Grab a cup of tea, this is going to be a long one. BooTea is a UK based tea detox company. I came across it on Instagram and had to try it as I wanted something to kick start my weightloss. I opted for the 14 day teatox (£19.99), as I had a friends 21st birthday party coming up and thought it would be a quick way of losing a bit of weight beforehand. I received 14 Daytime Detox teabags to be used everyday, and 7 Bedtime Cleanse teabags to be used every other night. Here are the ingredients of the teas:
Chinese Oolong tea, Maté leaves, Ginger root, Fennel seeds, Lemongrass, Dandelion leaf, Ginseng root, Gotu Kola leaves, Nettle leaves.
Ingredients (Bootea) - 'Bedtime Cleanse' Tea
Senna leaves, Peppermint leaves, Fenugreek seeds, Liquorice root, Burdock root, Hawthorn leaves, Valerian root, Psyllium seeds.
My BooTea arrived on the 21-11-13 and I made the first tea as soon as I received it.. First impressions:
Weight
On the 20-11-13 I weighed 61.8kg (as per), I didn't weigh myself on the day I started the detox as 1. I had to leave for uni super early, and 2. I didn't know the detox was going to arrive on that day. However I did weigh myself on 22-11-13 and I weighed in at 61.3k, which I was shocked about as I did not expect to lose weight within a day!
Taste
Both teas taste fine to be honest - just like a herbally green teaish taste. The Bedtime cleanse has peppermint leaves in it, and I'm not a fan of the taste of peppermint, but I'll stomach it for the sake of losing weight. BooTea says you can add lemon juice or honey to either of the teas to make them to your taste.
TMI
I will say that the Bedtime Cleanse tea is definitely cleansing as it does contain senna leaves. In other words, I was up at 6:30am and needed the toilet 3 times within 30 minutes. Sounds gross, but it really wasn't that bad. I've read your stomach will get used to it as the teatox progresses so it's not a big deal to me. The Bedtime Cleanse also says on the packet that the laxative effect will take place in approximately 8 hours, which it did to the T as I drank the tea at 10:30pm.
Diet
To get the best results from the teatox I have decided to follow their eating plan. There are loads of different healthy options for a Morning, Mid-Morning Snack, Lunch, Mid-Afternoon Snack and Dinner. It really is a change of lifestyle more than a 'diet' - you're not depriving yourself. The only one thing you cannot/advise you not to eat is meat. The only thing I find slightly questionable with the eating plan is that you could end up having bread in 4/5 of your daily meals, which I don't think is ever a good idea, let alone if you are trying to lose weight. So I am allowing myself 1 meal containing wholemeal carbs at the most. I have been drinking water like there is no tomorrow. I've been drinking upto 3 litres of water a day, it's super important to keep hydrated during the teatox.
Exercise
One thing I did find today, was that I was able to run for literally tripled the time I have ever been able to run before. I am so so so so so bad at running, and I usually do a 5 minute run as a warm up and feel dead after that. But today I did 15 minutes which I have never in my life run before. Maybe it's mind over matter, but I'm pretty sure it's down to the tea making me feel more energised.
After the teatox:
I finished the tea yesterday (04-12-13) and I lost a total of 2 kilograms (was 61.8kg, now 59.8kg). I'ts extremely frustrating because the initial weight loss made me think that I would continue losing at that rate which I didn't. I lost 1 kilo over the first 3 days, and then another kilo over the last 11 days. I didn't have any cheat days at all, and exercised for 1 hour 30 minutes 4-5 days a week. I will say I have seen a difference in myself, and the fit of my clothes and I lost 1.5 inches off my thighs and 1 inch of each of my arms.
I am pleased I lost something, as I have been stuck at 61.8kg for so frickin' long, I'm just a bit disappointed it wasn't more. It is good if you want a kick start for weight loss, but if like me you lead a relatively healthy lifestyle in terms of eating and working out, you probably won't see huge results. I did feel less bloated, and I have actually decided to continue eating vegetarian (accept from Christmas day ha)as I really don't miss it.
I would recommend doing the teatox, it's only £19.99 and whether it works or not in terms of weight loss, you'll still experience health benefits from detoxing your system.
