Tea for me!

I'm not a huge "weight loss" advocate.  I'm a "be healthy" advocate.   It isn't about pounds (or kilograms) it's about feeling good, and being able to do things you want to do.

I started University in September, and as exams are coming to a close, I'm looking back on the past few months.    A friend of mine and I were recently talking about "Freshman 15" and I commented that I've done the reverse- I've LOST weight my first semester in University.  I am overweight, so this is a good thing because it contributes to being healthy.  Now it may be easier for me because it's not my first time on my own, I live off campus so I'm not stuck with cafeteria food, and I'm in my late 20s.

Looking back on the semester I've noted a few things that have helped me in becoming healthier.   My school has some amazing aquafitness classes and I love anything that's in the water.   I've been going to Aquazumba at least twice a week (three times when I can) and I've recently discovered I really like another Aquafit class they do (deep pool) so I plan on going 5 times a week to an aquafit class of some sort.

Another huge thing that has helped, I'm sure, is my tea addiction that has come full force with University (and the opening of a Davids Tea near where I live).    I like water, I drink a lot of water, but I don't always like bland tasting things, or if my stomach is a bit upset, I can't deal with the taste of water.   I've started consuming a lot of tea though.  Out of the 15 kinds of tea I own, only one has sugar in it, and I rarely add any kind of sugar to the teas... occasionally a dash of agave, but that's pretty rare.   Not only am I drinking more water,  I can't remember the last time I had juice in my refrigerator (which is my go-to for flavoured beverages,  even though I'd only buy 100% juice, it's still a lot of calories and a lot of sugar).   I've inadvertently increased my water intake and decreased my sugar intake.   Awesome!

There's lots of different teas, from lots of different places.  I like the exotic kind of teas you can get in North America from places like David's Tea, Teavana or Steeped Tea.  I'm sure there's countless local tea places across the country as well, you should definitely look into it.   Not all tea I drink is caffeinated (tea only counts as water providing you're taking in less than 500mg of caffeine per day), there are tons of great herbal teas as well, I'm currently drinking a delicious one that I've iced called Pink Flamingo which is a grapefruit, tangerine flavour.

Plus, tea lattés are fantastic.  Instead of buying ones with tons of calories and sugar from coffee shops, I make my own thanks to a $16 milk frother I bought at Stokes (You can get them from $2 at Ikea up to super expensive ones).   Occasionally I'll use Goat Milk, but I've been using soy or almond milk a lot lately- and now, tis the season,   Almond "egg" nog.


You don't need to become a tea addict like me to be healthier, the point of this post are that sometimes it's the little things you do that make a huge change in the long run-  so maybe exercise an extra day a week, or swap out pop or juice for water sometimes.

I'm off to Germany and Austria for Christmas,  I am sure I will report back in January with all the fun, delicious (and probably decadent and fattening) things I've consumed over the holidays.... and will be back with New Years Resolutions :)

Have a great holiday season everyone, and Stay Healthy!