Losing weight can be one of the most rewarding and stressful experiences of your life. It’s difficult to do, especially if you don’t like your diet or you hate how exercise makes your body feel after it. That’s where these tips come in. These three foods and drinks can help you lose weight naturally without increasing your workout regimen or significantly altering your diet.
Stock Up on Protein
Protein is essential for muscle health and consuming the right kind of protein can also help you lose weight. Your body has to work harder to digest and metabolize it, which leads to you feeling full for longer, and burns calories while it’s processed.
According to a study, protein has a positive effect on postprandial thermogenesis, which is the amount of energy produced following the ingestion of food. The higher the thermogenesis, the more calories your body burns during digestion.
The research used a cross-over design where subjects consumed high-protein and high-carbohydrate diets. Testing was separated by a 28- or 56-day interval. It found that postprandial thermogenesis at 2.5 hours post-meal averaged about two times more on the high protein diet versus the high carbohydrate diet. The differences were most significant after breakfast and dinner.
Protein Helps Keep You Full
A high-protein diet can also make you feel more full and reduce your appetite. In fact, some studies show that people eat over 400 fewer calories per day on a high-protein diet.
This study found that an increase in dietary protein produces a longer feeling of being full compared to a regular diet. This increased feeling of satiety produces an anorexic effect, meaning you will naturally want to eat less because you won’t feel hungry.
What Foods Are High in Protein?
A lot of foods have high protein. It’s not all meat either — in fact, only a small percentage of it isn’t vegetarian-friendly. You’re also going to want to avoid fatty protein whenever you can. Avoid ground beef and pork. Lean chicken is a good alternative or use turkey substitutes such as lean turkey bacon and lean ground turkey instead.
Common protein-rich foods include:
- Eggs
- Nuts
- Chicken
- Cottage cheese
- Cheese
- Greek yogurt
- Milk
- Lean beef
- Fish
- Quinoa
- Lentils
CBD Converts Bad Fat into Good Fat
CBD is cannabidiol. It’s naturally found in the hemp plant, has no THC and reacts with the body’s endocannabinoid system to promote healing effects. But how does it help you lose weight?
CBD can turn bad fat into good fat! More scientifically, it helps produce brown fat (good fat) and reduce white fat (bad fat). Those who are a healthy weight tend to have more brown fat than those who are heavier.
White fat is what you typically think of when you think of fat. It stores your energy in large droplets that accumulate around the body. It helps keep you warm by providing insulation for your organs.
However, too much white fat isn’t good for you; it leads to obesity and contributes to heart conditions and diabetes.
Comparatively, brown fat is a special type of body fat that helps when you get cold, according to the Mayo Clinic. In other words, it helps maintain your body temperature in colder weather! UNlike white fat, when brown fat is used, it burns calories!
How CBD Comes Into Play
Research found that CBD plays multiple roles in how the body interacts with fat. CBD may seem unconventional for weight loss; similarly, you may wonder does red light therapy work for weight loss?
CBD actually helps convert white fat cells into brown fat cells.In medical terms and according to the study, “CBD enhanced expression of a core set of brown fat-specific marker genes (Ucp1, Cited1, Tmem26, Prdm16, Cidea, Tbx1, Fgf21, and Pgc-1α) and proteins (UCP1, PRDM16, and PGC-1α). Increased expression of UCP1 and other brown fat-specific markers contributed to the browning of 3T3-L1 adipocytes possibly via activation of PPARγ and PI3K. In addition, CBD increased protein expression levels of CPT1, ACSL, SIRT1, and PLIN while down-regulating JNK2, SREBP1, and LPL.”
To break that down, it simply means CBD activates certain genes that produce brown fat!
How Can You Take CBD?
CBD is widely available and legal in all 50 states. You can take it in many ways. The most popular forms of ingestion include baking it into food, sublingually by dropping oil directly under your tongue or vaping it with proper CCELL equipment.
As an added bonus, CBD also helps reduce anxiety, pain, and chronic inflammation!
Staying Hydrated Helps You Lose Weight
Water increases thermogenesis! Multiple studies, like this one, have proven that drinking 500 ml water during or after a meal increases energy expenditure by 24%. In other words, it helps you digest food and burn more calories while doing it!
If you’re worried about retaining water weight, take comfort in that it is usually temporary. Your body naturally flushes out excess fluids. That being said, you should avoid weighing yourself after any of these activities if you’re worried about water retention:
- After eating salty foods
- Exercising
- A stressful encounter/event
And that’s it! Those are three natural things you can eat/drink to help you lose weight naturally. While exercise is one of the most effective ways to drop pounds, you can help support your body and give it a little extra boost with these three tips. Just remember that weight-loss is a marathon, not a sprint, and to stay healthy during your journey.