Do you know certain foods can help you to increase your metabolic rate and burn calories? These are also the encouraging foods for a flat stomach. When you eat food, do take note of the foods that contain an above average thermogenic effect as it can help you to increase your metabolic rate.
Thermogenic effect refers to the burning of calories in your body as you consume food. To be more exact, when you digest your food, your body will take energy to do that and therefore burn calories. This effect accounts for five to 10 percent of your metabolic rate, so you want to make sure you eat the right foods that stimulate the most thermogenic effect.
Protein has the most thermogenic effect of all nutrients. A whopping 30 percent of the calories from protein are used during digestion! So if you eat 100 calories of protein, 30 calories will be burned through digestion leaving you with a net 70 calories. A high-protein diet however, is not a good idea as it can stress the kidneys and liver and is linked to loss of calcium and high blood pressure. Further, such diet is not balanced and may cause other nutrients in the other food groups to decrease.
Examples of protein-rich foods for a flat stomach are:
1. fiber and complex carbo in vegetables and fruits
2. Some protein foods, particularly red meat and dairy produce contain CLA, conjugated linoleic acid, that will increase lean issue and may therefore increase metabolic rate.
3. Eggs contain amino acid leucine which can help the body to burn fat and control hunger
4. Fresh nuts like almonds due to their omega oils
5. Spices, particularly chili
6. Caffeine-containing drinks like coffee, green tea, chocolate. Do note that it is not advisable to drink more than 3 or 4 cups of coffee as this will have adverse affect on health
7. Low-fat yogurt, fat-free milk, fish and poultry
For people who have iodine deficiency which may result in poor thyroid functioning and in turn lead to a lower metabolic rate, a diet rich in seafood, milk can raise the iodine levels and thereby improves the metabolism. For people with normal thyroid function though, these foods will not help.
The foods for a flat stomach do not limit to the above and there are many more you can explore. Do take note of those encouraging foods for a flat stomach right now and you will definitely maximize your efforts to lose stomach fat!
Boon Chen is a fitness enthusiast who enjoys doing research on weight-loss issues and shares her findings with anyone who is keen to keep fit and healthy. Over years, she has discovered that losing weight is not difficult but boils down to a simple way, that is, through exercise and right diets.
If you are keen to find out what are the good food that you must eat and the bad food to avoid, as well as get a free e-book worth $17.95 on “Insider Secrets To A Lean Body” , do visit my site at
http://www.fatsandbelly.com/