You heard it here: No foods actually burn body fat. To lose weight, or inches, you have to burn a greater number of calories than you consume, so choosing highly nutritious foods that are low in calories are the ticket to a thinner middle. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explain, “substitution” is the key to losing weight by eating low-calorie vegetables. There are options besides veggies as you’re about to find out…
1. Watermelon
There are several reasons how this juicy fruit can help you battle the bulge. Watermelon is more than 90% water. Foods high in water fill you up faster. But you can’t live on water alone because it lacks vitamins and nutrients. Watermelon is high in vitamins A, C, B6, thiamine, and lycopene. You get valuable nutrition…and you get full, which means you won’t be eating more calories after eating low-cal, low-fat watermelon. (A wedge contains less than a gram of fat.)
2. Pine Nuts
These tree nuts are high in iron for your blood and magnesium for your bones and heart. Pine nuts can also help prevent migraines and relieve muscle aches and spasms. The real magic of these natural wonders lie in their exceptionally high levels of healthy fatty acids. Aptly named pinolenic acid, it boosts the levels of the “satiety hormone” which makes your brain think you are full. The fatty acids also prevent the formation of belly fat—the most dangerous kind of fat—and it is this fact that earns pine nuts a spot on this list.
3. Cheese
Dairy contains protein, and protein generally makes you feel full. (Read: you won’t crave more food.) One study showed that people who were obese lost almost double the amount of body fat and weight by eating a dairy-rich diet as opposed to obese individuals who ate the same amount of calories but kept dairy to a minimum. Most of the fat loss came from the belly. Researchers point to calcium as the hero here. This mineral regulates how fat is stored and broken down by the body. Besides calcium, dairy has two more fat-busting components: whey and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). Whey ultimately helps burn more calories and CLA is believed to burn fat.
4. Oranges
Besides being loaded with juicy sweetness, oranges are also packed with fiber. And fiber is filling! In fact, these citrus treats ranked #1 on the “satiety index,” a list of 38 filling foods compiled by researchers in Australia. People who eat more fiber tend to have less fat. But wait, there’s more. The high vitamin C content and antioxidants in oranges actually fight fat. According to the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, vitamin C improves fat loss by approximately 30%.
5. Eggs
Eggs are loaded with protein. In fact, the protein content in eggs sets the standard by which protein is measured in other foods. Protein keeps you satisfied longer. Research shows that people who eat eggs for breakfast tend to consume fewer calories later. Not only that, protein allows your body to burn fat by increasing your metabolism…and by working harder to break down the protein itself. Then there’s B12. This vitamin breaks down and burns body fat too.
6. Broccoli
One cup of chopped, raw broccoli has only 30 calories. Cook this amount and you’ll get just 54 calories. Prepare it either way and you’ll be loading your body with vitamins and nutrients: vitamins A, B-6, C, and K as well as folate and potassium. The phytochemicals broccoli contains show potential for breaking down fats. Plus, broccoli is 90% water, and one cup of the vegetable provides five grams of fiber which will fill your belly, slow digestion and take away your desire to eat more.
7. Cabbage
Cabbage won’t actually fight fat, but it will help you fight it. How? When you choose cabbage over other foods, you’ll be getting a boatload of nutrition and hardly any calories. Half a cup yields only 17 calories. Cook it and enjoy 4 grams of dietary fiber. Not only will this stabilize your blood sugar levels, it will help control your appetite so you won’t be looking for snacks later. Cabbage is rich in antioxidants like vitamin C as well as calcium, magnesium, potassium, vitamin K, vitamin A, beta-carotene and lutein.
8. Cauliflower
With just 29 calories per cup and virtually no fat, low carbs and low sugar, cauliflower is an ideal veggie when you are fighting your fat. This cruciferous vegetable is also high in volume and full of fiber. It’s a crunchy way to for fill your belly, load up on nutrients and clean out your system…all of which work to help you fight fat. Another benefit is that cauliflower reduces constipation and keeps things moving.
9. Romaine Lettuce
This lettuce is a nutrition powerhouse. Packed with B vitamins, folic acid and manganese, romaine lettuce is a low calorie vegetable that can be the base for a salad or a topping for a sandwich. It’s very low in calories and high vitamin C, beta-carotene, vitamin K, folate, manganese and chromium. Research suggests that along with exercise, chromium may help increase and maintain lean body mass and aid in fat loss.
10. Radishes
Providing fewer than 20 calories per cup and nutrients like potassium for muscles, folic acid for your cells, and lots of vitamin C, radishes are a colorful way to fight fat. The sulfur compounds they contain aid your digestion and their dietary fiber and high water content keep you feeling full longer. They also contain magnesium and iron that help to dissolve fat in you cells.
11. Spinach
This leafy green is loaded with vitamins and minerals and is an ideal food to help you reach your weight loss goals. It delivers manganese for your bones, magnesium for warding off headaches, iron for your blood, potassium for your muscles and heart, vitamin A for your eyes and skin, plus more—and it’s low in calories. Just seven calories in one cup of fresh spinach. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends replacing one of your morning eggs with spinach.
12. Whole Grains
One study showed that people in a weight loss program who incorporated whole grains in their diet lost more body fat in the belly than those who ate only refined grains. It could be because your body burns double the amount of calories to digest whole grains as opposed to processed foods. Whole grains include whole wheat, whole oats, whole grain corn, brown rice, wild rice, popcorn, quinoa, buckwheat, and millet.
13. Lean Meats
Meat is not your enemy if you’re in the fight against fat. The key is to consume only lean meats because these have less total fat and lower amounts of saturated fat. And they have lots of protein, and that’s good news because protein has a high thermogenic effect. That means your body exerts a lot of energy to digest the food. If you eat chicken, be sure to remove the skin to keep the meat as lean as possible.
14. Apples
Apples have a slew of health benefits, including helping to fight fat. These pommes contain pectin, and pectin binds with water and limits the amount fat your cells can absorb. Not only that, apples have a lot of fiber, and fiber makes you feel full. Studies have shown that people who eat an apple half-hour to an hour before a meal leave the person significantly less hungry, and so they eat fewer calories during the meal.
15. Avocados
It’s true that avocados are high in fat…but it’s the healthy fat! Researchers say cooking with avocado oil, rich in monounsaturated and oleic fatty acids, can spot-reduce belly fat. Studies have shown that the fatty acids found in avocados seemed to prevent body fat distribution in the abdomen, possibly by affecting fat genes. Then there’s the vitamin B-6. Although no actual studies have proven its ability to fight fat, those in the know believe it to be a fat buster and tout its track record at burning up stored calories while reducing the amount of calories needed by the body.
[Featured Image Credit: livingtolovehim.com]