You’re training hard and haven’t touched a doughnut in months, yet you still cant shift those last few pounds of stubborn fat? Don’t despair. Here are 5 foods to alleviate bloating, provide hidden nutrients and slim down your problem areas to leave you feeling leaner and more defined.
1. GRAPEFRUIT
Eat fresh grapefruit daily as part of your weight-loss regime, and watch the weight drop off! A flavonoid found in this Vitamin C rich ‘Superfood’ forces the liver to burn excess fat from food, rather than storing it. Double Whammy – Just half a grapefruit provides one of your five a day, so as you watch the pounds drop off you’ll be getting almost 80% of your RDA of vitamin C.
2. ICE ICE BABY
Should you adhere to the recommended 8 glasses of water every day, adding ice-cubes to your water could add up to an extra 500 calories burned per week.
Also, since hunger is most often confused with thirst, a cold glass of water may help reduce or even eliminate food cravings.
Just remember, this doesn’t work if you add ice to beer – or your fifth Gin & Tonic.
3. CINAMMON
If you thought cinammon was just something to sprinkle over your mocha chocha latte, think again. It imitates the biological activity of insulin and increases the metabolism of glucose. Since high blood sugar levels can lead to increased storage of fat by the body, cinnamon helps prevent this increased storage of fat and enables you to lose weight. It also delays the passing of food from the stomach into the intestine. Hence, you feel fuller for longer and eat less. Studies show that abdominal fat is more sensitive to the effects of cinnamon than fat from other parts of the body.
Try adding it to herbal tea, your breakfast cereal or why not sprinkle it on your toast or add it to your morning cup of coffee. Just ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon can help metabolise sugars up to 20 times faster.
4. APPLES
Containing 5 grams of fibre and high in pectin, a natural fat burner, apples are a hidden gem. Lower in sugar than many other fruits, studies show that those who consume an apple a day as part of a healthy diet lose more weight than those who don’t.
So, it seems we were right all along – An apple a day really does keep the doctor away.
5. CAYENNE PEPPERS
Spicy peppers, which include cayenne peppers, cause the body temperature to rise. When the body temperature rises it needs to be cooled, and you burn more calories when the body is forced to go through a cooling process. Burn twice as many calories as other spicy peppers, and the effects will be extended long after you’ve finished eating.
