A lot of weight loss articles are aimed at women, but what about men who want to shed a few pounds? Stubborn fat affects everyone’s wellbeing, so male diet wellness shouldn’t be ignored. If you are a man looking for a shortcut to losing weight, we’ve got a list of the top fat-burners for you. These foods will rev up your metabolism, whether for better, more confident looks, or a reduced risk of heart diseases and type 2 diabetes.
1. Oats, Whole Grains and Milk: These foods work well together, so we’re discussing them at once. Oats, whole grains and milk are fortified with complex carbohydrates, lots of fibre and calcium – all of which help with weight loss. Fibrous complex carbs keep your metabolism at top speed and keeps insulin levels in check, meaning that your body will not store extra calories as fat. Moreover, these foods are burned off slowly, giving you a time release of energy and helping you feel fuller for longer. As all three of these foods kick-start your metabolism, you should eat them as part of your breakfast.
2. Cayenne pepper, Jalapenos and Habaneros: All of these spicy foods contain capsaicin, which is a chemical that increases your heart rate. In the 80s, a study showed that eating at least one spicy meal a day increases your metabolism by as much as 25%. More recently, researchers in Quebec showed that not only does one spicy boost your metabolism; it also helps your body to burn more calories for the next three hours. In fact, adding more spice to your food, or choosing spicy snacks in between meals, can help you burn an extra 1000 calories per day.
3. Coffee and Green Tea: The reason why these two are clubbed together is that they provide the same results in the same way, albeit through different channels. Both coffee and green tea increase your metabolic rate, but coffee does this through caffeine and green tea achieves this thanks to EGCGs. Researchers has found that consuming three cups of either beverage every day helps you to burn an extra 80 calories – even without doing any physical activity. Scientists also note that men who drink a cup of coffee roughly two hours before going to the gym are able to work out for longer. Plus, your body uses up more oxygen in the process, meaning that you build up on more lean muscles, and that again helps to burn fat cells.
4. Lean cuts of meats: Lean pork, beef, chicken and turkey are all high in protein, and red meats contain iron and zinc. These two minerals help men to build muscle effectively, which means that, contrary to popular opinion, eating red meat will help you lose weight faster – as long as you opt for lean cuts. Compared to complex carbs, the protein coming from meats takes longer to be digested and broken down by your body, meaning that your body uses up more calories to break down the food. There has been extensive research into this topic, the best of which reveals that men who eat 20% more protein as compared to carbohydrates burn almost twice as many calories as those who eat just carbs. While white meat is still a great source of protein, lean red meat is more often recommended for men. This is because lean red meat is the best natural source of creatine you can find. Creatine is amazing for helping you build muscle, and, for men, the top fat burning foods will obviously include foods that help build bigger muscle.