Burning more calories then you eat has always been the way to lose weight. For many years the idea was to eat less which reduced caloric intake and allowed the body to burn excess fat. While this worked for short periods of time the problem that arose was trying to keep the weight off. Eating a low calorie diet for any extended period of time can be difficult and most people put the weight right back on once they are done with their diet. With new evidence that there are foods that speed up metabolism it doesn't have to be that way anymore.

First let's take a look at how our bodies use calories. Without calories the body would be unable to function as they are the fuel that gives us energy to live our daily lives. What many people don't understand is that without adequate caloric intake everyday the body will actually slow down its metabolism as it goes into starvation mode, hoarding every last bit of energy and storing it as fat. In fact if there is enough of a calorie deficit the body will begin to break down muscle tissue in order to provide the energy it needs.

The key to any weight loss program is increasing metabolism while keeping the intake of calories in the normal range. But how can you do this? The answer may well be negative calorie foods that speed up metabolism.

What is a negative calorie food? On the surface it sounds like foods that have negative calories. Unfortunately all foods have at least some calories but it is the way they are digested and used by the body that denotes whether they are negative calorie or not. The thinking behind how these types of foods create a calorie deficit is actually quite simple. Some foods actually require more energy during their breakdown and digestion for cellular energy then they contain.

Here's a quick example of what we are talking about. One night for desert you eat three chocolate brownies. Sounds good doesn't it? Total calories for those three brownies equal 275 calories, mostly from the sugar they contain. You body uses 75 calories digesting those three delicious brownies leaving you with 200 extra calories that have to go somewhere, which in most cases is directly to fat storage for future use.

Now let's say you eat a grapefruit, a known negative calorie food (remember all the grapefruit diets over the years). Said grapefruit has 35 calories and it takes 90 calories for your body to digest and metabolize that grapefruit. It has actually taken 55 extra calories to eat that grapefruit. This is rather simplified but you get the picture.

The question now is why do these foods work this way and speed up your metabolism? Fruits and vegetables make up a majority of the negative calorie foods. These types of food have a nigh nutrient value made up of vitamins, minerals, complex carbohydrates and fiber. It takes a lot more energy to extract these components from a healthy food then it does to digest the processed foods full of refined sugars we find on the grocery shelves today. In particular digesting high fiber foods is one of the most calorie intensive processes when it comes to metabolizing the food we eat.

By simply changing your eating habits and increasing the amount of healthy foods you eat while cutting back on the processed and refined foods so predominate today you can speed up metabolism, lose weight, and live a more healthy life.