Negative Calorie Foods …
Is it Possible to Slim Down by Eating More?
by www.SixWise.com

The day after Thanksgiving, when your stomach may still be satisfied from yesterday’s feasting and today’s leftovers, is a perfect time to fantasize about negative calorie foods.

Why? Because there is no other day, except perhaps the first of the New Year or the day after Christmas, that people are more eager to undo some of the eating they did the day before.

This is where the negative calorie food theory comes in.

What Are Negative Calorie Foods?

The theory goes that certain foods are so difficult to digest that you burn more calories by eating them than you would have by taking a pass. Celery and citrus fruits are the two biggies in the “negative calorie” food world, and believers say the more you chomp on celery and citrus, the more calories you’ll burn. No effort, no sweat, just a few stalks of celery and an orange or two and you’re on your way back down to a size 6.

This should be music to your ears if you’re one of the 55 percent of Americans who told Gallup’s 2009 annual Health and Healthcare poll they’d like to lose weight.

But there is one major problem with this theory …

It’s not true. At least, not completely.

It is true that your body burns some calories during digestion. However, the calories burned are “minuscule compared with the calories in the food itself,” wrote Dr. Nancy Snyderman, the chief medical editor for NBC News, on TIME.com. She continued:

“Although chewing celery might seem like a strenuous activity, it burns about the same amount of calories as watching grass grow.”

And, writes Allie Firestone in her negative calorie food expose on DivineCaroline.com:

“Eating and digesting food do create a slight spike in our metabolism, but it doesn’t add up to much 00 actually, less than 30 percent of the calories our bodies burn at any given time, says Olivia Ramos [a Los Angeles-based nutritionist].

Though celery, the poster child of negative-calorie foods, does contain a mere six calories, we expend only about half a calorie to digest it, according to Global Metabolism Myths, by Mitt Hickey. Guess that negative-calorie math doesn’t exactly measure up when we get specific. Bummer.”

Are There any Tricks to Get Your Body to Burn More Calories?

Well, don’t despair just yet if you feel like you’ve gained five pounds in the last two days alone. We’ll get to the real meat of any weight loss program in a minute, but first we’d like to share a few little-known techniques will support your weight loss strategy to help you burn even more fat and calories.

The first is to eat hot peppers. Capsaicin, the active component in chili peppers, is thought to play a role in curbing appetite and boosting metabolic activity.

Next, be generous with cinnamon. U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers have found that eating one-quarter to one teaspoon of cinnamon with food can boost your metabolism 20-fold, by making your fat cells more responsive to insulin.

Finally, be sure to drink lots of water, preferably cold. If your body is dehydrated, it will not burn fat efficiently and it could lead to sugar cravings and fatigue. The typical recommendation is to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day ... but according to some experts you should make sure it's cold water. One exercise physiologist says drinking cold water, as opposed to room-temperature water, will help you burn an extra 9.25 calories per eight ounces of water.

The Real Way to Get Slim and Burn Off Your “Turkey Weight” …

Losing weight is really more about simple mathematics than it is about concocting massive quantities of cabbage soup or eating solely grapefruit and celery. Eat more calories than your body burns off, and you'll start to gain weight. The equation is really just that simple: Too many calories + not enough activity = excess pounds.

As the American Academy of Family Physicians puts it, "To lose weight, you have to cut down on the number of calories you consume and start burning more calories each day."

But please don’t even think about starving yourself. The key is to eat until you’re full, and focus on getting full by eating healthy foods. You can typically eat as many healthy foods as you want, until you feel full, and still lose weight.

For tips, check out the easy recipes in the book Alive in 5: Raw Gourmet Meals in Five Minutes. They’ll help you lose weight while enjoying delicious creations like pina colada smoothies, lasagna, stuffed mushrooms and cream of zucchini soup.

As you start to transition to healthier eating, follow these tips from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration:

• Most of your fats should come from polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, in foods like fish, nuts and olive oil.

• Cut down on calories by trimming the fat off meat and taking the skin off chicken.

• Bake, grill, steam or broil food instead of frying it.

• Eat a variety of whole fruit, rather than fruit juice. "The whole fruit has more fiber, it's more filling, and it's naturally sweet," says Marilyn Tanner, a pediatric dietitian at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

• Eat a wide variety of vegetables, including dark greens. Along with the many outstanding nutrients, the fiber in vegetables (and whole fruits) will help you feel full.

• When choosing grains, pick items that have whole grains listed as the first ingredient on the label.

• Limit added sugars in your diet in foods like soft drinks, candy, cake, cookies, pies and fruit drinks. For a healthier alternative to soda, try Ajmera’s line of all-natural delicious beverages. They’re100 percent natural drinks with no preservatives and no artificial flavors or colors, plus they come in six delicious flavors.

How to Exercise and Loose Weight Effectively plus Affordably

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No weight loss program is complete without an exercise component, but most people think this means becoming a slave to the treadmill or elliptical machine. While aerobic activity is certainly important for weight loss, it is not the only exercise component you need to focus on.

The greater your muscle tone, the more calories you burn -- even when you're at rest. So some type of weight training should be a non-negotiable part of your workout routine.

Further, because your body and mind are so closely linked, a weight loss program that only focuses on your physical being will miss out on the incredibly important mental and emotional aspects of health.

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To find out even more about your mind’s role in your weight … and how to use it to your advantage instead of disadvantage, please read Is Your Mind Making You Fat … and Keeping You That Way? The Power of Your Subconscious.

Recommended Reading

8 Secret Tactics that Trigger Your Body to Burn More Fat and Calories

Your Willpower is Like a Muscle … How to Train Yours to be Strong

Sources

Time.com May 6, 2009

DivineCaroline.com

Gallup.com November 20, 2009