Are negative calories a real thing? 😮

After years of dieting, I have finally found out what ‘DIET’ stands for.

It means – Did I Eat That? 

Dieting is entwined with feeling guilty about what you have eaten that was not allowed on the diet.  I have found that this is one of the first challenges that needs to be tackled when a client walks through the door.

I say to my clients. “The reason why you have struggled is that you were only taught the basics about nutrition, chances are you are working against your own metabolism”.

Although calorie counting is the most common explanation of how diets work, a by-product is that we develop a perception that anything we eat or drink, could potentially increase our weight. 

People develop an unhealthy habit of trying to starve themselves, and all it leads to a lack of proper nourishment.

Healthy eating is not about eating less, it’s about eating right! 

Life is too short to feel deprived. If you understand how your body processes foods, you will actually find that you enjoy eating. It will nourish you and speed up your metabolism.

Take water as an example. We are told to drink 6-8 cups a day. What people don’t realise is that researchers have referred to water as negative calories.

What are negative calories? 

The term is contestable, but water does seem to increase our metabolism.

This means that unless we compensate by eating more or moving less, drinking water will actually cause us to burn more calories.

How is this done?

Studies have found that “water drinking raises resting energy expenditure in normal weight and obese subjects”. In other words water increases metabolism.