Negative Calorie Foods to Help You Lose Weight

Losing weight is one of the most difficult goals in life to accomplish. Choosing the right foods is a complicated process and most individuals need some basic guidance to make successful choices. When you choose the right foods, you are nourishing your body and optimizing your fat burning ability. As a result your weight will decrease and you can reach your weight loss goal.

Certain foods are known as "negative calorie foods". These are foods that your body digests at a rate greater than the caloric value of the food. When you consume negative calorie foods, your body naturally burns fat and your weight drops.

To understand negative calorie foods better, think about this example. If an average size woman consumes a cookie which has 300 calories, her body burns 100 calories to digest the cookie. That leaves the woman with 200 calories. If the same average size woman consumes some raw vegetables which have 50 calories, the woman may burn 100 calories digesting the vegetables. When this occurs, she has burned more calories than she ate and that creates negative calories. An example of a food which creates negative calories is an apple. An average size apple has approximately 100 calories, but your body uses up to 150 calories digesting the same apple.

Other examples of negative calorie foods are broccoli, blueberries, zucchini, asparagus, and strawberries just to name a food. By substituting one of these negative calorie foods for a higher caloric food, you are burning more calories than you are consuming and you will begin to see your weight drop.

Many years ago, the grapefruit diet became very popular for individuals struggling to lose weight. The grapefruit diet does work and followers have been successful losing weight. The reason the grapefruit diet works for so many people is because the grapefruit is a negative calorie food.

There are other substitutions you can make on a daily basis to maximize your weight loss and take advantage of negative calorie foods. When dining out, instead of choosing a high calorie steak or prime rib, select a fresh fish such as salmon. In addition to being a negative calorie food, salmon also has Omega 3 fats which are very beneficial for your body. When ordering salmon, be sure to have it grilled and ask the chef to prepare it without added oil or butter. The added fat in butter and oil will ruin any benefits you would get from eating negative calorie foods. You can also substitute your side dish. Instead of opting for the baked potato, ask for steamed vegetables. The more substitutions you make daily, the more successful you will be and the faster you will see results.

There are many other substitutions you can make daily. If you find yourself reaching for a sweet snack in the afternoon, grab a few nuts instead. Almonds are a great choice for a snack and they nourish your body with protein and help to boost your immunity. Studies also find that nuts help to lower your bad cholesterol. Additionally, you should substitute your soda with green tea which is loaded with antioxidants and has also been proven to increase your metabolism. Be sure to drink your green tea without added sugar as this will negate its positive effects. If you're not a fan of tea, drink some ice water enhanced with a lemon wedge.

Making negative calorie food choices is not always easy. If you start slowly and try to replace one item with a negative calorie food during each meal, then you will slowly see successes. Gradually increase your substitutions with negative calorie foods and your success will increase. Your weight loss will be slow and steady when you start incorporating negative calorie foods and your success will be permanent.