Aug

5 Fat Burning Foods – You Will Be Surprised

Every time you hear the word ‘diet’, what happens? You automatically feel depressed about all your favourite foods that you will probably have to give up. Only a handful of women actually know that ‘sinful’ foods like chocolate or pasta can actually help you to lose weight, keep you satiated longer and even give you a flat stomach.

Surprised? Then read on for the 5 surprising foods that actually help you burn fat and rev up that metabolism:

1) Pasta

Cooked pasta and rice contains 70% water. This is important as foods containing a lot of water keeps you feeling fuller for longer, according to research by the British Dietary Foundation. In addition, these carbohydrate rich foods increases the secretion of serotonin in the brain (low levels of serotonin increases your appetite). You can eat half a cup of pasta every day but choose wholemeal pasta, which is rich in fiber and digests slower.

2) Potatoes

Potatoes can aid in burning fat. Unfortunately, the potato is usually misunderstood because it is usually served deep fried (fries anyone?) or served with a slather of sour cream and bacon bits. But, eating them baked or boiled potatoes (without butter) can actually help you against weight loss.

3) Peanut Butter

This super food is rich in healthy fats and monounsaturated fatty acids. Research has shown that this prevents the buildup of fat around the waist, increases the rate at which you burn calories and helps promotes weight loss.

A recent survey by the “Harvard School of Public Health” actually showed that participants who ate a serving of nuts or a tablespoon of peanut butter one time a week, gained less weight than those who did not.

4) Cheese

Cheese is a food rich in calcium and this will help you burn calories. Try to avoid cheeses that are high fat (like cheddar) and stick to low fat cheeses instead. The calcium in cheeses increases your ability to burn fat and calories and a lack of calcium actually does the opposite – causes the release of the hormone calcitriol, which causes further storage of fat in the body.

Researchers from the University of Tennessee also claims that a diet containing 300-400 grams of calcium every day helps you lose more weight vs a similar diet with the same amount of calories but is poor in calcium.

5) Chocolate

Who doesn’t experience cravings for sweets and chocolate? Nutritionists around the world have agreed that you should satisfy your cravings rather than fight it – this is because a survey done in the UK has shown that if you oppress your cravings for sweets, you will make up for it by eating more calories in other snacks! However, stick to dark chocolates as it is better for weight loss.