While there are no short cuts to losing weight, there are a few things that you can do to boost your metabolism.

Many foods that help to speed up your metabolism take more work to eat, so you burn more kilojoules during digestion. Just the act of chewing foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean cuts of meat can increase your kilojoule burn by up to 30%!

Below is a list of foods that may help to speed up your metabolism:

    • Lean meats, nuts, whole fruits and vegetables. These foods make your body work right off the fork. To maximise the “chewing”, choose food in its “whole” state, for example apples instead of applesauce. High-protein foods are best because they take more work to chew and longer to leave your stomach. You take more time eating and have more time to register that you’ve had enough.
    • Fruits, vegetables, brown rice, whole grains and cereals. In addition to being “chewy”, these foods are packed with fibre, so they take up more room in your tummy compared to other foods with the same number of kilojoules, and leave less room for second helpings.
    • Coffee (black), green tea and dark chocolate. You can get metabolism-boosting caffeine in coffee and black tea, but don’t add milk or sugar. Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant, so your daily java or black tea can boost your metabolism by 5 to 8% (about 0.4 to 0.6 kilojoules per day). Green tea doesn’t have much caffeine but it does contain catechins, an antioxidant that raises resting metabolism by 4% (about 0.4 kilojoules per day). Dark chocolate contains both catechins and caffeine, but stick to no more than 28 grams per day to limit fat and kilojoules.
    • Peppers, cinnamon, ginger, garlic, cloves, mustard and vinegar. According to a recent study done by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), taking capsaicin, the chemical that gives peppers their burn, doubles energy expenditure for several hours after eating. Even mild peppers contain compounds that help erase up to 0.4 kilojoules a day by binding to nerve receptors and sending fat-burning signals to your brain. Cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves and garlic help, too.

Exercising regularly and getting plenty of sleep are all important, but eating certain foods can give you that extra edge to lose more weight.

 

Sources
Prevention. Eat these foods and lose weight. November 2011
www.globalhealingcenter.com