Boost your metabolism
It’s true: Certain foods have a very high thermogenic effect, so you literally scorch
calories as you chew. Other eats contain nutrients and compounds that stoke your metabolic fire. Feed your metabolism with these.
Hot peppers
Capsaicin, the compound that
gives chili peppers their kick, heats up your body, which makes you melt
additional calories. You can get it by eating raw, cooked, dried, or powdered
peppers, says Lakatos Shames. “Add as much cayenne or hot sauce as possible to
soups, eggs, and meats.”
Whole grains
Your body burns twice as
many calories breaking down whole foods (especially those rich in fiber such as
oatmeal and brown rice) than processed foods.
Lean meats
Protein has a high
thermogenic effect: You burn about 30% of the calories the food contains during
digestion (so a 300-calorie chicken breast requires about 90 calories to break
it down).
Low-fat dairy products
Rich in calcium and vitamin
D, these help preserve and build muscle mass—essential for maintaining a robust
metabolism.
Green tea
Drinking four cups of green tea a day helped people
shed more than six pounds in eight weeks, the American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition reports. Credit EGCG, a compound in the brew that temporarily
speeds metabolism after sipping it. To up your intake, keep a jug of iced tea
in the fridge.
If you want to read more about the many impressive health benefits of green tea, then check out this article: Top 10 Evidence-Based Health Benefits of Green Tea.
Lentils
One cup packs 35% of your daily iron needs—good news,
since up to 20% of us are iron- deficient. When you lack a nutrient, your metab
slows because the body’s not getting what it needs to work efficiently, says
Tammy Lakatos Shames, RD, co-author of The Secret to Skinny.
