Fat burning supplements can be a great way to help lose weight, and combined with exercise and a balanced lifestyle supplements can give you that extra boost you need to burn that excess fat.
But taking supplements isn’t just the only way you can burn fat quicker, and we’re here to tell you how to burn fat through food and teach you how to make the right choices when planning out that all important eating regime.
Why do some foods help to burn fat?
Some foods have a high thermogenic effect, and the body requires more energy to digest, absorb and distribute the nutrients from these foods around the body. The higher the thermic effect food has on your body, the more calories you burn. Certain foods can also help increase your metabolism.
Here is a list of the top fat burning foods you can include in your diet:
Lean meats
You can burn up to 30% of the calories when you digest protein. For example, if you ate a piece of chicken which was 300 calories, then you could burn up to 90 calories digesting and absorbing the meat.
Here are some great lean meats to add to your diet –
Skinless poultry
Beef cuts
Pork
Lamb
Low-fat dairy products
Apart from burning fat, these foods are high in calcium and vitamin D. They also help to maintain and build muscle mass, which are essential for a high metabolism.
Low fat milk and cheese are the obvious choices, and are easy to include in your diet. Low fat yoghurts are also in abundance at the supermarket and make for a great snack or dessert.
Whole grains
Your body can burn up to twice as many calories trying to break down whole grain foods. Some whole grain foods to consider in your diet are –
Whole grain bread
Whole grain pasta
Brown rice
Amaranth
Corn
Whole grain cereals – steel cut oats, barley, shredded wheat etc
Quinoa
Green tea
Drinking 1-2 cups of green tea a day will not only boost your metabolism but has also been linked with the prevention of colds.
Some studies have suggested that drinking between 5-7 cups a day will have a huge effect on increasing your metabolism, but it isn’t usually advised if you are sensitive to caffeine or suffer from insomnia.
Other negative effects of green tea are caused by the tannins found in both green and black, as they can decrease absorption of folic acid which is an important vitamin that helps decrease the chances of birth defects.
So if you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant, you should definitely consider only 1-2 cups per day, or even miss out altogether to be safe. Green tea can also affect the way you absorb iron, which is extremely important to have in the diet to prevent iron deficiencies, and potentially becoming anaemic.
To avoid affecting the absorption of iron, it’s recommended drinking green tea in between meals.
Hot peppers
Peppers are the obvious choice because of their extra thermic effect on the body, and more heat means the body strives to cool itself and your metabolic rate increases naturally.
Spicy foods in general can be a great way of increasing your metabolism as you are forcing your body to work hard in order to cool itself, and the pepper is an obvious healthy choice, and easy to include in your diet.
Lentils
The lentil is an edible pulse from a bushy annual plant, and has been a part of the human diet for thousands of years. A great source of iron, the lentil is an obvious choice for your diet.
Lentils can easily be included into many foods, like salads. If however you are not keen on the taste, consider blending them with quick breads, pies, brownies, or cookies to mask the taste.
Don’t forget to exercise and eat a balanced diet!
Adding these healthy foods to your diet will have a positive effect on how your body burns fat, but if you don’t exercise regularly and incorporate a balanced diet, you may find your fat intake is just too high.
There is only so much these foods can do, and it’s important to recognise they are just one of the many ways you can help burn fat, and not the only way…