You’ll often here how important it is that you eat fewer calories in order to lose weight, but what most people fail to realise is that it’s far more important to eat healthy food, and stop worrying about calories.
Would you lose the same amount of weight eating 1,500 calories of chips, pizza and ice cream every day, compared with 1,500 calories of fruit, vegetables, and protein?
The answer is no, you wouldn’t! You’d lose more weight with the healthier option because you’re taking in foods that help you to burn fat and boost your metabolism, rather than the unhealthier options which feed your body lots of sugars and fats, and could be pumped full of chemicals and fake sweeteners.
Take fruit for example. You may read hundreds of articles about fruit telling you how high in calories and natural sugars they are, and that they are not essential to your diet. But this is unfortunately a load of rubbish!
Fruits should not be dismissed from your diet, and if you want to burn fat fast, then make sure you add them back in and reap the benefits they offer. Some fruits contain nutritional substances that will actually assist the burning of fat, and help give your metabolism a boost. And not only that, they taste amazing and can quickly replace unhealthy snacks throughout the day, like chocolate bars and crisps.
Here are our top 8 fruits that will help you burn away that unwanted belly fat…
Coconut
The reason why coconut makes our list is that it contains medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), which help to raise the metabolic rate of the liver by up to 30%. The great thing about coconut is that it comes in many different forms, so you can include this in your diet in numerous ways.
Coconut flour, coconut oil, coconut milk, coconut water or even unsweetened shredded coconut are all fantastic ways to make your food taste great. There are all kinds of recipes which include coconut, and the options are endless.
Blueberries
Not only can blueberries help you in the fight against belly fat, they can also decrease the chances of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Blueberries contain high antioxidants that help to rid your body of toxins that are linked with weight gain, as well as other health problems.
Like most berries, they are easy to include in your diet and can be added to yoghurt or cereal as a snack or main meal. Don’t forget however that this isn’t an excuse to go out and buy blueberry muffins, and we advice that you should focus on including them with other healthier options.
You could also consider adding coconut milk to your cup of coffee to make it more interesting, and make a much sweeter taste.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are a great source of vitamin C and phytonutrients, which both help to fight and burn fat. The phytonutrients help serve as an antioxidant that assists with weight loss as well as cardiovascular health.
On our list, tomatoes are also one of the easiest things to add into your diet, and can be included in almost any of your main meals throughout the day. Tomato can be sliced into your salad, added to a sandwich, or even eaten on their own, and taste great no matter where they are.
Avocados
Avocados have been proven to help prevent spikes in blood sugar which causes your body to store excess fat. Do you need any other reason not to include this in your diet?
You do have to be careful however and remember that avocados are high in calories, so you only need to have a maximum of one a day. If you are unsure when to include them in your diet, then why not consider just a slice or two with your salad for one of your main meals.
Grapefruit
Grapefruits are not always the obvious choice when it comes to healthy eating, and are often overlooked at the supermarket. You need to stay clear of these so called rock star diets that heavily include grapefruit, and just stick to a small portion a few times per week.
Like most fruit, grapefruit will help keep your hunger pains at bay and allow the body to burn fat much more easily. Grapefruits don’t have to be complicated and can just be sliced in half and eaten with a spoon.
Apples
Apples are packed with plenty of fibre that help to boost your metabolism, with the added bonus of leaving you feeling fuller for longer. An apple a day can instantly help to avoid those midday snacks when you’re feeling hungry, and prevent you from adding any unnecessary calories.
Apples also contain pectin which restricts cells from taking in any fat, and also helps cells to absorb water. Like tomatoes, apples are extremely easy to add to your daily diet, and can be sliced into a salad or eaten on their own as a snack.
Bananas
You’d be bananas not to eat these firm favourites. You would however be bananas if you laughed at my terrible joke! Anyway, back to the important clever stuff.
Bananas are packed with healthy fibres that will help curb that amazing appetite of yours. And let’s face it, we all struggle to keep hunger in check. So this makes bananas an obvious and easy choice for us all.
Most of the time our bodies look towards carbs as a fuel for energy, and bananas help to shift that focus towards burning fat instead.
Pomegranate
The juice from a pomegranate contains antioxidants that do a good job of ridding your body of unwanted toxins. These antioxidants are called polyphenols which help to boost the metabolic rate. They are also linked with preventing arterial lipid build up, as well as lowering the appetite.
One of the easiest ways to consume pomegranate is with a juice during your meal. You can even add it into a home made milkshake. Sometimes people find the taste to be a little strong on occasion, so this can be watered down if preferred.