This is an introduction to some of the best fat burning foods and drinks to help burn excess belly and stomach fat.
If you want to lose weight, it’s important to reduce your calorie intake sufficiently to make your body so short of energy it has to start burning fat. That’s likely to entail eating less food than normal and will certainly mean avoiding foods that are high in saturated fats and sugar.
However, there’s another way you can make your diet work for you. Instead of just focusing on the foods to avoid you could add some fat burning foods.
Content Table
What are Fat Burning Foods?
Fat burning foods are foods that support you in your efforts to lose weight. Many of the best fat burning foods increase metabolism and thermogenesis, but foods that suppress appetite or support weight loss in other ways can still be classed as foods that burn fat.
Appetite suppressing foods are foods that help you to burn fat in an indirect way by taking away hunger and making it easier for you to eat less food. Foods that increase metabolism and thermogenesis aid weight loss in a more direct fashion but they do so in more complicated ways.
Metabolism is all the many biological processes that are necessary to keep you alive.
However, when people talk about metabolism and weight loss they are primarily focusing on the processes the body uses to extract energy from food and make use of its power. If you use a fat burning supplement you should think about complimenting it with fat burning foods
Metabolism has no specific speed
Metabolism has no specific speed. It can be fast or it can be slow. During periods of rest or low activity, the metabolism is slow. It speeds up during periods of high activity such as running or working out with weights. Hard physical labor speeds up metabolism too and so do certain foods.
Women tend to burn fat differently to men and so when choosing a fat burner should select one that has has been formulated for women.
When the metabolism is fast it uses more energy and contributes to the deficiency that’s necessary to make you burn fat.
Thermogenesis is the process that causes your body to generate heat. Heat is energy and the heat generated during thermogenesis is lost into the atmosphere. Several things increase thermogenesis. Exercise is one of them. Certain foods can do it too.
What Are the Best Fat Burning Foods ? .. and Drinks
A lot of foods can help you to burn fat. This is not an attempt to compile a complete list. Certain beverages have this ability too so, for the purposes of this article, I’m going to class “food” as anything that enters the body via the mouth.
Green Tea
Green tea is a healthy beverage. It’s packed with antioxidants that have the potential to do a lot of good things within the body. Reducing oxidative stress is just one of them.
Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is one of the antioxidants in green tea. It’s one worth knowing about if you want to lose weight because EGCG is an antioxidant that helps you to burn fat.
The men who took part in one study burned 17% more fat than the placebo group while bicycling. Many other studies show green tea works for fat burning too. Yet a few study results show green tea may have little effect on metabolism or weight loss. This suggests its effects may differ from one person to the next.
However, drinking up to four cups of green tea per day should help most people increase the amount of calories they burn per day. Even if you turn out to be one of the unlucky ones, its worth drinking green tea for the health benefits alone. (https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/top-10-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-green-tea)
Cayenne Pepper
Cayenne has a reputation for being one of the best fat burning foods. The main active compound in cayenne is capsaicin. It’s not exclusive to the fruit. Capsaicin is present in many other pepper species too.
Many researchers believe capsaicin increases metabolism and thermogenesis. There’s also data that shows it may suppress appetite too.
The results of a study conducted at Maastricht University in 2014 show people who ate red pepper with each of their meals felt fuller for longer and had fewer cravings. Further research is necessary, but the findings are still promising.
However, the value of capsaicin as a weight loss aid has been under investigation for a long time. The results of an earlier study, conducted in 2003, show eating fresh chili pepper may increase metabolism for up to 30 minutes.
Additionally, some research shows consuming spicy pepper may increase thermogenesis so cayenne has a lot of potential as a weight loss aid. So, unless you have an intense dislike of spicy food, tossing some diced peppers into a nice green salad could be a good way to make a healthy meal even better.
Coconut Oil – An Effective Fat Burning Food
Coconut Oil is associated with many health benefits. Weight loss is just one of them.
During one study, obese men who added a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil to their diet lost an average of 2.5 cm from their waist circumference. The most amazing thing was the men didn’t make any other changes to their diet at all. Nor did they increase their levels of physical activity.
Unfortunately, some studies suggest the metabolism-boosting capabilities of coconut oil may decrease over time. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11571605)
One of the good things about coconut oil is it remains stable at high temperatures. That makes it a good oil to use for cooking. It is classed as a healthy fat.
Some people take the oil pure by sipping it from a spoon. However, although a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil per day may help with fat burning, it’s best to work up to it. Beginning with a teaspoon of oil each day will reduce the risk of digestive discomfort.
Fatty Fish – Provides Omega-3
Most people these days are aware fatty fish like sardines and mackerel provide omega-3 fatty acids that are good for you. There’s plenty of claims floating around about the virtues of this type of fish. Some of them can be backed by science, others cannot.
A number of studies suggest omega-3 fatty acids can help you to lose unwanted body fat.
The adult volunteers in one study lost an average of 1.1 pounds by using fish oil supplements. The weight loss was accompanied by a drop in cortisol. This is interesting because cortisol is a stress hormone that is often associated with fat storage.
As with other types of fish, fatty fish is also a good source of protein. This is a virtue that can also support weight loss because protein has a good stomach-filling effect. Protein is also harder to digest than fat or carbs. That means the body needs to expend more energy, leading to an increase in metabolic rate.
Having a couple of servings of fatty fish each week is a good way to help boost weight loss and take advantage of the other benefits omega-3 fatty acids provide. It will also add a little variety to your diet.
Coffee – Great Fat Burning Drink
Forget the sugar and milk. Don’t add anything at all. If you want to get the best from your coffee you need to take it black and fully leaded. When you are drinking coffee for weight loss decaf won’t do the trick.
These days, caffeine is sometimes seen as undesirable or a necessary evil. The truth is, unless you are unusually sensitive to stimulants, a little bit of caffeine now and again won’t do you any harm. Like most things in life, it’s generally fine in moderation.
Caffeine reduces fatigue and provides extra energy. That’s one of the reasons so many people drink coffee to pep themselves up. It’s also the reason why caffeine is such a popular energy drink ingredient.
Diet pill manufacturers use caffeine in their formulations too. There are several reasons for this. For one thing, surviving on a low-calorie diet can often lead to fatigue. The other reason is possibly more important. Research shows caffeine boosts metabolism and thermogenesis and helps you to burn fat.
The results of one study show the participants who took caffeine before exercise were able to exercise 17% longer than the placebo group. They also burned nearly twice as much fat.
However, as with many of the other best fat burning foods, the results can vary from one individual to the next. So, although caffeine may increase one person’s metabolism by up to 13%, other people may only experience a 3% improvement. When you are trying to burn fat faster though, every little helps.
Don’t fall into the trap of drinking too much coffee though. If you want to maximize the benefits without risking side effects you shouldn’t be drinking more than four cups of regular-strength coffee per day.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is a popular folk remedy people use for treating a variety of ailments. The singer Kay Perry has apparently been using it on a daily basis for most of her life.
Some people will tell you apple cider vinegar suppresses appetite. Others say it lowers blood sugar and insulin. There are even a few studies that back up the latter two claims.
The truth is, there’s a lack of evidence to support the fat burning capabilities of apple cider vinegar in humans. However, don’t discount this tart-tasting apple product just yet. The results of one study are pretty encouraging.
The research involved 144 obese men. It ran for 12 weeks. All the men continued to eat their normal diets but began consuming a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar per day. Surprisingly, they lost 3.7 pounds in weight. This was accompanied by a 0.9% reduction in body fat. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19661687)
If you want to start using apple cider vinegar as a fat burning food, the best thing to do is start with just one teaspoon of vinegar per day. Preferably diluted with water. Over time, you can then increase the dose to a maximum of two tablespoons per day. The softly-softly approach is a good way to avoid any initial intestinal discomfort.
Greek Yogurt
Greek yogurt tends to be thicker and creamier than other yogurts. This helps it provide a better stomach-filling effect. Its high protein content helps suppress appetite too and it’s also a good source of potassium and calcium.
The body uses potassium as an electrolyte. That’s why it’s in so many of the sports drinks people drink to remain hydrated during exercise.
When it comes to weight loss, calcium is a more interesting mineral. Research suggests a link between low calcium intake ad high body mass index (BMI).
Some research suggests calcium may also contribute to fat burning and the researchers suggest the calcium from food works better than calcium from supplements. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15090625)
One of the best things about Greek yogurt is it’s a fat burning food that doesn’t require any special preparation. Just rip the lid off and you’re good to go. It makes a tasty breakfast treat, is great for a midday snack, and is also light on the stomach if you eat it at the end of the day.
Olive Oil
Olive oil is one of the healthiest fats you can get. It lowers triglycerides and cholesterol and has a reputation for being very good for the heart.
Some studies show olive oil may boost metabolism and fat loss as well. In one study, involving 12 obese postmenopausal women, adding extra virgin olive oil to the women’s meals significantly improved their fat burning capabilities for a number of hours.
Adding olive oil to your diet is not hard. You can cook with it and it’s great for a salad dressing. Many people combine it with balsamic vinegar but, for the best fat burning salad dressing, it may be an idea to try mixing your olive oil with cider vinegar instead.
Best Fat Burning Fruits
Here is a selection of the top fat burning fruits to eat
- Apple
- Grapefruit
- Banana
- Kiwi
- Strawberry
- Lemon
Best Fat Burning Drinks
Another quick fire list of some drinks with fat burning potential
- Green tea
- Coffee
- Apple cider vinegar
- Vegetable juices
- Ginger
Green coffee bean can be found in some of the best fat burning supplements.