Burning fat is one of the most difficult things to do today, primarily because we live in a society saturated with fatty foods. As a result, most diets consist of fast foods and other meals that contribute to elevated body fat content and increased fat retention. The biggest problem is that the best way to burn fat is a lifestyle change that alters your diet and exercise habits. While this is the most effective method, not everyone has the time or resources to make radical changes.
Some people do not have the time to spend an hour exercising or lack the money to change their grocery lists. While you might not be able to make these life adjustments, it is still possible for you to change your diet to help burn fat more effectively.
While it might sound strange, your beverages can enhance your fat-burning ability and make shaving extra pounds off your total easier. Certain drinks are renowned by dieticians for their effects on body fat and our ability to burn it. Some drinks are more effective than others, and several have specialized variants designed to capitalize on their fat-burning qualities.
Most types of fat-burning drinks are extremely common and something you have probably consumed at one point already. The problem is that you might not have realized how beneficial these drinks are and do not use them as effectively as you should. The biggest problem is identifying which drinks are best suited to the task.
Option #1: Coffee
You have likely enjoyed a cup of coffee to start your day since it energizes you and helps you shake off lingering lethargy from your previous night's sleep. Finding someone who does not start their day with a cup of coffee is becoming more difficult. You are more likely to find individuals who need multiple cups to get through their day rather than relying on a single cup.
Most people indulge in coffee because of the stimulant caffeine, which is present in every cup unless you order decaf. Nevertheless, coffee has benefits beyond energizing us via stimulants and can help us burn fat. While this might be surprising, caffeine can stimulate our metabolic response and enables us to burn fat more effectively. Furthermore, coffee is a mild appetite suppressant that can keep us from eating more food than we need.
One of the biggest concerns with modern diets is that we tend to snack between meals, typically on junk food like chips and candy. Others consume massive meals that have high fat and carbohydrate content. This increases our overall fat retention since we introduce additional empty calories to our diet at semi-regular intervals.
Fortunately, the caffeine in coffee is proven to suppress appetites and reduce our dietary intake. One study assessed 33 overweight adults, giving the subjects in the test group a cup of coffee (6 milligrams per kilogram of body weight). The subjects in the test group consumed fewer total calories than those in the control group.
Furthermore, several studies have proven that the caffeine in coffee increases our metabolisms. As a result, the body's fat-burning ability was enhanced, and it was easier for the subjects to reduce their overall body weight. There are limitations to how coffee can impact our fat-burning abilities, but it is effective for short-term enhancement to help us jumpstart our weight loss.
Option #2: Tea
Perhaps the closest rival to coffee, tea is a drink that has been enjoyed by cultures worldwide, primarily in China and Japan. Since it arrived in Western civilization, tea has only grown more popular and is now one of the most widespread beverages on Earth. Tea's popularity is typically associated with its "exotic" nature and because it can be soothing to drink. While tea can be very soothing, it also possesses a caffeine concentration that gives it a similar boosting effect to coffee.
That said, the caffeine concentration in a cup of tea is significantly lower than the concentration in a cup of coffee. As a result, drinking tea for a caffeine fix is not always as effective, but it can be a close second. Fortunately, the caffeine in tea is just as effective at enhancing our metabolisms as the caffeine in coffee. Therefore, drinking tea can provide similar metabolic benefits to coffee, although possibly not as strong.
One advantage tea has over coffee is its high concentration of antioxidants, which are powerful compounds that protect against oxidative damage from free radicals. Specifically, green tea with a high concentration of catechins (a type of antioxidant) has been linked to reduced weight when the drink is strong enough. A review of 14 studies discovered that subjects who drank high-concentration green tea lost an average of 0.44 to 7.7 pounds.
While this does not mean tea can shed all the excess weight you are trying to lose, it proves that tea can help reinforce your body's natural capacity to burn fat.
The benefits of tea are amplified by the type you drink, so some teas are considered more valuable than others. The study mentioned above focused on green tea, which is extremely common and has several major health benefits. It also has a much stronger counterpart called matcha which is harvested from a specially grown version of the same plant we get green tea from.
That said, other tea varieties are considered stronger than standard green tea. One of the most notable varieties is black tea, which carries the same nutrients as its green counterpart, but at a higher concentration and oxidation. As a result, the benefits associated with green tea are generally more powerful if you consume black tea (though matcha outperforms it).
There was a study involving 111 people, with the test group being given 3 cups of black tea daily for 3 months. At the end of the study, the subjects in the test group had reduced waist circumference compared to the control group, signifying black tea's benefits.
Like coffee, you must be careful not to rely on tea to burn fat in the long term since the effects have limits. Using tea to bolster your natural capacity to burn fat in the short term can be an effective tool to start the process.
Option #3: Water
We need water. There is no way around it, and going without water for too long can be fatal since we dehydrate to death within 72 hours. While it is possible to meet the hydration minimum with drinks like juice and soda, water is the healthiest and most effective option. This is especially important since relying on soft drinks can overtax our bodies and damage organs like our livers and kidneys.
In addition to being healthier, water is the most effective drink for rehydrating ourselves since our bodies are designed for water rather than soft drinks. While water is important to our survival and the healthiest drink we can consume, it also has certain characteristics that make it a viable resource for weight management and loss. Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to fill up on drinks, especially water, since our bodies do not have to filter as much from pure water.
Water, like coffee, can suppress our appetite almost more effectively than coffee in most circumstances. Drinking enough water fills the void that we perceive as hunger and prevents us from snacking when we do not actually need more food. There have been studies focused on water consumption before meals to determine whether it could reduce our caloric intake.
Specifically, a study involving 48 overweight men gave the subjects in the test group 500 milliliters (17 ounces) of water before meals. The meal plan consisted of a low-calorie diet, ensuring minimal impact from the food they consumed. The results found that the test group lost 44% more weight than the control group over 12 weeks.
Furthermore, it was determined that drinking cold water increases our body's resting energy expenditure. Resting energy expenditure refers to energy our bodies use when we are not actively doing anything (i.e., sitting on the couch). As a result, our bodies burn calories when we are not actively trying, reducing their impact on our weight. This was confirmed by another study involving 21 overweight children. The children in the test group were given 10 milliliters of cold water per kilogram of body weight. After the study concluded, it was discovered that the children experienced a 25% increase in their resting energy expenditure due to cold water consumption.
Therefore, it might be best to make water the primary beverage you drink if you want to lose weight. Considering how important water is to our bodies, it should already be a priority. Nevertheless, there are other options to jumpstart your weight loss.
Option #4: Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is not the most popular drink considering the ingredients that go into it. Not everyone likes vinegar due to its pungent aroma and powerful flavor profile. Regardless, apple cider vinegar has become something of a holistic trademark that has persisted in modern society. Like most vinegar variants, Apple cider vinegar contains a compound called acetic acid, which has been connected to several benefits for our bodies.
One of the more popular uses of acetic acid (particularly from apple cider vinegar) is that it can impact our fat content. The initial wave of information concerning apple cider vinegar stems from animal studies that demonstrated reduced weight gain and fat accumulation in the bellies and livers of the test subjects. While animal studies were promising, there is not much in the way of human studies to confirm the same benefits for us.
There was one study that showed a lot of promise involving 144 subjects. All the subjects were overweight and were divided into test and control groups. The test group was given a beverage that contained 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, while the control group was given a placebo. When the study was finished, the subjects in the test group had reduced body weight, waist circumference, and belly fat. The control group showed little to no change in their weight or stature.
There is also evidence suggesting that apple cider vinegar can suppress your appetite like water, tea, and coffee. Unlike the others, which produce a feeling of fullness, apple cider vinegar slows the body's ability to empty the stomach. As a result, the food you have consumed throughout the day stays there longer, extending the feeling of being full. This means apple cider vinegar can suppress your appetite and prevent you from snacking between meals.
The problem is that downing a concoction with apple cider vinegar can be unpleasant and overwhelming for people with sensitive palates. If you are among the brave few who can stomach raw vinegar, you might be able to use it to your advantage.
Keep it All Natural!
Burning fat is extremely difficult since temptation surrounds us, and it is getting harder to finance healthier lifestyles. Fortunately, we are a highly adaptive species that synergizes with most of the natural substances on Earth. Certain drinks can help us minimize our snacking habits and even promote improved fat burning, making it easier to reach our goal weight. The effects of these drinks can be highly effective when used to supplement healthier lifestyles.
While you might not be able to dedicate time for a full workout or dedicate finances to a completely organic diet, moderate changes can synergize with the drinks listed in this article to enhance your weight loss. The thing left to worry about is getting the drinks.
We at Bella All Natural have always believed that the best solutions come from nature. As part of that belief, we have strived to produce and provide supplements and products that use natural compounds to enhance health and beauty. Weight loss is one of the main issues we face, which is why we have created our Skinny Iced Coffee, which allows you to make a cup of iced coffee specifically designed to help you lose weight. We encourage you to visit our website and try our product for yourself, but no matter what you decide, remember always to keep it All Natural!
