Keeping your blood sugar in check and stabilising your insulin levels will not only get you off the energy rollercoaster (3:30-itis, anyone?) for good, but help your body burn excess fat.
Here are my 12 favourite fat-burning foods!
1. Coconut Oil – the medium chain triglycerides help boost your metabolism by being digested in your digestive tract and are used for energy more readily than other fats. Its thermogenic properties mean that it assists the body’s ability to burn fat.
2. Greens – from a practical perspective, replacing traditional heavy grains with a healthy portion of greens will nourish you and provide you with plenty of fibre to detox your colon and produce a ‘full-feeling’ to prevent you from overeating.
3. Fibre such as Flaxseed, Chia Seeds, Psyllium Husk – is fat burning because it keeps you feeling full and satisfied (fighting off those nasty sugar cravings!) and keeps your glucose and insulin under control, the key to weight loss.
4. Broccoli – contains natural phytochemicals which the plant uses to protect itself from cell degeneration. Eating veggies like broccoli helps pass on this delicious goodness to you! Try lightly roasting them for a completely different flavour to steaming.
5. Berries – when consumed in small amounts, these low GI fruits are a great source of energy and natural source of antioxidants which help decrease free radicals in your blood stream that are damaging to skin cells.
6. Seaweed – is an amazing source of Vitamin B12 which is essential for a healthy brain and nervous system. It also contains natural chemicals which stimulate the body’s creation of a fat burning protein.
7. Spirulina is dried blue-green algae which is known to increase your body’s capacity to burn fat and reduce exercise-induced fatigue. Add it to your smoothies with yummy fruits or take in capsules- the taste is a little strong at first!
8. Lemon – add to a glass of warm water in the morning to alkalise your body and boost your metabolic rate. This will assist your body in burning more calories.
9. Turmeric – its anti-inflammatory properties will help you feel leaner by stimulating digestion and helping the liver detox itself, so that fats can be broken down more easily.
10. Green Tea – contains antioxidants known as catechins which provide your body with a nice metabolism boost in the form of a calming cuppa!
11. Grapefruit – lowers the body’s insulin levels in small amounts and can assist the body in metabolising sugar for energy instead of storing it as fat. Controlling insulin levels will also assist in controlling your appetite.
12. Lean Protein and Fish – these proteins will keep you feeling fuller for longer and balance out our body’s digestion of carbohydrates. As they take longer for the body to break down, small amounts of lean protein and fish at lunch and dinner will prevent you from being on the dreaded insulin roller-coaster.
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