Healthy ways to lose weight are always popular. Dozens of diets claim to help you lose five pounds in record time, but these diets often turn out to have some pretty nasty side effects for the body. The Master Cleanse, which was so popular among celebrities, has caused untold damage to women who thought they could survive on maple syrup, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper for a month. Such starvation diets do nothing but harm.
Despite their bad reputation, fad diets continue to be wildly popular. However, in recent years, the focus has not only been on reducing the number on the scale. The emphasis has been on burning fat. The goal of many women is to burn fat from their stomachs and thighs, while preserving the fat reserves in their breasts and buttocks that give them feminine curves. Unfortunately, spot burning fat is not possible. The human body burns fat at a constant rate throughout the body. You can’t tell your metabolism to burn the fat on your inner thighs but leave the fatty tissue that gives you a firm butt. Yet magazines are full of advice on how to “burn belly fat” and “tighten your thighs!” The internet is naturally littered with such “helpful” tips. It’s impossible to successfully spot-burn fat without surgery, but there are healthy ways to reduce your fat stores. Here are four foods that will help you burn fat while staying healthy and energetic.
Lean Protein
Organs and muscles burn fat. If you want to reduce fat, you want to increase muscle mass. To build muscle, you need protein. Meat is high in protein, but it can also be high in fat. To burn fat, you need to avoid eating fat. Continue to eat meat in your diet, but choose lean protein. Skinless white meat chicken is very low in fat, as is turkey. Even in sausage, swap out red meat for poultry. Use turkey or chicken sausage instead of pork sausage, and replace ground beef with ground turkey.
Fish is another great source of lean protein. It tends to be more expensive than chicken, but fish is extremely high in protein while being low in fat. Aim for fatty fish like salmon or meaty fish like tuna. They will give you the most protein for the least amount of fat.
Fruits and Nuts
Cravings for sweet or salty foods can be difficult to manage when you’re dieting. Most people aren’t aware of the many foods that are naturally sweet with sugar or have the same crunchy, salty, addictive qualities as potato chips. However, fruits and nuts can go a long way to satisfying these cravings. Nuts are naturally very crunchy and have a rich flavor. If you buy lightly salted nuts, you can get both the crunch and salty taste you crave without all the added fats and preservatives in potato chips. Nuts are high in calories, but they are very filling. A handful of cashews can make you feel as full as eating half a bag of potato chips.
Fruits are a good substitute for processed sugar. Fresh berries can be very sweet when in season, and sometimes even when out of season. Stock your fridge with raspberries, strawberries, or blackberries and eat them whenever you have a sweet craving. Give it some time and you’ll find that sugary treats taste too sweet for your stomach.
Citrus and Spice
Changing your diet will only go so far if you don’t exercise. It’s the combination of the two that really makes those extra pounds melt away. However, when you’re dieting, it can be hard to muster up the willpower to work out. Cutting back on foods and fats can leave you feeling tired and lazy until your body adjusts to its new normal. Until then, getting to the gym can be a struggle. Keep some citrus on hand in case you’re low on energy. Citrus fruits like lemons, oranges, and grapefruit are known to boost energy and mental focus.
Spice up your foods liberally when you’re dieting. Spices can make a small portion more filling and help you avoid high-fat foods when you finish dinner. Spices also help you feel more energized with almost no calories.
Tea
Most people don’t realize how many calories and how much fat are in their drinks. Soda is very sweet, which means it’s very high in calories and fat. Drinking soda while dieting is a surefire way to keep the pounds from clinging to your stomach. Instead of soda, drink tea. Black and green tea will give you the same caffeine boost as soda, but green tea has lots of healthy antioxidants instead of sugar. Herbal teas can also be drunk at night, keeping a person awake.
Tea can also gradually replace coffee. Tea contains caffeine, so you won’t get cold, but tea has fewer calories and fat. If you drink black coffee, the difference in calories will be much less than if you add sugar, syrup, or cream. These things will add mountains of calories to your morning coffee and ensure that the fat stays on you.
Despite the fact that many diets claim that eating this fruit or that nut will burn belly fat, you can’t spot-burn fat. When it comes to losing weight and keeping it off, there is no shortcut. You have to exercise and eat right. Make a few simple changes to your diet to eliminate fat intake. Then, once you stop adding fat to your body, you can focus on getting rid of what you already have.
