Fat-burning foods to fire up your metabolism

From chilli to complex carbs, these fast foods will speed up your metabolism and make weight loss more achievable.

Making the choice to lose weight and sticking to a strict diet as a result can prove to be a challenge at times. So if there are foods out there that are going to make achieving your health goals easier, then you would be crazy not to start implementing fast foods into your diet. And by fast foods, I don’t mean fat-saturated takeaway food. I’m referring to calorie-burning foods that will give your metabolism a jump start and make weight loss more achievable.

 1. Complex high-fibre Carbohydrates
Always aim to include a small portion of complex carbohydrates in every meal you have. Yes, carbohydrates! They are extremely beneficial at helping your body burn up calories and increase your metabolism; since they contain fibre which provides an extended energy boost so you stay active. This energy will help convert food into usable energy. Good carbs include non-starchy vegetables, beans and whole grains such as brown bread, brown rice, oatmeal and whole grain cereals.

 2. Lean protein
Consuming lean proteins such as chicken, turkey breast, red meat egg whites, fish or game meat will boost your metabolic rate since the digestion of protein increases the amount of chemical reactions occurring in your stomach. In a nut shell, the amino acids found in protein are stimulating cellular activity, so your metabolism will rise within the first hour until three to 12 hours post-meal.

 3. Spices
Your metabolic rate will instantly shift into top gear upon consumer hot spicy foods like chilli, jalapenos and cayenne peppers. Capsaicin is a chemical found in hot peppers which stimulates the release of extra stress hormones including adrenalin. This increases the body’s ability to burn more calories.

 4. Garlic and ginger
Garlic and ginger both go beyond adding flavours to a meal and boosting your immune system to prevent cold and flu’s. They have an innate ability to raise your body’s temperature so fat burning mechanisms are stimulated.

 5. Green tea
A powerful antioxidant called EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) increases your metabolic rate, making fat oxidation more efficient since it triggers thermogenic properties to occur around the body.

 6. Lemon and Vinegar
Adding a dash of fresh lemons, apple cider vinegar or red/white vinegar will drive up your metabolism. This is due to their high acidic levels which slow down the rate of starch digestion; ultimately keeping your insulin levels balanced and lowering blood sugar levels.