10 Best Fat Burning Foods

Eating food to lose weight may sound contradictory, but it is not only possible, it is quite easy. Food doesn’t have to be the enemy in the battle for weight loss.

Some foods are not only low in calories and high in nutrition, but can also fuel a fat burning fire. Below are the 10 best fat-burning foods that are powerful allies in your fight against fat.

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You might associate turkey with the season of overeating, but this lean meat does wonders for your waistline.

Turkey contains the essential amino acid leucine which preserves muscle. Restricting calories to lose weight often results in muscle loss and a metabolism slump.

By adding turkey to the menu, you build your muscle stores with leucine, and stay full for hours with satisfying protein.

Another great source of protein, yogurt is easily one of the best fat burning foods. But yogurt is also an exceptional source of calcium.

Michael B. Zemel, Ph.D., and director of the Nutrition Institute at the University of Tennessee says “not getting enough calcium triggers the release of the hormone calcitrol.” Calcitrol triggers the body to store excess calories as fat.

You’ve probably heard how important fiber is to weight loss. By absorbing water in your stomach and intestines, fiber can help you feel more full without adding calories.

However, you might not know that berries are a great source of natural fiber. One cup of fresh raspberries packs a whopping 8 grams of fiber. Blackberries come in at a close second with 7 grams per cup.

This exotic fruit from West Africa has received international attention as one of the best fat burning foods.

Researchers in Cameroon found that African mango seed extract prevents the production of fat tissue. A study of 102 healthy, overweight and/or obese participants found that after 10 weeks of regularly taking African mango they had lost an average of 10% body fat.

Though you can’t find African mango at your average grocery store, it is readily available in supplement form.

A recent study of patients suffering from diabetes found that cinnamon facilitates sugar metabolism.

Just ¼-2 teaspoons of this delicious spice reduced blood sugar levels and eliminated study participants’ cravings.

A favorite of elephants, peanuts ironically help you slim down. Purdue University found that people who added 500 calories of peanuts to their diets for 3 weeks saw a 24% triglyceride drop.

Even though nuts are relatively high in calories, peanuts are still one of the best fat burning foods. Researcher Rick Mattes, Ph.D. says peanuts’ power to satisfy helps you eat fewer calories overall.

Feeling the burn in your mouth translates to more burn in your fat stores. The Brigham and Women’s Hospital found that capsaicin -- the spicy component in chili peppers -- can torch an extra 50-90 calories each day. And that’s without additional exercise!

If you can take the heat, sprinkle dried red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper onto at least one meal each day. If you aren’t a spicy fan, you can get the same benefits from supplements that contain capsaicin.

A blend of soy and canola oils, Enova oil is not as easily converted into fat stores. This is because Enova oil is made of diglycerides, which are harder for the body to process as calories than triglycerides.

A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that dieters who swapped traditional oil sources for Enova oil lost more weight than those using the placebo.

Although they once had a bad reputation for being high in fat and cholesterol, eggs are making a nutritional comeback.

Nutritionists now say that the cholesterol in eggs is not absorbed into the blood stream. And eggs’ protein to saturated fat ratio is much better than almost any other animal source.

Still worried about cholesterol? Swap out whole eggs for egg whites.

Adding eggs to your breakfast is a healthy way to stay full and add muscle tissue. Since muscle mass requires calories to maintain, muscle is a great way to keep a fast metabolism.

Green tea’s metabolic power easily makes it one of the best fat burning foods available. Not only will it get your mind and body going, but green tea signals your body to draw upon fat stores for energy.

Studies show that a daily dose is required to maintain an elevated metabolism. If you aren’t a big tea-drinker, there are many weight loss supplements that offer green tea extracts with the same fat-burning power.

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