21 Fat Burning Foods That Turn Off Your Fat Storing Hormones

21 Fat Burning Foods That Turn Off Your Fat Storing Hormones

A Bird in the Hand…

Eating more high quality protein, such as free-range poultry like chicken and turkey enables your body to burn fat, while maintaining lean, sexy muscle. Turkey, chicken, and other lean poultry are a great source of protein, so be sure to include them in your weekly food prep.

These animal proteins are also an incredible source of tryptophan, the (amino acid) raw material to the neurotransmitter serotonin. Tryptophan is essential when you’re trying to lose weight as it can boost serotonin levels in order to improve your mood, curb emotional eating, and control binging (over snacking a bit too much) due to stress.

Go Nuts!

Nuts and nut butters have good fats, plenty of fiber, and some protein, too – which is a great triple combo to keep you full and energized for hours.

Some healthy nuts, such as walnuts, include a tiny dose of ALA, or alpha-linoleic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid that can help cool inflammation. This is of tremendous benefit to arterial function. Macadamias, pistachios, and Brazil nuts are particularly interesting, having very high minerals like selenium, which is proven to help with everything from digestion to thyroid function.

 

The Yolks on You

Another great natural source of animal protein, (aside from the actual muscle of the animal) pastured eggs help keep you satiated and energized so you can maintain muscle while you’re burning fat.

Totally versatile, you can enjoy them sunny side up, fried, scrambled, or hard-boiled. Eggs are one of the best sources of choline, a major fat-burning nutrient that helps turn off belly-fat.

No need to count calories: at only 70 calories, hard boiled eggs are the perfect snack between meals when on the road.

 

Berry, Berry Good

Loaded with fat-burning fiber, organic berries are succulent sweet treasures that help improve satiety and reduce cravings as you’re burning fat.

What’s more, colorful blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries are all loaded with antioxidants which help fight infection and support your immune system.

 

Martini with Olive (Hold the Martini)

 

Olives, (and olive oil, naturally) are one of the most heart-healthy foods on planet Earth. Technically, they are a fruit, but without the typical sweetness. Instead, olives are naturally bitter, a consequence of their high antioxidant levels. They are the perfect between meal snack to replace junk food choices like potato chips or pretzels.

 

If You Like Pina Coladas…

Coconuts, (and coconut oil, naturally) are a fat burning gold medal food. They are chock-full of specific fats called MCT’s or medium chain triglycerides, which a metabolized quite differently in your body.

Coconuts improve brain function – add it to your morning smoothie for increased mental clarity and performance.

 

Holy, Guacamole!

Avocados are a great combination of monounsaturated fats, the kind that’s been shown to protect against heart disease and strokes. They have plenty of fiber, too. They’re also an excellent source of the key mineral potassium, more even than bananas – which helps reduce bloating and sugar storage.

They are also rich in vitamin B6—which counteracts the belly-fat stress hormone, cortisol. This may actually prevent body fat distribution around the belly. People who eat only half of a fresh avocado during mid-day meals reported a significantly decreased desire to eat for hours afterward!

 

Wet and Wild

Fish, particularly wild salmon is a great choice to help build muscle and keep you full. A 4 ounce portion has about 30 grams of protein for just 200 calories. Salmon also has about nine grams of fat, mostly from heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

In addition to benefitting our brains, nervous systems, hearts and cardiovascular systems, many studies have found that omega-3 fats also protect against type 2 diabetes, inflammation, autoimmune disease and even depression. Other than that, eating fish and seafood is worthless!

 

Better than OJ

Skip your morning orange juice, which is no more than a highly refined, sugary drink, and indulge in some grapefruit as it is better at regulating blood sugar because it has a ton of fiber. Fiber helps slow down the breakdown of sugar to reduce blood sugar spikes and stabilize your appetite. It’s also high in antioxidants including vitamin C and beta-carotene to support healthy immune system function.

 

It’s Not Easy Being Green (Or is it?)

There is actually quite a lot of research (and thousands of years of Chinese tradition) showing that green tea is a super food that can help fire up your body’s fat-burning capabilities.

Many teas have been shown to boost metabolism, block the creation of new fat cells, speed the release of fat from cells, and actually turn off the expression of ‘fat genes’ due to their catechin levels, but green tea leads the pack.

This magical brew is particularly high in the antioxidant ECGC, the compound that burns fat and stops it from forming. Pair your tea with a high intensity (but very brief) workout for a fat-burning bonus.

 

Some Like It Hot!

Capsaicin, the compound that makes chili peppers hot, mildly increases metabolic rate, which is what you want when you’re trying to burn fat.

Plus, many people discover that adding heat to food helps them to feel more satisfied and less likely to overeat.

According to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, daily consumption of capsaicin speeds up abdominal fat loss by boosting the body’s ability to convert food into energy. All you have to do to reap the benefits is use a slight pinch of cayenne pepper to season grilled meats, fish and eggs.

 

Popeye’s Choice

Dark, leafy veggies such as spinach contain loads of iron which supports efficient oxygen transport throughout your body. In fact, all of the ‘salad’ vegetables, most notably kale, Swiss chard, and arugula should be staples of the diet if you’re attempting to scorch fat from your body.

 

Grandma’s Thanksgiving Pie

Sure, covered with melted marshmallows and brown sugar, sweet potato pie was the crowning jewel for most Thanksgiving rituals. But even without, (no, especially without!) all the added sugar, this starchy carbohydrate is digested slowly, which keeps feeling fuller and energized longer. Among the magic ingredients here are carotenoids, antioxidants which stabilize blood-sugar levels and lower insulin resistance, which prevents calories from being converted into fat. As a bonus, their high vitamin profile (including A, C, and B6) gives you more energy to burn while working out.

 

Hershey’s Kisses For (Lean, Sexy) Grown Ups

If you thought losing weight would mean giving up all your indulgences, look no further than dark chocolate. Gut microbes (our healthy bacteria) in our stomach ferment chocolate and boost our body’s production of polyphenolic compounds, including butyrate, a fatty acid that encourages the body to burn fat as fuel and turns off genes linked to inflammation.

Make sure you go with chocolate that has a cacao content of 70 percent or above—these have the highest concentrations of antioxidant polyphenols.

 

Beats Balsamic

Studies show acidic foods help increase the rate at which the body burns off carbs by up to 40 percent! And the faster you burn off carbs, the sooner your body starts incinerating fat, so you can fit into those skinny jeans.

Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) in particular, is composed mostly of acetic acid, which has been shown to delay gastric emptying and slow the release of sugar into the bloodstream. Use in your daily salad dressing, or, if you dare, right out of the shot glass once or twice daily!

 

How Cows Eat In Nature

Foods rich in the amino acid leucine help build the lean muscle mass that’s needed to scorch excess fat. It ignites the process of developing muscle mass—and grass fed red meats are one of the best sources around. Go grass-fed to get the added benefits of omega-3s and conjugated linoleic acids — these two fatty acids help to decrease the inflammation in your body that causes fat storage.

 

Cinnamon Rolls (Well, that’s half right!)

Kickstart your morning—and your metabolism—with this, aromatic, warming spice. Cinnamon contains powerful antioxidants called polyphenols that are proven to alter body composition and improve insulin sensitivity (which means it keeps blood sugar from spiking, preventing hunger-inducing crashes. Add it to your overnight oatmeal or sprinkle some in your coffee or morning protein smoothie to reap the rewards.

 

Fat-Burning Rice!

Crunchy cruciferous vegetables, like cauliflower are more thermogenic than other types of foods, meaning your body burns more calories digesting them. Incorporating these foods into your diet can help you boost calorie burn by the increased work your body will have to go through just digesting the food. Grating cauliflower makes a rice to remember!

 

Not Just For Halloween

One of the reasons your metabolism isn’t burning away fat as efficiently as you’d like may be your magnesium levels. This essential ‘relaxation’ micronutrient is required to produce and store energy, and also helps boost the process by which your body releases fat from its stores to use as energy (lipolysis)—yet 75 percent of Americans do not get their RDA of this important metabolism-boosting mineral. Just a half cup of pumpkin seeds provides nearly 100 percent of your daily magnesium needs.

 

Friendly Gut Feast

Kimchi, an ancient Asian veggie dish is made by fermenting a blend of cabbage, radishes, and scallions with a seasoned paste of red pepper, salted shrimp, or kelp (koji) powder. Fermented foods are great for healing your gut thanks to the high levels of probiotics, but the unique strains found in kimchi may also help you stay slim. If kimchi doesn’t float your boat (yes, it’s spicy!), also consider adding one of the many other fermented foods to your food plan.

 

World’s Best Anti-inflammatory Spice

This shockingly brilliant orange root, turmeric, is a powerful fat fighter. Experts believe the power of this spice comes from the active ingredient curcumin. Studies have found that curcumin is one of the most effective anti-inflammatory options out there. Because it’s more difficult for your body to lose weight when you’re fighting off inflammation, adding turmeric will help you achieve your weight loss goals. Indian food is famous for this incredible spice!