Dieting can be a tedious road for many of us due to all those confusing diet plans and exercise regimens! So, why not adopt an alternative, natural and scientific way which tells the body that it should simply burn the fat by eating? Certain foods referred to as “negative calorie foods” are rich in vitamin C and help the body burn fat during digestion. Read on, to know more.
Apples
“An apple a day keeps the ‘fat’ away”. This metabolism booster contains a very high amount of pectin, a soluble fiber which restricts the cell walls from absorbing fat. The antioxidants in apples also prevent deposition of belly fat i.e from giving the body a shape which resembles itself (an apple shape). A Brazilian study on weight loss yielded very interesting results. Two groups were given exactly the same number of calories throughout the test with one exception. One group was given an apple before each meal. And guess what? This group burned 33% more fat than the group which did not take the apple. There you go, a portion of an apple before a hearty meal should do it!
Barley
Barley is an excellent fat burner. As anticipated, its high soluble fiber content creates only a low spike in blood sugar levels compared to other carbs. High blood sugar spikes can result in fat accumulation due to the functioning of insulin. Moreover, barley takes a long time to digest. Studies suggest the intake of barley products early in the day for best results. Taken early in the morning, the digestive process for the morning barley meal will go on till late day. More digestive time, more calories burnt. Barley has been rated over the years as one of the best foods for fat and blood sugar control.
One more fact you should note: To keep your blood sugar level low, consume barley products with Glycemic Index (GI) of 55 and below like Pearl Barley.
Beans
The fantastic high fiber content and low calories combination in beans and other legumes, help you to burn fat with ease. The high fiber and protein content will give you a feeling of ‘fullness’ even when you have had only a small quantity of it. Small quantities, lesser calories is the rule! Any kind of beans would do but the best would be pinto beans, soy beans, black and white beans,kidney beans, chick peas and lima beans. The best way is to throw in a handful of beans into your everyday salad. Most of the beans would give you about 210 calories per cup.
Berries
The magical bullets of weight loss i.e. fiber comes into play again through various kinds of berries. If you didn’t know, berries are an excellent source of roughage and have natural fructose in them to satisfy that longing for sweetness. The queen of all berries in these terms is raspberry. It gives about 8 gms of fiber and 74 calories per cup. Blackberries and blueberries will the take the runner up places. Don’t forget to necessarily include these berries into your everyday salads or just before each meal.
Broccoli
No one got fat by eating broccoli. Sure, it may look a little weird but borccoli is a storehouse of high fiber, vitamin C and valuable anti- cancer components, yielding only 44 calories per cup. To top it all, it is one of the best fat burning foods. Eat broccoli the way you want; chopped up in a salad or as soup. It is recommended to have 1 cup of chopped broccoli in your diet every day.
Cabbage
Another fabulous fat burner, it has got even an entire diet to its credit! The fat burning cabbage soup diet! One cup of cooked cabbage will only put in about 33 calories.
To make your cabbage soup, chop up a small cabbage, 2 medium onions and spring onions, 2 carrots, a few stalks of celery and 2 squashy big tomatoes. Boil brown rice (as you require but keep the quantity in proportion to the amount of cabbage) in a large pot ,according to the packet instructions. Simmer the veggies in water until they are soft. Add 2 or 3 red/ green bell peppers, freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste. It is advised to keep the salt (sodium) level as low as possible. Add the rice and stir well. Enjoy!
Carrots
Might be considered ‘ bunny food’ but they are great as negative calorie foods. Carrots are known for being excellent source of beta carotene which is responsible for the supply of vitamin A. They also contain other vitamins and minerals B,C,D,E, magnesium, phosphorous, calcium,iron etc. So what are you waiting for? Juice your carrots and drink up everyday for your vibrant health! The taste is more enjoyable, if you combine carrots with another fat burner, apples! Juice in the ratio of 10 carrots to 2 apples. You can store it in the refrigerator and consume from time to time.
Corn
A very healthy grain, rich in protein, iron, zinc. It gives about 178 calories per cup. An interesting study held among the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico, who eats almost nothing but corn, beans and a few other items revealed that their diet was responsible for holding them immune to cholesterol and cardiovascular diseases. Eat them cooked, right off the cob or as soup.
Tomatoes
These red garden delights will burn fat and will serve your stomach well. A regular tomato will give you only about 25 calories and a study has found that people who live on tomatoes( or strawberries) every week were found to have very low rates of cancer. Eat tomatoes the way you like them. Try to kick the habit of simply chopping them and eating with sugar. Tomatoes are fine but sugar is a no-no for fat burners.
Spinach
Most of you would invariably start humming “Popeye the sailor man”. Remember, how he would get a boost whenever he had a can of his favorite spinach? Popeye really knew his science lessons! Spinach has fabulous abilities to gear up metabolism, lower cholesterol levels and burn fat away. A great way to take in spinach is to blend it into a smoothie and enjoy in green cocktail glasses. Put a cup of fresh green spinach, a large banana and a cup of blueberries into the blender along with 1 and a half cup of water. Blend and enjoy without any ‘fat’ worry!
