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Fat Fighting Foods

Losing weight doesn't have to mean depriving yourself of certain foods or drastically reducing your caloric intake. You just have to watch the types of foods you eat. There are foods that can actually benefit your weight loss and help you fight fat. These foods will fill you up, avoid fat gain and stimulate your metabolism.

  1. Hot Peppers

    • Spicy foods such as habaneros, cayennes and jalapenos contain capsaicin. Capsaicin gives these foods their heat. When eaten, this chemical speeds up your heart rate and boosts your metabolism so you burn calories from fat. It keeps working up to three hours after consumption. If you are on a diet, calorie and food restrictions can slow down your metabolism. Eating a spicy snack can speed your metabolism right back up.

    Turkey

    • Of all animal sources of protein, turkey has the least amount of calories per ounce. Turkey also contains leucin, an amino acid that preserves muscle tissue when you are losing weight. Muscle tissue aids in fat burn. The more muscles you have, the more fat you will burn. Turkey and animal protein sources in general require your body to use more energy to digest them compared to fat and carbohydrates. Therefore, you feel full for a longer time and you burn more calories.

    Whole-Grain Cereals and Milk

    • Eating whole-grain cereal with milk for breakfast is a good start to your day. A bowl of oatmeal, for instance, digests slowly in your stomach and therefore doesn't spike your insulin levels. Eating foods like bagels and muffins will cause your insulin levels to spike and your body will start storing fat as your metabolism slows down. Milk contains the mineral calcium which helps your body burn fat efficiently. According to Women's Health magazine, a lack of calcium in your diet triggers the release of the hormone calcitriol, which stimulates fat storage.

    Nuts and Fish

    • Almonds and walnuts can satisfy you when you crave a snack without sabotaging your diet. Almonds contain alpha-linolenic acid, which speeds up the metabolism of fat. Walnuts contain omega-3 fatty acids, as do fish such as salmon, tuna and sardines. Omega-3 fatty acids prevent hunger and positively influence leptin in your body. Leptin is a hormone that determines whether food is burned or stored as fat.

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