Burning fat isn’t torture, but it’s a science. But the hack here, you must know about the food that activates the process.
Back in those days, you didn’t need to worry about anything. Then it would seem like you can eat anything you want, but your body never stores them, but uses the nutrition and removes the wastes. But what about now? Now it feels like your body is swelling even when you’re drinking water.
Here comes the smart choice. What you eat determines how you’ll look. Research published in PNAS shows that the body tries to save energy after a heavy session. That’s why depending totally on exercise won’t bring results. Besides, you must stay at a calorie deficit. Now let’s talk about those powerful foods that will activate your fat-burning process.
1. Green Tea
Green tea works like a turbo booster for your metabolism. It has a powerful antioxidant called catechins, especially EGCG, which teaches our body to use our stored fat as a source of energy. On top of that, these antioxidants accelerate the fat oxidation process. As a result, it makes the process more efficient.
In 2017 a research was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which found that drinking green tea rich in EGCG can increase the fat-burning rate by 17% in just 30 minutes.
Another benefit is, it has norepinephrine, which is both a hormone and a neurotransmitter. And this is a fat metabolizer, which accelerates the process. Plus, it has a small amount of caffeine to enhance your focus, mood, and energy level. Also, it indirectly prevents you from overeating.
You can consume this 30-45 minutes after a heavy meal. But don’t take it before bedtime, maybe it will disturb your sleep. You can try matcha green tea because it has 3 times more EGCG, and make this a habit, not as a temporary detox.
2. Apple Cider Vinegar
It’s more than something reddish water. It has a special acid that slows down the digestive process, which means you won’t feel hungry for a longer period of time. Most importantly, it reduces the sudden spike in insulin. This mechanism pushes your body from a fat storage mode to a fat-burning state.
Research shows that those who take 1-2 teaspoons of this ACV regularly reduce body fat, weight, and waist at the same time. Another study shows it reduces 1.7 kg in just 12 weeks without doing any extra diet.
On top of that, ACV reduces liver fat. Moreover, it doesn’t just melt fat, but it uses it properly, exactly the way we want.
However, never consume this directly because it’s very acidic. The smart way is to mix 1 teaspoon of ACV in a large glass of water and drink 20 minutes before a heavy meal, and not more than 15-30 mL a day. Otherwise, it will cause you to experience acidity and damage the enamel of your throat and teeth.
3. Healthy Fats
“Yes,” fat will burn your fat. The sources of healthy fat, such as avocado, olive oil, nuts, chia seed even dark chocolate, all these can cut down your fat and increase the level of HDL, which is essential for the healthy and essential process of our body.
Moreover, healthy fat balances an essential hormone called leptin. The specialty of leptin is, it sends a signal to your brain, “the stomach is full, you can stop now.” It increases the hormonal sensitivity. You won’t feel full and satisfied if this hormone is absent.
Most importantly, the most powerful ability of healthy fat is fat-adaptation. This is a process where your body learns how to take energy from fat instead of carbs. This means your body is no longer insulin dependent, but uses fat to generate energy.
Another thing to note – as healthy fat makes you full for long, it keeps you away from unnecessary snacking. This is extremely important to reduce insulin spikes and enhance fat fat-burning process.
But be careful, though it’s healthy, but it’s full of calories. So, controlling the portion is more important. Generally, 2-3 teaspoons of olive oil or a handful of nuts or half an avocado is enough.
4. Lentils and Green Veggies
Lentil helps our body to produce septin, which is a protein that activates those fat-burning enzymes in our body. This means consuming lentils is pushing your body to break down more fat cells.
Studies show that lentils help the human body burn around 10-15% more calories. Because it has fiber, and lentils have more fiber when they are frozen.
Besides green veggies like spinach, broccoli, or kale, these types of foods are essential to maintain the hormonal balance. Especially, the ratio of the essential hormones in the human body, estrogen and testosterone. Always remember that when the hormonal balance is disrupted, it tends to cause your body to accumulate more fat stores for the future, especially around your stomach.
Also, the magnesium in vegetables increases the energy production of mitochondria, which enhances the fat-burning process by 15-20%.
Another great thing, it controls your cholesterol and boosts your metabolism, with the help of its antioxidant and Phytosterol. This can reduce our BMI by an average of 5-7%.
Antioxidants and phytosterols in these foods reduce cholesterol and accelerate metabolism, which helps reduce the body mass index (BMI) of the body by 5-7% on average.
Try to mix lentils and green veggies together. It has protein, fiber, and minerals. Add 1-2 cups of veggies during the day. This will detox your body.
5. Black Cumin
You know what, there are some foods that we are familiar with from our childhood, but we always thought this was something that should only be eaten when we get a cold. But in reality, black cumin is such a magical thing that considered a “fat burning secret.”
There is a very important component in it, “Thymoquinone”. It’s very helpful to reduce inflammation, and less inflammation raises our metabolic system. And inflammation is another big reason that our body accumulates fat.
A study published in The Journal of Phytotherapy in 2021. The research found that those obese patients who take black cumin supplements in a certain amount according to their needs had significantly reduced their waistline, BMI, and fat percentage.
Moreover, this component helps to increase insulin sensitivity and the digestive process. So, those who want to reduce fat naturally can mix a pinch of black cumin powder in a glass of warm water, add a little honey to it, and drink it on an empty stomach.
6. Cinnamon
We always treat cinnamon as just a spice. But it has a component that directly inhibits the fat cells from accumulating. Studies show that it has a special component, “cinnamaldehyde,” which helps to break down fat cells into small particles. So that the body can easily burn them to generate energy.
Another great thing about cinnamon is that it increases the amount of good bacteria in our gut. And these bacteria help to absorb more nutrients from our food, reduce the chances of storing extra calories, and most importantly, boost the metabolic system.
Moreover, cinnamon increases the blood flow. And higher blood stream melts fat that has accumulated in different parts of our body. So, keep your health in check, mix a pinch of cinnamon powder with warm milk or water. You can spread this on any sweet food to increase the taste and avoid the tendency to sugar craving.
7. Eggs
It’s a complete pack of nutrition. Especially full of protein, which makes it a high thermic food. That’s why it takes a longer time to digest and makes us feel full. It uses around 20-30% more calories to digest, which means consuming fat automatically pushes you towards burning fat.
Another great thing about eggs is that it has choline. And choline keeps our liver functioning properly. The liver is a powerful organ. When it works well, it doesn’t allow our body to build up fat.
Also, it has omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce inflammation. Plus, it maintains our hormonal profile. Especially, it reduces the hunger hormone ghrelin and increases the feeling full hormone leptin. It makes sure we don’t go for any unnecessary snacking. One study found that those who take eggs for breakfast eat an average of 400 calories less a day.
8. Whole Grain Food
Whole grains are those food that has all three parts of the grain, which are bran, germ, and endosperm. Some great examples are brown rice, oats, and quinoa. Whole grains are fully packed with antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. And these strengthen our fat-burning system.
The great thing about whole grains is, they release glucose slowly into our bloodstream, which improves the insulin functionality.
Studies show, those who consume whole grains regularly have their fat-burning process increase by about 10-15%. Also, the presence of vitamin B complex increases our energy production and speeds up the metabolic system. Plus, it is full of necessary components that boost the liver’s functionality, and it helps to remove toxins from the body.
9. High Thermic Effect Food
When we consume any food, it uses a certain amount of calories to complete the process from eating to digesting. This process is called “The Thermic Effect of Food” (TEF). When it’s about high thermic food, which means our body has to work and use more energy to complete the process. And you burn extra calories even when you’re eating.
Protein-rich foods like meat, eggs, lentils, and milk have a high thermic effect. Research shows that protein uses around 20-30% of calories, carbs use just 5-10% and the worst part is that fat burns 0-3%.
Besides some veggies like broccoli, spinach, and some spices, food such as raw pappers, ginger, and cinnamon slightly increases the body’s temperature and increases the thermic effect.
Moreover, your body burns calories even while you’re doing nothing. It happens because high thermogenic foods enhance our basal metabolic rate (BMR). Plus, it keeps our stomachs full for a long time and enhances insulin sensitivity. As a result, it reduces from carbs stored as fat.
10. Greek Yogurt
Greek yogurt burns around 20-30 of the calories it provides. Because it’s rich in protein, multiple times more than ordinary yogurt.
It’s a natural source of probiotic bacteria. And this bacteria helps to keep our gut health well. A well-functioning intestine helps to absorb all those nutrients more effectively that you consume from food.
Another great benefit is, Greek yogurt contains calcium. Calcium helps in breaking down fat cells and prevents from accumulation of new fat. This also prevents overeating by making us full for a long.
I will suggest to eat a cup of Greek yogurt every morning or evening. You can add some nuts or some slices of fruit to increase the taste and nutrition. But keep one thing in mind that always purchase a low-fat or non-fat version from the supermarket.
11. Amla ginger juice
It will be a powerful tool to burn fat more effectively. Amla is one of the biggest powerhouse of vitamin C that boost up our metabolism. On top of that, it has a special component called “carnitine”. It’s a chemical that converts the fat into energy.
On the other hand, ginger raises the body’s temperature. So the body starts burning more than it usually does. This process is called thermogenesis. Also, it improves our gut health so that our body can absorb more nutrients and reduce the ability to store fat.
Both of these can elevate the fat-burning process by 15-20%. Another big benefit is that it reduces toxins that cause fat accumulation.
The best way to consume is, take a glass of warm water, add 1 teaspoon of amla juice and a half teaspoon of ginger juice. Mix them well and drink 20 min before your meal on an empty stomach. Once in a day or twice is more than enough. Don’t consume more, or it will disturb your stomach and cause acidity.
12. Barley
I guess it will not be wrong if I call barley a fat-burning fixer. let me explain,
First of all, it has a special fiber, which is beta-glucan. When this fiber enters your body, it converts into a kind of gel. This gel slows down the digestion process. As a result, our prevention of the insulin spikes and drops also keeps our sugar level in control.
Another big thing is that barley helps to reduce the most dangerous silent killer, visceral fat. A 2018 study published in the Journal of Nutrition found that those who consume barley regularly, their visceral fat reduces on an average 10-15%.
Moreover, barley fiber helps our gut bacteria work well. And if the bacteria are healthy, then hormones, digestion, and even mood in under control. Plus, it increases the activity of the leptin hormone and makes the path smoother for the signal from your brain to your stomach.
Soak it overnight and eat it lightly boiled in the morning. You can add some veggies and a little masala and prepare it like a salad. Then squeeze a lemon on it to make it tastier.
In addition, barley fiber also keeps the good bacteria in the gut happy. And if these bacteria work well, then hormones, digestion, and even mood are under control. Needless to say, when the body is right from the inside, fat burning also becomes normal.
Barley even increases the activity of a hormone called leptin, a hormone that tells us when we’re full. By eating barley, the brain gets this signal better, so it reduces overeating. Barley makes you happy from both inside and outside.
