How Does The Negative Calorie Diet Work?

by Sue Brubaker
The Negative Calorie Diet works on the principle that certain foods create negative calorie effects allowing you to lose weight. The theory is extremely exciting, but exactly how does it work? This article will illustrate the way the body processes food and speeds up metabolism with The Negative Calorie Diet.

The Negative Calorie Diet works on the principle that certain foods create negative calorie effects allowing you to lose weight. The theory is extremely exciting, but exactly how does it work? This article will illustrate the way the body processes food and speeds up metabolism with The Negative Calorie Diet.

The human digestive system is a complex series of organs and glands that processes food. In order to use the food we eat, your body has to break the food down into smaller molecules that it can process. Your digestive system works extremely hard to break down and process everything you consume!

THE PROCESS: 1. Food is partially broken down by the action of chewing and by the chemical action of salivary enzymes.

2. Your esophagus moves everything down to your stomach which usually takes from a few minutes, to a half hour.

3. For about 4 hours, your stomach combines the food with acid and sends everything down to your small intestine.

4. For the next 4 hours, your small intestine receives very strong alkaline or digestive juices from your gallbladder and pancreas.

5. These digestive juices mix with the now liquefied food and your body starts to absorb it.

6. It may take up to 12 hours for the next process to move the remainder of any food and fluids down to your large intestine where they are absorbed into your body.

7. Any residue that is left over is eventually eliminated.

When consuming a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, the entire process burns more calories than the actual calorie content of the food itself. This results in your body burning the remaining stored fat as its new source of energy resulting in weight loss!

AN EXAMPLE: A simple example is that of a piece of rich dessert containing 400 calories. The dessert may only require 100 calories to be digested by your body, but results in an increase of 300 calories to be added to your fat storage.

On the other hand, an apple containing 65 calories may require the same 100 calories to digest, but results in a decrease of 35 calories from your storage of body fat!

ABOUT METABOLISM: The calorie deficit is very dependent on the speed of your metabolism. Advocates of The Negative Calorie Diet encourage you to eat frequent, smaller, healthy meals. In doing so, you are actually increasing the speed of your metabolism.

You cannot burn fat and lose weight by starving and skipping meals. When you starve yourself, your body tries to hold on to as much fat as possible, just as animals prepare for hibernation. This causes you to gain weight. You must speed up your metabolism instead!

THE CONCLUSION: The Negative Calorie Diet forces your body to work harder during digestion thus turning your body into a fat burning machine!