By a show of hands, who here has heard of these famous 'fat-burning' foods?
They are everywhere, and countless gurus sell various lists of these foods that supposedly make it effortless to lose weight.
But, is that truly the case? Let's find out.
What Are 'Fat-Burning Foods' And Do They Work?
Fat-burning foods, also known as negative-calorie foods, are those that supposedly help us lose weight by eating them.
If you Google the phrase 'fat burning foods,' you're bound to come across countless lists full of all sorts of foods that supposedly put the body in some kind of special mode.
The most common argument is, these foods contain so few calories that the body expends more to break them down. Sadly, things don't work like that, and no amount of celery will directly change your energy balance in any meaningful way.
So, What Does Work?
To lose weight, we need to be in a calorie deficit. In other words, we need to consume fewer calories than we burn each day. That way, we draw on stored energy to meet our needs.
To support this process (and minimise muscle loss), we can employ several other tactics. One such tactic is to consume more protein - meat, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs, protein powder, and similar. That way, our muscles have building blocks (amino acids) that support them. This can help a greater proportion of the weight change come from fat rather than lean tissue.
In the same line of thinking, practicing resistance training also helps preserve muscle tissue while in a calorie deficit. By stimulating our muscles regularly, we tell the body, "Hey, muscle tissue is valuable - don't use it for energy!" The best news is, as little as two to three resistance training sessions per week are enough.
Sleep is another vital element of a structured nutrition and training routine. In some studies, sleep deprivation has been shown to lead to greater muscle loss with all other variables (training, diet, etc.) staying the same. Up to 7-8 hours per night seems to be the sweet spot for most people.
And finally, so long as you cover the above criteria, certain supplements are commonly used to complement a calorie-managed active lifestyle routine. Namely, they are commonly used to support:
- Energy levels during training
- General metabolic function as part of an active routine
- Daily protein intake as part of a structured nutrition plan