Negative Calorie Foods

Just exactly what is a negative calorie food? To be technical, a negative calorie just doesn’t exist; remember, a calorie is simply a unit of measurement, a measurement of heat to be precise. So, when you hear folks talking about negative calorie foods, they’re really talking about a food that has a calorie level that’s so low that it takes more energy to eat it and digest it than the food actually contains.

A perfect example of a negative calorie food would be celery. Celery takes more energy to chew and digest than you get when you consume the food. Water is another example (if you want to consider water as a food). Water contains zero calories and when you drink it your body actually uses energy to heat it up to the temperature of your body. So when you drink a glass of water, you actually use up a couple of calories and lose a tiny bit of weight. But foods like water and celery are few and far between, there aren’t too many foods that are considered negative calorie foods. In addition, the reality is that most foods on the negative calorie list (including celery) don’t really use more calories than they add, the reason that they’re on the list is because you’re body is also expending energy just staying alive.

Negative calorie food lists are often abused. People using a negative calorie diet quite often go overboard with it and cause nutritional deficiencies. They end up burning calories from muscle mass which results in more harm done than good.

A better way to use a negative calorie food list is for snacking in between the meals you’ve planned for your diet. These types of food can help alleviate the craving to eat and can help stress eaters cope with being on a diet.

Some dieters use a negative calorie diet to fast or detox. They do this of a couple of days after a major binge (You know, like Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc.) If you’re in pretty good health this can be a good way to clean out your system. But as always, with dieting, it’s best to get medical advice before jumping onto this type of diet.

If you do decide to use a negative calorie diet to do a detox, you should remember the following:

1. Eat your food slowly. Chew each bite of food thoroughly. You’ll burn more calories (expending energy chewing) and you’ll feel more satisfied.

2. Never eat large quantities of any one food type. Some foods (especially fruits) contain contain substances that can actually damage your body if consumed in excess. For example, some foods eaten in excess can cause diarrhea, other foods (like pineapple or grapefruit) have an acid in them that can damage your stomach lining when consumed in large quantities.

3. Try to schedule your detox when it’s convenient for your life’s schedule. You might have symptoms that occur such as tiredness, headaches, irritability, and depression. If any of these symptoms occur and become severe, stop dieting immediately and consult medical advice.

4. Don’t spend all day eating, you’ll quickly become bloated and you’ll start feeling ill. Plan for a few salad meals each day and don’t detox diet for more than a few days. Remember to use good sense, if you start feeling ill, stop the dieting and consult a doctor.

5. When you end the detox, return to normal eating gradually, don’t just start scarfing down food.

Now, here’s the list of negative calorie foods I promised….

Apples, Asparagus, Beets, Blueberries, Broccoli, Cantaloupes, Carrot, Cauliflower ,Celery stalk

Celery root, Cranberries, Cucumbers , Eggplant, Endives, Garden cress, Garlic, Grapefruit, Green beans

Green cabbage, Lamb’s lettuce, Lemons, Lettuce, Onions, Papayas, Pineapples, Prunes, Radishes, Raspberries

Spinach, Strawberries, Tangerines, Tomatoes, Turnips, Zucchini,

Please use this free list of negative calorie foods wisely.