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The Top 5 Fat Burning Fruits
If you want to lose weight, you have to burn fat. And if you want to burn fat, you don’t just have to exercise regularly, but you also have to eat the right kind of food. Aside from well-balanced meals, you could also indulge in these fat burning fruits. Not only are they packed with nutrients and weight loss components, but they are tasty, too.
1. Citrus Fruits
Grapefruit, for example, can help you drop weight. A 2006 study on 91 obese people was conducted at the Nutrition and Metabolic Research Center at Scripps Clinic. They found that eating half a grapefruit before each meal, or drinking a glass of grapefruit juice three times a day helped these 91 people lose at least three pounds during the 12 weeks of the study. Researchers said that the grapefruit’s phytochemicals can reduce insulin levels, forcing your body to burn calories rather than convert them into flab.
Either eat them fresh or dried, you’ll get the same dose of nutrients. Also, if you decide to eat dried papaya, for example, you will get more satisfied due to its long chewing time, and save up to 150 calories compared to other sugary foods.
2. Apples and Pears
Calculation on these fruits’ fiber content has been recently corrected by the US Food and Drug Administration. Since a medium sized pear contains six grams of fiber, pears are great for keeping you full for longer periods of time. A medium sized apple, meanwhile, contains about three grams. The fiber in these fruits can decrease blood sugar levels, which can help you avoid unnecessary snacking in-between meals. You can even make these fruits your between-meal snack, and you won’t gain as much weight as you would with cookies. They also have pectin fiber, which restricts cells from absorbing fat and increases water absorption, which can lead to greater weight loss.
3. Berries
Another excellent source of fiber, berries play an important role in burning fat and promoting long-term weight loss. Like applese and pears, berries can keep you full for longer periods of time, helping you from raiding the fridge in-between meals. and because berries digest slowly, they help prevent spikes in insulin levels and you’re your body from going into fat-storage mode.
Raspberries contain eight grams per cup; blackberries 7.4 grams; and blueberries have 3.5 grams. What makes this piece of news even better is that berries are sweet and juicy, are low in calories, and are packed with so much more nutrients for other health benefits. For example, blueberries may have 83 calories per cup, but they are loaded with antioxidants to protect you against cancer and heart disease.
4. Bananas
Bananas are delicious and can easily be added to any meal. However, they are not as known to be effective in burning fat and helping in long-term weight loss. Aside from the prebiotic fiber it contains, bananas have another component that can aid in weight loss, which is called resistant starch. The resistant starch ferments in your large intestine, creating by-products called butyrates that block conversion of some carbohydrates into fuel, forcing your body to burn stored fat instead. This discovery was made in a University of Colorado study, which concluded that increasing the amount of resistant starch in a meal can significantly decrease fat accumulation in the long-term, by boosting fat metabolism by up to 3%.
5. Grapes
Grapes make a great snack fix if you don’t want to regain the pounds you just lost. If you freeze them, the fruit’s freshness is concealed, and its texture, temperature, and sweetness can alert your body to stop eating before you feel sorry for yourself. Compared to your usual ice cream snack, you can save up to 200 calories with frozen grapes.
Kelley
July 23, 2012 at 4:32 am
I have been eating fruits for years, but I didn’t actually think that it helps the body burn calories by altering the insulin levels. I always knew that eating fruits help in weight loss because they fill you up and prevent you from eating other high calorie foods or junk food. Fruits also help you digest better. But I will start to eat grapefruits more now that I know this.
Admin
July 25, 2012 at 12:39 pm
Hey Kelly,
I LOVE fruit! In fact, my husband and I have fruit with every meal. I’ll save a sweet piece of fruit like a Nectarine for after dinner and it suppresses my sweet tooth.
- Sara
Robert
July 23, 2012 at 12:24 pm
On most diets they tell you to stay away from some fruits at least for the first week or so. But all of them say to eat berries if you want something naturally sweet. I try to eat strawberries and blueberries as much as I can but I don’t think they’re helping me lose weight at all. I used to eat a half of a banana everyday but found out it had to many carbs.
Sara
September 20, 2012 at 9:12 pm
Hey Robert,
I don’t agree with any diet that restricts you from eating fruit. It is completely unnecessary to count your calories or carbs if you eat a healthy, balanced diet. If you have a solid breakfast in the morning (oatmeal, eggs, etc.) and most of your lunch and dinner plate is taken up by fruits and vegetables, you’ll lose weight. Make sure to exercise at least 5 times a week as well.
-Sara
Rene
July 23, 2012 at 12:29 pm
I love fruit and I would eat it all day long in the summer as long as it was in season and tasted cool. I am a big fan of all kinds of berries and the cherries aren’t so bad either. The Apples and Bananas have to many carbs in them so I don’t eat those a whole lot. What about melons are their vitamins and nutrients to help people as well?
Sara
September 20, 2012 at 9:13 pm
Hey Rene,
Just as I told Robert, don’t restrict eating fruit. Read the previous comment I made and you’ll know why
-Sara