nutrition >> dieting news

eleven ways to help your body burn up more calories in a day


consume calcium
Researchers have found a link between calcium consumption and fat burning. Diets that include an adequate amount of calcium, say, 1,000-1,300milligrams a day, results in more weight loss than diets that include less. This is thought to be because calcium plays an important role in fat cell metabolism and fat storage. So when you eat calcium your body prefers to break down and use fats. Better get onto that everyday yoghurt.

green tea
Research shows that drinking 2-4 cups of green tea a day can significantly boost your metabolism. Unlike black tea, green tea contains a phytochemical called ECGC, which researchers believe can cause the body to waste calories as heat, thus speeding up the calorie burn.

add spice
Adding hot peppers from the capsicum family, like jalapeno and serrano to your meals, can increase your metabolic rate. This study was done by showing an effect only when eating 2-3gs of capsicum, but this might be too hot for some!

include protein with every meal
Your digestive tract has to work harder to break down proteins than it does to break down carbohydrates, which will increase calorific burn during digestion. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat carbohydrates, just that proteins consumed with carbohydrates means your body will work harder to break down the foods.

face up to fish
Research shows that the omega-3 fatty acid found in fish (a polyunsaturated fat), encourages your fat cells to send a signal to the brain to say “we are full”. This then sends a signal to your metabolism to burn up more calories.

olive oil, not butter
A study done in Australia shows that your body will burn more fats and store less fat when eating a food cooked in olive oil as opposed to when the same meal was cooked in butter.

choose fluid carefully
When on a healthy eating plan most of us make the mistake of choosing to include healthy sports drinks while lunching and eating out, assuming these drinks are good for our health.

Well the truth is that they are good for you, but here's the disclaimer: only if you are a committed athlete or in serious training for a big event/match. If however, you are on a low fat, low calorie diet to help try and assist in weight loss, then the worst thing you could choose to consume is a sports drink.

That's because they have a high concentration of calories, meaning they are fantastic if you are training for an endurance event due to the high electro concentrates they contain. These drinks are also great if you are trying to recover from strenuous exercise and not trying to restrict calories. Additionally, they are extremely beneficial if you are building up for a big exercise session like competing in a soccer/cricket/rugby match etc.

Remember to choose carefully and read the labels before drinking: what's good for sports people isn't always good for you if your goals are not the same.

eat regularly
When you skip meals your body immediately slows down your resting metabolic rate and when this is done on a continual basis your resting metabolic rate can remain low constantly. To avoid this you need to eat every five hours.

more please!
This is something you won’t expect to read but when you restrict your calories constantly you train your body to slow down its metabolism. Eating a tiny bit more often might help rev up that engine again…

exercise harder
When you exercise harder you require more calories. You will also increase your calorific afterburn, which occurs after your exercise session. Just putting in faster and harder efforts for 60-90seconds during your normal session could do this. eg running faster or taking on a bigger hill during your power walk.

muscle up
The more muscle you have the more calories you burn during the day. One to two weight workouts a week can add significant amounts of strength and muscle to your body to help this along.