We all know about foods that are good for us and have various
proven benefits. But many people aren’t aware that
there are actually fat-burning foods, which help kick-start
your body into shedding excess weight. These wonder-foods
can increase the number of fat calories your body burns – they’re
like little diet-helpers, stimulating your metabolism. Sufferers
of diabetes, chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia, digestive
disorders, thyroid imbalances, and viral, bacterial and fungal
infections have all found that coconut oil helps their condition.
Another ‘nasty’ natural ingredient with surprising
benefits is the nettle. The stingy plant we were all told
to stay away from as children contains the neurotransmitter
serotonin, which calms and raises the spirits. It also functions
as an appetite suppressant, as it plays a part in the feelings
of fullness experienced after eating. Serotonin supplements
have been designed to fight food cravings and help slimming.
Decreased levels of serotonin have been found to be directly
linked to overeating obesity. Nettles are reputed to improve
weight loss for this reason. They’re also very mineral
dense and are detoxifying and cleansing for the body – amazingly
they are also great for the skin, hair and nails, thanks
to their sulphur content.
Chocolate & Weight Loss?
Here’s the really good news – chocolate
can help you lose weight! Cacao or pure chocolate contains
chemicals that increase serotonin levels in the brain and
suppress the appetite. Serotonin levels can be raised by
the amino acid tryptophan in cacao as well as the action
of monoamine oxidase enzyme inhibitors (MAO inhibitors).
These decrease our body’s ability to break down serotonin
so that more of this neurotransmitter remains in the brain,
creating feelings of fullness for longer. Cacao is also a
great source of antioxidants and has potent aphrodisiac properties,
healthy minerals and mood-boosting compounds such as PEA,
known as the ‘love chemical’. Make sure you get
unrefined chocolate, though – commercial products
are full of sugar, hydrogenated fats, milk, additives,
agro-chemicals and solvents which cancel out the benefits.
The benefits of green tea have been widely reported. One
study indicates that substances in green tea extract may
actually promote weight loss. The catechin flavonoids in
green tea may alter the body's use of norepinephrine, a
chemical transmitter in the nervous system, to increase
the rate of calorie burning. Green tea also lowers cholesterol,
reduces the risk of stroke, protects against cancer, prevents
teeth cavities and has anti-inflammatory properties. And
it even has a pleasant taste.
Another beneficial supplement which is becoming more and
more well-known is omega-3
fish oil. These serve many different
bodily processes – they’re especially good for
the heart and the immune system, but also help with arthritis,
skin conditions, pre-menstrual tension, mental function,
improving memory and reducing depressive symptoms. It reduces
insulin levels in the body – insulin promotes the
use of fat for storage and reduces the use of fat for fuel,
hence lower insulin levels mean greater conversion of fat
for energy rather than storage.
Omega-3 is most abundant in oily fish like sardines, salmon
and mackerel. Plant sources include flaxseeds (the richest
plant source), walnuts, pumpkin seeds, green leafy vegetables,
evening primrose oil, wheat germ and spirulina.
It’s possible to boost your immune system, lower your
cholesterol, improve your energy and generally give your
health a big help by eating the right foods. The body is
usually in a state of homeostasis, meaning that your body
automatically tries to keep its internal environment constant.
Exercising more and cutting calories makes your body adjust,
making changes to stop you losing critical body fat – push
it too far and it goes into survival mode, grimly hanging
on to all the calories it can. What you need to do is understand
metabolism and coax your body to release stored fats.
There are two metabolic phases – anabolism and catabolism,
which occur constantly and simultaneously. If you don’t
eat enough or give your body the right nutrients it will
go into a heightened state of catabolism, meaning you build
less muscle – this is slow metabolism. To lose weight
and improve your health you should aim for high metabolism – a
greater degree of anabolism.
You may in fact need to eat more in order to lose weight – it’s
not as simple as saying ‘just eat less’. Your
body will hang on more tightly to calories if it doesn’t
get enough nutrition. If you eat more calories more frequently
you raise your metabolism. If you get your calorie intake
right, you will see improvement and feel it too. This is
where ‘negative calorie’ foods come in. Eating
them makes the body exert more energy than contained in
the foods themselves, so just eating them gives you a potential
for net loss of calories.
Along with that omega-3 fish oil, these foods are all negative
calorie foods:
Vegetables: Asparagus, fennel, gourd, aubergine, broccoli,
leek, cabbage, lettuce, carrots, marrow, cauliflower, peppers,
celery, chicory, radish, spinach, cress, tomato, cucumber,
turnip
Fruit: Apricot, blackberry, mandarin orange, cantaloupe
and honeydew melon and watermelon, clementines, peaches,
plums, damsons, raspberries, grapefruit, rhubarb, guava,
strawberry, lemon, tangerine.
So where do I go from here, well it’s easy, eat the
right amount of calories you need for that day, exercise
moderately daily and snack throughout the day on
the negative foods that are listed above and your waist
line will begin to change for the better.
>> Click here to discover foods that burn belly fat and get 6 pack abs
