Most people understand that simple carbohydrates digest quickly and immediately increase blood glucose levels. What some may not realize is that foods that take more effort for the body to break down, may burn more calories than they contain. These fat-burning foods have a thermogenic effect. The thermogenic effect considers the number of calories it takes to digest the food compared to the overall calorie count it contains. Eating more thermogenic foods, such as celery, can fill you up, without adding extra calories.
Greens are notoriously good for weight loss.
Not only are greens low in calories, but they’re also high in fiber. The fiber fills you and keeps you feeling full longer. Greens contain sulfoquinovose. It helps keep a healthy microbiome balance boosting good microbes and minimizing bad ones so you lose weight more easily. Use beets and beet greens in the salad to burn more fat. Beets boost fat burning and reduce insulin resistance. The amino acid betaine reduces the fat produced.
Protein takes longer for the body to digest.
Eating protein can help you burn fat. Like fiber and fat, protein fills you and keeps you full longer. Foods high in protein also require more time to digest because they take more processing. It can boost metabolism by as much as 25% while digesting. If you’re building muscles as you lose weight, protein provides all the necessary materials. Increasing the amount of muscle increases your metabolism since it takes more calories to maintain muscle tissue than it does body fat.
Some drinks can burn more calories than they contain.
The good old stand-by coffee has zero calories as long as you don’t use any additives. It contains caffeine that can give your metabolism a boost. That boost can be as much as 13%. Drinking a cup of coffee before a workout or consuming one to four cups a day can help with weight loss. Green tea also has caffeine, but it also has EGCG, a biochemical that increases fat-burning. Even drinking water can help burn more calories.
- Eggs are a good source of protein. They keep you full longer and increase the thermogenesis. You’ll benefit from all the nutrients in eggs and the boost to the metabolism, which can be as high as 35% for several hours.
- Using the right types of fat can help you burn more fat. Fats containing omega-3 fatty acids like fish oil or flaxseed oil can prevent insulin spikes. Coconut oil and other oils can increase thermogenesis.
- Add chili peppers to your meals to add more spice and increase fat-burning. The capsaicin in the peppers makes it hot and also boosts your metabolism to burn more calories.
- Add yogurt to your diet to help burn fat. Make it full-fat yogurt. Full-fat yogurt contains conjugated linoleic acid that helps burn fat.
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