What if drinking tea could make you slim?
Sounds pretty great, right? Many of us drink tea anyway, so if you could just switch up the type of tea you drink and see tangible weight loss, what would you have to lose? (Other than a few pounds, of course.)
Also, that sounds like it could be one of those too-good-to-be-true weight loss claims that we’ve all heard for years yet they continue to pop up everywhere. Could Skinny teas actually help make you skinny?
About Skinny Bunny Tea
Skinny Teas or Skinny Bunny Teas strive to provide a holistic health experience. The company selects its ingredients to trigger not just digestion but the olfactory system, stimulating a refreshing, a revitalizing, or a calming aroma depending on the tea formula and flavor. The combination of teas and herbs used in their products creates a unique, healthy formula that is not only an excellent alternative to high-calorie drinks, it may help induce weight loss as well. Skinny Bunny aims to create a clean metabolic environment in your body, providing a host of health benefits from the inside out.
Skinny Bunny claims that their teas don’t include any fillers or unnecessary ingredients, which is good if true. They say that it’s an “essentials-only product and not a high intensity supplement,” so the teas aren’t designed to be power-boosting workout supplements and the like. The drinks are really designed to boost weight loss as a complement to a diet and exercise program.
Skinny Bunny Tea Benefits
Skinny teas are designed to provide more than just weight loss. The morning tea formula helps lower cholesterol and blood sugar; boosts energy and immune system function; promotes healthy hair and skin; and boosts brain activity to help you get through the day smoothly. The PM formula does all the same things but also helps you relax, de-stress, and detox throughout the night, so you sleep better and wake up feeling refreshed. Additionally, both teas help reduce bloating and improve triglyceride levels as well as providing numerous antioxidant benefits.
Skinny Tea Ingredients
Skinny Bunny Teas come in two formulas, one for AM and one for PM. Theoretically, you can probably drink one or the other alone, but they are designed to work together to improve your overall health.
AM Formula
includes ingredients such as sencha green tea. Green tea is found in many skinny teas, like Flat Tummy Tea. Other ingredients in the AM formula are yerba mate, oolong, lemongrass, fennel, ginseng, stevia, chocolate pieces and natural/artificial chocolate flavors, calendula, sunflower petals
The AM formula comes in chocolate, vanilla chai, pumpkin spice, raspberry peach, lemon, and tropical chamomile flavors.
PM formula
includes ingredients such as valerian root, lemongrass, Tulsi leaf (holy basil), rose petals, nettle, stevia, spearmint, ginger root, rooibos, and calendula
The PM formula comes in rose, raspberry peach, pumpkin spice, chocolate, lemon, tropical, and citrus vanilla flavors.
A third variety is matcha green tea, which is added as an energy and antioxidant boost and contains no ingredients other than organic matcha green tea.
All the above-listed ingredients (with the exception of “artificial chocolate flavors”) are fairly well-known for providing benefits like antioxidant properties, digestive properties, vitamins and minerals, energy and metabolism boost, anti-inflammatory properties, and a possible weight loss boost. Aside from the flavorings, there aren’t any questionable ingredients here.
Skinny Teas are non-GMO, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, caffeine-free (likely just the PM version), vegan-friendly, and kosher-certified, CGMP-compliant (the FDA’s standards for current good manufacturing practices).
Does Skinny Bunny Work?
The company claims that you can lose up to eight pounds in four weeks just by drinking their AM formula teas. Their self-proclaimed (non-backed) studies show an average weight loss of 17 pounds over two months, but they include the disclaimer that diet and exercise are also necessary, of course.
While the PM version is mainly designed to help you get restful sleep, it is the balanced complement to the AM version in that weight loss is easier when you get proper sleep and restoration.
On Amazon, the 5-star and 1-star reviews are balanced at 35% each, with equally divided reviews. Some say it tastes great but doesn’t work well; others say it tastes terrible but works great. Then there are some who say that they lost weight on the tea without diet or exercise. Some say the PM tea keeps them up all night despite drinking it hours before bed; some say it’s the best investment they ever made. The reviews are all over the place. But at only 20 reviews total, it’s hard to get an accurate reading.
Strangely, on the “reviews” section of skinny.com, there are no actual reviews. When you click there, all that’s visible is a handful of before and after photos—no testimonials or customer quotes. The only actual review on the site is from Natalie Eva Marie, a former pro wrestler who received a free sample of the tea. However, she states that she loves both the AM and PM versions and she drinks them regularly. It’s unfortunate (or telling…?) that the official company site has no customer testimonials, so that’s a bit of a red flag.
Claims vs. Reality
There is some question as to the company’s credibility, considering the lack of testimonials (besides photos) on the site and a few small inconsistencies (the product is listed as caffeine-free, yet black and green tea both have caffeine; also, one user stated that even the PM version includes caffeine, so Skinny had better get their facts straight). The varieties that certain properties apply to should be specified, and there should be product labeling info for each variety and flavor option. Only a few were available. Even some of the flavor listings seem inconsistent.
Also, it seems a bit questionable that there aren’t more reviews on Amazon for a company with such bold claims. Are they posted elsewhere? Have they been deleted or filtered? One reviewer also claimed to have filed a complaint with the company and received no response. Even one such review doesn’t bode well for a company.
Skinny Bunny Tea Safety/Side Effect Profile
There are a few possible side effects that may come from teas such as Skinny, including headaches, nervousness/jitters, vomiting and nausea, and sweating/shivering (largely from the caffeine). While these are not highly likely and could happen with most any tea, some individuals may be sensitive to certain ingredients and should monitor for these symptoms within the first few days of use.
Studies
Despite the fact that the company claims to have done studies, there is no information available on those studies on their website. It states that their ingredients are “clinically studied,” so maybe they’re banking on the fact that the individual ingredient studies have come from external sources and not the actual Skinny Bunny company.
Where to Buy Skinny Tea
On the skinny.com website, a one-time purchase is $20, and subscriptions end up being $17/month with a flat shipping rate in the U.S.
When you purchase a package deal, which includes 28-day supplies of both the AM and the PM teas (plus some literature), you get a free cool-looking Skinny water bottle to mix your (cold) teas in. You can choose different flavors for AM and PM, and you can also choose a one-time purchase ($49) or subscribe ($46.55). And if you’d rather skip the water bottle, you can get a free 28-day supply of matcha.
A few flavors of the PM tea are available on Amazon for $15 (14-day supply) or $20 (28-day supply). The AM version looks to have only certain flavors available for the 28-day supply and 14-day supply. In fact, the pickings are rather slim on Amazon, and some are listed as completely unavailable.
Conclusion
When it comes to teas, it’s tough to get one that’s truly bad for you. With all the natural ingredients Skinny includes (and little to no artificial ones), it won’t likely hurt you to drink all of their teas if you so desire. When it comes to whether Skinny teas will actually make you skinny, well…the jury’s still out. With a lack of credible information available, it’s hard to say for sure. But if you like the flavor and you’re willing to try it long enough, most likely the worst thing that’ll happen is that you’ll be making more trips to the bathroom (which means you’re hydrating and detoxing, so it just might be worth it!). If not, there are plenty of other teas in the sea.
