to keep me on it.

And I’m developing a tolerance for it. I’ve even got a favourite store brand (TAZO) though I’m also on Kirkland and Bigelow just to spread the misery around a little.  And I’m now exploring loose leaf teas, too (Argo, Teaopia).

Truth be told, I’m hating it much less and I’m getting quite good at making sure I’m getting enough GT every day. I keep it stashed around my home, my workplace and my person the way that criminals keep guns and money handy.

If you see me anywhere, come talk to me.  I’ll hook you up.


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2 responses to “Learning to not Hate Green Tea (Love is Out of the Question)”

  1. Dianne avatar
    Dianne

    I have been drinking Herbalife concentrated green tea and I hate it. I don’t even see any benefit from it. I lose just as much weight on or off the tea, and they claim all this energy…don’t see any difference in the energy level either. Some mornings I wake up and almost gag thinking about having to drink that awful tasting stuff. My family loves Herbalife Herbal Tea Concentrate (Green Tea)….I don’t think I’ll ever learn NOT to hate it.

    1. Todd Lyons avatar
      Todd Lyons

      While I still can’t say I love green tea, I have now reached the point where I really like it. Drinking it plain doesn’t take the sort of courage that it used to, adding some Splenda makes it taste really good, and when I feel like a “treat” I’ll add honey as the sweetener. This week I tried something new, too. I made a protein shake using green tea as the base instead of water. It was really good! Three cups of green tea, two scoops of vanilla flavoured protein powder and one cup of frozen cherries. That might be more than one person can drink in one sitting, so it would probably be best to halve those amounts. Anyway… I’ve never tried Herbalife brand, but TAZO (teabags) and Argo (loose tea; needs an infuser) are excellent.

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