Just like absolutely anything else, the business of losing weight is also made up of a revolving door of trends. But through the crest and fall of these fads, there’s still one principle that has remained constant when it comes to chiseling your body – the fact that abs are still made in the kitchen. If you’ve been eating clean and hitting the mat with precise dedication but aren’t quite happy with the rate of your progress, it may be time to power up your home menu with thermogenic foods.
What are Thermogenic Foods?
Put simply, thermogenic foods are ingredients that naturally boost your metabolism as well as the body’s heat production. A National Institutes of Health report calls their effect, as “diet-induced thermogenesis” (DIT) or the “thermic effect of food” (TEF). Basically, your body burns extra calories to just digest, absorb and process these foods.
Thermogenic foods can best be split across several categories – protein-rich foods take the top spot here, followed by spicy foods. Also on the list are stimulant beverages and high-fibre foods. Of these, protein carries the highest TEF. As a rule of thumb, your body may end up burning 20% to 30% of the protein’s calories while digesting it – the same goes for fibre-rich ingredients for which the body has to work harder in terms of digestion and absorption. Spicy foods on the other hand contain certain active compounds which can temporarily raise body temperature as well as the metabolic rate. Finally, the caffeine and natural antioxidants in stimulant beverages also have the potential to slightly increase energy expenditure.
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Smart Prep Your Meals
If you’re considering reworking your meal prep to actively include thermogenic ingredients, the easiest way to go about this is allocating the breakfast spot to optimising your intake. There are a few simple options right away. Eggs are the easiest ingredient you can get your hands on for this, their high protein and choline content helping your metabolism get a jump start in the morning; Greek yoghurt on the other hand happens to be a smooth mix of protein and probiotics, while hot peppers contain capsaicin which naturally up the body’s temperature. The caffeine in black coffee and the catechins in green tea are also geared towards optimising your body’s burn output, first thing in the morning. It’s no wonder then, that a combination of eggs and Greek yoghurt for breakfast, has been going viral on the internet – not only does it combine two metabolism-pumping ingredients, but a dash of hot peppers or cayenne pepper adds flavour as well as thermogenic cred to the meal.
If you’re bored of having eggs 10 ways in the morning, you can stick to the Greek yoghurt, topping it with almonds, chia seeds and a heavy hand of cinnamon – cinnamon for one, helps regulate blood sugar and supports metabolic health, while the rest weigh in with their fibre content. If you don’t like a sweet breakfast, go for a bowl of high-protein oats, combining it with egg whites and topping it off with some peppers for maximum flavour and burn.
Once your body’s metabolic rate stands healed, your health goals will no longer feel aspirational.