How Food Helps You Burn Fat

Long Term Weight Loss

Achieving long-term weight loss is no walk in the park. In 2017, the global weight loss and management market was valued at $176 Billion USD. Given the sector’s lucrative nature, media is inundated with diets, trends and fads aimed at achieving weight loss – or perhaps more aptly termed fat loss. Achieving weight loss via muscle is ill-advised as it slows metabolism. Most approaches target fat loss by focusing on exercise, food intake, suppressing the appetite, surgery, or by stimulating metabolism. The latter involves increasing the body’s ability to burn more calories than it utilises to fuel life and normal functioning. The metabolic rate is governed by factors including age, gender, muscle-to-fat ratio, level of physical activity, hormone function, genetics, and weight; and, can be boosted by adapting ‘how’ and ‘what’ we consume. So what substances can be consumed to stimulate fat loss?

Things That Help Promote Weight Loss

Dietary interventions, for example:

• drinking five cups of caffeinated beverage, oolong tea, or green tea per day were found to increase total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) by up to 9.15, 23.6, and 11.7 kcal, respectively.
• Regular consumption of caffeine, which is found in coffee and tea, increased the metabolic rate by up to 11 percent.
• Caffeine-associated fat loss was attributed to lipid oxidisation in normal weight subjects.
• Regular consumption of oolong or green tea may increase metabolism by up to 4 percent.
• Catechins in green tea are thought to stimulate fat oxidation and have the potential to increase fat metabolism.

Surprisingly, a Japanese study found that drinking as little as 15 mL of apple vinegar daily for 12-weeks assisted weight loss. The effects were attributed to possible suppression of body fat accumulation, as observed in prior animal studies. Notably, drinking 500 mL of water provided short-term (< 40 min) metabolic increases of up to a staggering 30 percent. The metabolic changes were a result of energy expenditure required to warm the water, where the energy originated from lipid and carbohydrate oxidation in men and women, respectively. As a substitute to drinking a large glass of water day and night, nutritionist Sylvia Melendez-Klinger MS RD recommends consuming fruits and vegetables that are high in water content, for example, cucumber, watermelon, and mandarin.

Other Foods That Enhance Metabolism

And what other foods have metabolism enhancing properties? Eating half a grapefruit prior to three main meals daily for 12-weeks positively impacted on insulin resistance, and reduced weight (1.5 kg) relative to the control group (0.3 kg). Whereas, consuming a high-protein or legume-based diet for 8-weeks induced greater weight loss (~ 8.4, 8.3 percent) relative to the control group (~ 5.5 percent). Protein-rich foods increase the thermic effect of food (TEF), that is the energy spent (above resting metabolic rate) to process the food for use and storage. However, careful choice of protein source is suggested: eggs, red meats, and dairy products, may contain high levels of cholesterol and saturated fats, placing consumers at greater risk of hypercholesterolemia, heart disease, and hyperlipidemia; alternatively, healthier proteins from fish and vegetables, for example, beans, tofu, soy protein, nuts, or seitan are recommended.

Regular consumption of capsaicinoids for 12 to 24 months could increase energy expenditure by 50 kcal per day, resulting in weight loss, and reduced appetite and abdominal adipose tissue levels (15). Capsaicin-rich foods include cayenne, green and red chilli, bell, jalapeño, habanero and tabasco peppers. Nevertheless, 50 kcal per day was estimated to be within normal metabolic rate variability ranges, so evidence was non-conclusive, and authors recommended capsaicinoid consumption was more suitable for ongoing weight maintenance rather than loss (16). Though, drinking 2 g of ginger powder in hot water per meal (17), or eating 1 g of red pepper per meal (18) burnt more calories than placebo groups, achieved energy expenditure levels were minimal and less than 50 kcal per day.

What and When We Eat Matters

As mentioned, ‘how’ we eat can also impact on metabolic rate. For instance, a weight loss diet of nocturnal carbohydrate and daytime protein consumption patterns induced higher diet-induced thermogenesis the following day, than a reversely designed diet. More so, calorie counting still

appears to be a highly effective means to achieve rapid weight loss. For instance, when adults were placed on an 8-week 800 kcal per day diet, 83 percent achieved weight loss of > 8 percent, following which a normal protein and low-GI diet achieved greatest weight maintenance long-term.

When estimating how many calories to consume daily, values such as the TDEE can be highly valuable. TDEE considers energy spent daily to fuel Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) (60 to 70 percent), acknowledges TEF (10 percent) and energy expenditure from physical activity (5 to 30 percent, 91 to 753 kcal). The largest contributor – BMR – is governed by age, gender and muscle mass. Oddly enough, a kilogram of skeletal muscle when at rest has a low metabolic rate (11.3 cal per day), nearly thrice that of fat (4.5 cal per day), however much less than the brain (240 cal per day). It is widely accepted physical activity can be tailored to increase muscle mass and in turn impact BMR e.g. resistance training. To achieve fat loss it is recommended throughout the week to break even on one’s TDEE, and on rest days minus TDEE by 10 percent.

In summary, it appears specific liquids and foods may alter metabolic processes, in turn, promoting fat loss, and can be incorporated into eating plans to assist ongoing weight maintenance; however, if sizeable fat loss is desired, approaches considering calorie intake vs. expenditure, and physical exercise may yield more substantial results.