Drink This, Drop Pounds

There's an affordable way to get more fat-burning power from your workouts, and it doesn't involve hiring a personal trainer or drinking a weird-tasting liquid from a fancy sports bottle. Sipping green tea before a workout may help you incinerate your spare tire faster.

In one small study, extracts from green tea helped men burn 17% more fat during a 30-minute, moderate-intensity cardio workout. It's not clear how green tea boosts metabolism, but it's possible that something in the healthy brew makes fat more available as fuel, so you oxidize more of it when you exercise. And, unlike sports drinks, green tea doesn't contain calories, so you don't even have to do extra time to burn off the beverage. Plus, while it's turning your workout into a fat-blitzing bonanza, green tea is also helping to steady your blood pressure, protect your memory, and cut your cancer risk. That's a lot of power in a little tea bag.

Just keep two things in mind if you usually do your workouts after the sun goes down: 1) green tea contains some caffeine -- about 30 milligrams per 8 ounces; and 2) a good night's sleep may do more for your weight loss efforts than green tea will.