The pressure of having a slim and desirable body has taken over our lives. Though, through a balanced diet and a good exercise regime this is achievable, there are many people constantly looking for faster and easier methods of weight loss. The most recommended diet plan for weight loss is the fat burning food plan. This plan encourages eating certain foods and limiting the calories, this supposedly burns fat in the body. Often such plans are under the scanner for various reasons and their creditability is questioned. There are numerous people following such fat burning food plans but have a difficult time losing those extras pounds.
Certain foods can burn fat
The term fat burning food itself can be considered as a myth. Any food does not directly burn fat but facilitates the process of burning fat. The West Virginia University Student Health Services in a study explains that there are certain negative calorie foods, such as celery and grapefruit, that supposedly require more energy to eat and digest than their actual calorie content. Thus, such foods may be regarded as fat burning foods in generalized terms as they burn more calories than they add to your body.
In theory, one can lose weight by consuming such foods. But, this theory is yet again questioned by the Columbia University Health Services. They state that there is no such thing as negative calorie foods. The main motive of consuming food is to gain energy and all food that you consume offers some amount of energy in form of calories. But it can be concluded that though cucumber, celery and grapefruit do not directly burn fat, they still serve as better food options and should be made a part of one’s weight loss diet as their calorie content is low.
Eating grapefruit and celery can make you thin
Celery and grapefruit are extremely low in calories. They do not directly contribute to burning fat. Grapefruit and celery are high in vitamin C and also are rich in fiber. Fiber is known to keep you fuller for longer and curb hunger. It also improves digestion keeping the body metabolism steady. Fiber also helps in efficient sugar absorption. Having only low calorie foods which have no essential nutrients is not enough. The body needs these nutrients to function smoothly and maintain the sugar levels and good metabolism. The key to weight loss is a well balanced diet which is rich in nutrients. But it is equally important to keep a count of the calories.
Cabbage soup burns fat and helps in losing weight
Contrary to what many believe, there is no food that can burn body fat by itself. Generally, it is observed that the initial weight loss is actually due to a loss of water and not fat. Apart from this, consuming only a certain kind of food or having only a particular cabbage soup for a specific time can have serious negative effects on your health. This situation leads to serious lack of nutrients in the body and you can feel tired and weak. People suffering from other health condition can have serious complications. Even though you may experience a short term loss in weight, the moment you get back to your normal diet, you will ultimately gain all the lost weight back. But having a fulfilling soup at the start of your meal can certainly reduce the amount of food you eat, ultimately reducing your calorie intake and facilitating weight loss.
You can munch on fast food as long as fat burning foods are included in the diet plan
There is a general myth that just adding healthier fat burning foods to one’s daily diet can help in losing weight. And that eating fast food can be part of this plan. But, unfortunately shedding those pounds is more about what you don’t eat than about what you eat. It is better to have a moderately healthy diet plan rather than having a 25% unhealthy and 75% healthy one. As most individuals are addicted to fast food, it is important that you liberate yourself from such addictions. The more the addictions, the fewer are your chances of losing weight with or without fat burning foods. Though fat burning foods do not really exist, consuming natural foods with low calorie content and rich in nutrients and fiber can definitely help you in losing weight, but excluding fast food from the diet is important.
Vinegar in the morning is a good fat burner
Having vinegar in the mornings does not really help in burning any fat. It can cause more harm than good as consuming vinegar on an empty stomach can cause serious ulcers. As we know, vinegar is acidic and when consumed on an empty stomach, it reacts with the acids in the stomach causing ulcers and has no role in burning body fat.
As long as you eat fat burning foods it does not matter when and how you eat
Though fat burning foods do not theoretically exist, there are certainly healthier natural foods which contain body essentials like carbohydrates, fiber and protein. In general terms, there are two kinds of food digesting environments in our body, namely the base environment and the acidic environment. Carbohydrates such as potatoes, rice etc get digested in the second or an acidic digestive environment. Whereas proteins such as meat and other proteins are digested in a base digestive environment. A conflict occurs when two different categories of foods come together in the digestive track. In such situations, the body needs to make both acidic and base chemicals at the same time. This drastically affects the quality of digestion resulting in digestive problems and unsteady metabolism. Thus, consuming vegetables and proteins together and carbohydrates with other carbohydrates or vegetables is advised for a fast metabolism.
Warm water helps in dissolving excess fat
Consuming cold or warm water has the same effect. When you drink water at any temperature it eventually takes the same temperature as your body. It has no relation with burning or melting fat. But, drinking warm water does have other benefits. It helps in flushing out toxins from your body and aids other body processes in working efficiently. Drinking water can contribute towards losing weight if you follow a healthy and well balanced diet plan combined with exercises.
Pineapple can break down fat in food
Pineapple is a much publicized fruit especially for its so-called fat burning properties. It was earlier considered that this prickly tropical fruit contains an enzyme called bromelain which helps in splitting fat. But the truth is that this enzyme, in fact, helps in digesting protein and not in splitting fat. Pineapple is extremely low in calories and is rich in fiber which keeps you fuller for longer. It can also curb hunger. It is a great fruit that can be incorporated in your weight loss diet plan.
Beverages with caffeine are great fat busters
In is a co
mmon claim that caffeine helps in burning fat and also speeds up the body metabolism. This claim is highly arguable and turns out to not be true at all. Actually, caffeine is said to be a mild stimulant. It helps you to stay alert and helps in enhancing attentiveness. Caffeinated beverages certainly have no fat burning properties.
Consuming fat burning foods but no exercise will reduce weight
You can reduce weight when the calorie intake is limited, the diet is well balanced and when combined with a good exercise regime. Fat burning foods are just foods with low calorie content. Some of the fat burning foods are definitely healthier and can aid weight loss. But, consuming only the so called fat burning foods is not enough. Exercise is equally important to maintaining a good BMI or body mass index.
You can burn fat in specific areas by eating certain foods
Unfortunately, it’s literally impossible to reduce or burn fat from a specific area of one’s body. As explained by the University of Massachusetts, the term ‘spot reduction’ or in other words burning fat from a specific area of the body is factually impossible. Any kind of fat loss always occurs in a proportionate manner. Fat is burned equally off the entire body. Fat is burnt when you exercise combined with a low calorie diet. It is a common myth that doing sit ups or crunches burns belly fat and can give us toned and defined abdominal muscles. Exercise helps in targeting a certain body part but only to build muscle and not burn fat. Fat is always burned from all over the body in a uniform manner.