Negative Calorie Foods Of all the absurd diet crazes out there, the concept of negative calories is probably the stupidest of the lot.
For those of you who've never heard about it: Some genius (yeah right) concocted an idea that you burn more calories by eating certain foods than you actually consume when you eat them. So, this smart guy said, you can actually lose weight by eating.
The idea is that the entire digestive process (chewing, processing, excreting) takes up more calories than the food actually contains. Take celery, for instance. This so-called "negative calorie" food has about 8 to 10 calories per stalk, and is made up of mostly water.
Other popular "negative calorie" foods are cabbage, lettuce, and cucumbers.
The only upside to this idea is that most of the suggested foods are healthy. But there's a much bigger downside: Most of these foods are extremely low in vitamins and minerals. So you'll be sacrificing a lot of the protein, fiber, and omega-3s that you need to maintain good health.
And the fact is that the calorie deficit created by eating these foods is so minor that it would take years, possibly decades, of eating them to notice any results. And that's only if you completely cut out the foods that are causing you problems, like cookies, chips, and candy.
In truth, you're never going to lose weight as healthily or get as long-lasting results through any crazy fad diet, this one especially. A healthy diet and exercise are the only way to do it right and make it last.
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