Health - Eat Right To Shed Those Extra Pounds

By: Saima Ausaf

Have you been trying in vain to get rid of those unwanted pounds that you have accumulated over the last few years? Of course none of us want to look ugly with thick tyres round our waist, protruding bellies and double chins. One of the best ways to stay in shape without following a strict diet plan is to include foods that give us the energy we need without leaving any fatty deposits in our body tissues.

Skipping meals and foods will only slow your metabolism and consequently your health will deteriorate. Some foods help our body burn fat. So the key to losing weight should be to replace the fat laden foods with these fat burning foods. Wondering what are these foods? Following is the list of foods that burn more calories than the calorie content of the food, thereby fighting stored fat.

·         Citrus Fruits: Fruits such as grape fruit, oranges, limes, lemons, papaya and tangerines are rich in vitamin C and fibre and have fat burning properties. Vitamin C helps the body process fat faster and also stimulates the amino acid (carnitine), which speeds up the body’s fat burning capacity.

·         Apples and Pears: Pectin (a complex carbohydrate) found in apples, restricts the cells to absorb the fats and also encourages water absorption from the food aiding in releasing fat deposits from the body. Research shows that overweight women who consumed three small apples a day lost more weight on a low calorie diet than women who didn’t.

So next time you need to satisfy your sugar cravings, opt for this high fibre snack. You will feel full longer and as a result will eat less.

·         Low fat Dairy: Calcium in dairy products like milk, cheese and yoghurt act as a fat burner boosting weight loss by increasing fat breakdown in fat cells. Make sure that you opt for low-fat or non-fat dairy products since the high-fat varieties will make you gain fat.

·         Oatmeal:  Oatmeal is packed with fat soluble fiber that not only keeps you full but also flushes the fat hiding in your digestive system and the cholesterol clogging your arteries. Sweeten your portion of oatmeal with honey or fruit instead of sugar.

·         Lean Meat: Meat helps you burn fat as long as you chose the right kind of meat. Studies have shown that protein can help boost your metabolism and build lean muscle tissue so that you burn more calories.

·         Broccoli:  Broccoli has very few calories, no fat and plenty of vitamins. Broccoli helps burn fat by filling your body with nutrients, while its fibre flushes out the fat. It is loaded with vitamin C which boosts calcium absorption.

·         Soup: Soup is considered as a great appetite suppressant as it is made of hunger-satisfying mix of liquids and solids. So eat less and burn fat faster by having a bowl of soup!

·         Hot peppers: Researchers have found that eating hot peppers can speed up your metabolism. This is because capsaicin (a chemical found in jalapenos and cayenne peppers) temporarily stimulates the body to release more stress hormones, which speeds up your metabolism.

Thus, in order to lose weight one has to burn more calories than one consume. Inclusion of the above mentioned foods in the diet will definitely help burn more calories and will also give the body enough time to flush out the toxins. Following a simple exercise regime will of course be an added advantage. So plan a healthy diet of fat burning foods and lose weight the healthy way!