Diet hacks that burn fat
Strip away belly fat faster with these six zero-effort tips
1 Drinkapintbefore everymeal
Sorry – we mean of water, nothing else. Drinking half a litre or so of water is one of the simplest, easiest and most effective hacks you can start doing right now to start to strip away fat.
Why it works
Subjects on a calorie-controlled diet who drank 500ml of water half an hour before their three main daily meals lost 2kg more over 12 weeks than those who didn’t, according to the journal Obesity, because the water made them eat fewer calories at mealtimes.
2 Addsomeheat to yourcooking
You’ll need more water for this tip because adding chillies to your food will set your mouth on fire – but more significantly it’ll also prevent you from overeating, one of the biggest factors behind fat storage.
Why it works
Chillies are good for burning body fat not because they increase your metabolic rate but because a compound in them triggers the same response in your stomach as when it’s full, according to a University of Adelaide study.
3 Findsometime tomeditate
Meditation can improve feelings of positivity and lower levels of stress, which can improve your chances of shedding fat with minimum effort.
Why it works
Even just a few minutes of meditation each day can significantly reduce feelings of stress and anxiety, according to research from Carnegie Mellon University in the US. Because the stress hormone cortisol encourages fat gain, the lower your levels of stress the better able your body is to burn fat.
4 Pumpupthe volume
If you’re serious about losing fat you’re going to need to do some exercise. And simply listening to your favourite tunes can help you work out harder for longer to burn fat faster.
Why it works
Subjects who listened to their own playlist could exercise for 20% longer than a control group who had to train in silence, in a study carried out at Brunel University. And the music made even the longer and harder sessions feel easier in subjects’ minds.
5 Clearoutyour cupboards
If your fridge, freezer and cupboards are packed with highsugar treats and snacks, grab a bin bag and get rid of the lot of them. It’s worth writing off the cost if it saves you another notch on your belt.
Why it works
Even brief exposure to the sight and smell of junk food ignited cravings for high-sugar and high-fat snacks and led to an increase in hunger levels and appetite in the subjects of a study published in the International Journal Of Obesity.
6 Takeitslow at mealtimes
Slow down the speed at which you eat by chewing food more thoroughly and putting down your cutlery between mouthfuls. If you’re not using a knife and fork, you’re eating the wrong foods for fat loss.
Why it works
Subjects who took 30 minutes to eat a meal reported far higher feelings of fullness than those who took just five minutes and were less likely to snack later, according to a study in the Journal Of Clinical Endocrinological Metabolism.