Diet Doctor > Diet Myths > Some Foods Burn Fat

Some Foods Burn Fat

Foods Don’t Burn Fat, Exercise Does

A quick flip through diet books or a search online will give you lists of fat burning foods . Some diets, in fact, focus on one food or one type of food that they claim will practically make the fat melt right off your body. Is there any truth to this? Can drinking grapefruit juice before every meal, for instance, really zap all the fat in the food you eat? It’s really not that simple.

There are certain foods that can help boost your metabolism because of the nutrients and qualities in that food. Whether or not that makes it a fat burning food is up in the air. But if it can help speed your metabolism, then your body can burn fat more efficiently.

Foods rich in protein help boost the metabolism, so foods like lean chicken, eggs and turkey might be considered fat burning foods in that context. Soy based products help boost metabolism, too. So tofu, soy milk, edamame and other soy products are good to include in your diet. Spicy foods that contain capsaicin may have metabolism-speeding qualities, so chili peppers and other hot foods may be able to help you burn fat a little bit faster. And salmon, with its protein and heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, is also listed as a fat burning food.

One thing’s for sure: it’s necessary to eat regularly to burn fat. Fat burning and food are directly related because if you don’t eat enough, your body’s metabolism slows down. It thinks you’re going hungry, so it burns fuel slower to compensate. This can stall weight loss or even make you gain weight. Eat regularly to keep putting fuel in the furnace and keep it burning at maximum capacity.

If you’re not meeting your weight loss goals, it could be that your diet’s too restrictive. Try using a daily calorie counter , not just to make sure you stay beneath a certain calorie level, but to be sure you get enough calories, too. If you eat too few, you’ll sabotage your efforts and actually slow down your weight loss.

While your food choices can certainly make a difference in your metabolism, your exercise choices will have the most impact on how fast your body burns fat. Aerobic exercise, otherwise known as cardio, will give you the best fast burning benefits. These are exercises that get your heart rate elevated and get you using oxygen as fuel for several minutes or more, like running , swimming, walking briskly, going up and down steps or bicycling, to name a few.

Weight lifting, doing stretches and doing floor exercises can be aerobic, but they’re usually not. These types of exercises are aimed more at toning and strengthening the muscles, which should also be part of your fat-burning plan. If you follow a good exercise plan that combines cardio fat burning workouts with weight lifting and toning exercises, then once the fat starts to melt away you’ll be left with toned firm muscles. So while you might include some “fat burning foods,” don’t forget the toning and fat burning exercises, too.