We all know too well eating and inevitably a couple of extra kilos usually accompany good times. With the holidays over and resolutions to start the New Year on a healthy note, it is time to get back to taking care of ourselves and mend any damage that’s been done. It’s not all depressing news though, as there are certain foods that make you scorch calories and winnow your waistline even as you’re eating, thanks to their magic thermogenic effect. It might sound too good to be true, but some foods stoke your metabolic fire, trigger hormones that release fat and get rid of toxins that make it hard for your body to shed unwanted weight. However, for these foods to work their miracles, they must be consumed as part of a sensible diet, as you still have to look away when the dessert tray arrives.
Whole grains:
Your body burns twice as many calories breaking down whole foods than processed foods. This particularly applies to foods rich in fiber like oatmeal, quinoa, brown rice and whole grain cereals. Small doses of whole grains also prevent the body from storing fat.
Lean meats:
Lean meats are essential for maintaining muscle mass and the more muscle mass you have, the more efficient you are at burning calories. In fact, protein’s high thermogenic effect makes it possible to burn about 30 percent of the calories the food contains during digestion. Even better, protein takes more time to digest than carbohydrates, so you’ll feel full longer than if you ate the same number of calories in a carbohydrate or fat-heavy meal. Lean meats can also help the immune system. Those are more than enough reasons to describe chicken as the ultimate wonder food.
Low-fat dairy products:
Rich in calcium and vitamin D, these help preserve and build muscle mass, which we now know is essential for keeping a robust metabolism. Calcium, consumed in tandem with amino acid found in dairy products has been shown to burn fat and fire up weight loss. So go ahead and consider it a great excuse to add more milk, cheese and yogurt to your diet. Labneh is a particularly good dairy option as it has more protein than the regular kind, enhancing the fat-burning benefits even more. Oh and of course, don’t forget you’re helping to build strong bones as well.
Green tea:
This amazing drink is teeming with catechins, which are nutrients linked to increased metabolism and a smaller waistline. You can credit EGCG, a compound in the brew that temporarily speeds metabolism after sipping it. Research suggests that consuming two to four cups of fresh brewed green tea daily can help you burn about an extra 50 calories a day. The “American journal of Clinical Nutrition” reported drinking four cups of green tea a day helped people shed over three kilos in eight weeks. Keeping a jug of iced tea in the fridge may encourage you to drink more throughout the day.
Lentils:
One cup packs 35 percent of your daily iron needs, which is even more good news for those of us who are iron-deficient. When you lack a nutrient, your metabolism tends to slow down because the body is not getting all it needs to work efficiently. All kinds of beans and legumes generally help build muscle, burn fat and regulate digestion.
Hot peppers:
Capsaicin, the compound that gives chili peppers their fiery kick, heats up your body, which in turn sets off fat burning. So if you’re in the mood for an Indian takeaway, you can happily dial that number without feeling guilty. Otherwise, you can enjoy capsaicin’s benefits by adding as much cayenne, hot sauce or chopped chilies as possible to pizzas, soup, eggs and meats. In fact, feel free to spice up your life and spike your metabolism by adding any raw, cooked, dried or powdered peppers.
Avocados:
The healthy monounsaturated fats in avocados plump up cell membranes, enabling them to interact with fat burning hormones. Plus it switches off the body’s fat storage hormones and boosts metabolism by protecting the energy-producing cells from free radical damage, all helping to make avocados triple fat burners. What’s more, oleic acid, a compound in avocados’ monounsaturated fats may be a trigger to quiet hunger. The creamy fruit is also packed with fiber and protein, so bring on the guacamole.
Chia seeds:
Full of omega-3 fats, fiber and protein, these small seeds help suppress the appetite, fuel metabolism and switch on glucagon, one of the body’s fat burning hormones. You benefit the most when you soak them for 15 minutes so they get about 10 times bigger in size. That’s because the larger the seeds are, the quicker your stomach will release those hormones that let you know you’re full and hopefully satisfied.
Wild salmon:
An effective way to strip abdominal fat is to eat wild salmon on a regular basis. The omega-3 in this delicious fish helps improve insulin sensitivity, which shrivels fat from your waistline. Wild salmon also activates the thyroid hormone for a faster metabolism. As with other proteins, it triggers fullness without adding fat. So up your intake of this essential nutrient with salmon, which is a leaner choice than red meat and full of monounsaturated fats.
Cinnamon:
The fragrant spice helps move glucose into cells faster so our fat storage hormone, insulin, sticks around a lot less. In order to gain from its fat-burning benefits, you need to consume at least a quarter of a teaspoon of cinnamon. No sorry, a cinnamon bun does not count.
Coffee:
Well here’s a good reason to keep having your regular morning cup of Java. Coffee stimulates adrenaline, which sends a message to your fat stores to flush out fat. When you drink coffee 20 minutes before a workout, it also acts as an ergogenic aid enabling you to train more intensively. The key, however, is to drink it caffeinated and black, as milk reduces its fat burning potential. Another thing to be weary of is if you drink more than one cup per day, coffee can start to interfere with your body’s ability to control insulin, that frightening fat storage hormone.
More foods that help burn your unwanted body fat are eggs, oysters, coconut oil and Brazilian nuts.
