Something everyone needs to try at least try if you enjoy herbal teas

I'm bad about going on a "diet."  I've been blessed all my life to have a bean-pole.  Lol.  I was always the "runt" at school.  In case you didn't know, currently I am 5'4" and 108 lbs.  Yes.  108 lbs.  When I was in the police department I started at 108 lbs, but I increased my weight through heavy-duty training and went up to 117 lbs.  Took me 3 years to lose the 10 pounds I gained.  After I left in the police department, my new muscle build-up turned to fat.  But needless to say, I'm back where I want to be weight-wise.

So, as you can see I have no reason to go on "diets" really.  I don't eat total junk food, but I definitely don't eat total "rabbit food" (as Dave would say).  I do know that there things I should change in my diet.  And every now and then, I actually find a few things that stick with me.

I love tea. Iced tea, green tea, red (rooibos) tea, earl grey tea, english breakfast tea, chai tea, etc.  I sweeten them with a variety of stuff: sugar, splenda, or honey.  A month or so ago I heard about another kind of tea: Yerba Mate.  Actually, I saw it on "Dr. Oz."

There are six commonly used stimulants found in nature: kola nut, coffee, tea, yerba mate, cocoa, and guarana.  Supposedly, yerba mate is said to be well balanced because it provides both energy & nutrition.  So I did some more reading on the internet about it.

That night I made a trip to the grocery store to get a box of it.  Rather expensive -- more than the other teas.  I didn't try it for a number of weeks.  I don't know why.  I took some tea bags to work (where I drink a lot of hot tea) and drank some with my lunch.  It was rather earthy tasting, but very aromatic (almost like flowers) and very smooth tasting.  I don't believe all the hype about energy drinks.  So I drank it more for enjoyment.  However, I did notice that by the time I got home, I felt peppy enough for a run.  I didn't have to convince myself to get out and run.  I was ready to go.  Odd.  Same day -- same thing.  Interesting...

The last couple of weeks I haven't been drinking it.  Then I drank a cup yesterday at lunch.  I felt refreshed when I got home instead of ready for bed (at 5:30PM).  I was pleased.

On the show, "Dr. Oz," the guest who talked about yerba mate said that it helps with raising metabolism.  I don't know anything about that.  From what I've read, there hasn't been enough studies to show that yerba mate has any effect on obesity.  However, I do believe that there is some merit in that it does stimulate your body.  Unlike energy drinks or even coffee, I don't get jittery or even light-headed after drinking it.  I don't even notice that it provided energy until hours later. 

The stuff tastes pretty good.  It's light enough for a spring or summer beverage, but can also be consumed in the winter just fine.  Worth looking into!

Wikipedia's page on yerba mate
Here's the brand of yerba mate I bought.  It is very informational and much easier to read.

I ran out of yerba mate tea bags at work.  Oops.  Oh well.  I'll live.  :)