A lot of people still don’t know that there are fat-burning foods that can actually increase the number of fat calories your body burns each day. These are referred to as free foods, and they are generally low in calories; in fact, some of these foods are so low in calories that your body burns more calories metabolising them than the total amount of calories in the food itself.
Although fat-burning foods are important for anyone who wants to lose weight and keep it off for good, they’re vital if you’re one of those people who find it hard to lose weight. No matter how much exercise you do or how hard you diet, your genetics and metabolic make-up play an important role in determining how fast and how much weight you lose.
Genetic differences also affect how much weight you gain when you eat too much. One study of 12 groups of identical twins was overfed for days. One set of twins gained 29 pounds. A second set, however, gained only 13 pounds even though both sets of twins were overfed with the same number of calories. Of course, fat-burning foods won’t compensate entirely for genetic differences. This ultimately comes down to a well-balanced calorie-controlled eating regime and exercise. They will, however, make fighting fat a lot easier in the long run.
Fats explained – Types of Fat
There are two types of fat: “good fat” and “bad fat.”
Actually, there are 4 types of fat: monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, saturated and tran’s fat, but they can still be categorised as good or bad.
Monounsaturated (good fats)
Monounsaturated fats are considered good fats and are said to help reduce cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure and to help control diabetes.
These good fats are found in foods like olive oil, peanut oil, cashews,
canola oil, hazelnuts, peanuts, macadamia nuts, pistachios, pine nuts, and chicken fat.
Omega 3 and omega 6 are polyunsaturated (good fats).
Polyunsaturated fats are also considered good fats and are said to reduce triglycerides, inflammation, and tumour growth. They also help improve immune function and help protect against sudden death from heart disease.
Polyunsaturated fats can be broken down into two categories: Omega 3 and Omega 6
Omega 3 is found in foods like canola oil, walnuts, flaxseeds, hempseeds, salmon, mackerel, trout, tuna, sardines, and herring.
Omega 6 is found in foods like safflower oil, sunflower oil, sesame oil, nuts, beans, and soft margarine.
Saturated (bad fats)
Saturated fats are bad fats; they raise cholesterol and increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. In fact, they are twice as potent at raising your bad cholesterol levels as polyunsaturated fats are at lowering them. It is difficult to eliminate these fats from your diet, but choosing fat-free milk and other dairy products is one way to reduce them.
Saturated fats can be found in foods such as meats, whole milk, cheese, palm and coconut oil.
Trans (bad fats)
Tran’s fats are the ugly fats; they raise bad cholesterol (LDL) and lower good cholesterol (HDL). They increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Tran’s fats can be found in foods like crackers, cookies,
cakes, shortening, margarine, hydrogenated oils, and vegetable oils that have been subjected to heat-damage during cooking.
Omega 3 fish oil and weight loss
In a recent study that was published in the international journal of obesity, researchers wanted to find out if supplementing the diet with omega-3 fish oil (good fat) would increase the number of fat calories burned in a single day.
The two groups were fed exactly the same diet, apart from one group being fed 6 grammes of fat in the form of butter, olive oil, sunflower oil, and peanut oil, while the other group was given 6 grammes of omega-3 fish oil.
The fish oil group were given eight capsules per day, two in the morning, three at lunch, and three in the evening.
The total daily intake of omega-3 long-chain fatty acids was 1.8 grams. The outcome of the test results was fairly conclusive.
The table below shows you the changes in fat oxidation, body fat, and metabolic rate after three weeks for the groups with or without fish oil.
| With fish oil | Without fish oil | |
|---|---|---|
| Measurement of body fat | 2 pounds | -0.7 pounds |
| Measurement of the daily metabolic rate | 1775 calories | 1710 calories |
These results show that the group who were supplementing with fish oil burned about 1.1 milligrammes of fat per kilo per minute. This is roughly 26% higher than the other group who weren’t supplementing with the fish oil.
One of the key reasons why omega-3 fish oil has such a powerful effect on fat metabolism is that the insulin levels were 50% lower when subjects used the fish oil. Insulin is a hormone that reduces the use of fat for fuel while also promoting fat storage in the presence of excess calories.
Insulin increases the activity of an enzyme known to promote the storage of fat.
Insulin inhibits the action of hormone sensitive lipase, which is responsible for breaking down stored fat and preparing it for use as energy.
Insulin also activates an enzyme which, along with fatty acid synthesis, is responsible for converting carbohydrates into fat.
Simply put, high levels of insulin make it less likely that your body will use stored fat as a fuel source. The drop in insulin levels when subjects used fish oil would have allowed more fat to be used for energy.
Conclusion
Any good doctor or nutritionist will tell you that the best way to get any nutrients is to eat a very balanced diet. Unfortunately, because of the pollution levels in our oceans today, eating large amounts of fish every day is not recommended.
The frustrating truth is that there will never be an easy-quick-fix method of losing weight that is safe and simple. However, with a little research into the workings of the body, it becomes clear that there are many small things you can do which add up over time to aid weight loss and make you feel better about yourself. Taking a fish oil supplement is a good idea for anyone wanting to make positive steps towards weight loss.