You already know that a good sports workout burns a lot of calories. You can even increase your number of steps during the day to burn calories and lose weight. But did you know that there are also foods that burn calories?
Everything you do during the day burns calories, including eating. But eating some foods can burn more calories than others. And the best foods for a calorie-burning diet provide other nutritional benefits besides the benefit of weight loss.
When you eat food, you consume calories. But you also need energy to feed yourself. Chewing and digestion require your body to burn calories. But how many calories can you burn eating food?
Unfortunately, there are not many. The calories you burn from eating and digesting food make up about 10% of your daily calorie expenditure. This means that if you burn 2, 000 calories a day, you burn about 100 to 200 of those calories from food intake, roughly 30 to 75 calories per meal, regardless of the foods you choose.
Foods that increase the number of calories burned provide vital macro and micronutrients that help your body feel and look better. They help you feel full and satisfied and allow you to consume more food for fewer calories – an ideal choice when it comes to weight loss.
When you eat a high-protein meal, you burn more calories than when you eat a high-carb or high-fat meal. Simply put, your body has to work harder to break down and store protein than it does to break down and store carbohydrates and fats.
Here are the foods that increase the number of calories burned:
- chicken;
- tuna;
- lean beef;
- salmon;
- lean pork.
One portion (100 g) of the listed foods can ensure the burning of a significant amount of calories.
The body needs energy to work harder when fiber is chewed and digested. Also known as “roughage, ” fiber foods can relieve indigestion and promote good digestive health. When choosing a side dish to serve with the protein, consider adding foods that contain fiber.
Radishes and celery are also good calorie burning foods. Spicy vegetables can also help burn more calories. Some studies suggest that eating spicy food can slightly raise your body temperature and burn more calories.
When you combine protein foods with fiber-rich foods, you don't feel hungry for hours after a meal. So, these foods not only burn calories, like "roughage, " but they also fill you up and help you consume fewer calories throughout the day.
