Plate tricks: Eat negative calories

**Smart Plate Calculations for Eating Negative Calories**

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Calorie counts are a sensitive topic; negative numbers are associated with a more petite figure, while positive numbers are associated with a more chubby figure. You might shudder at the thought of high-calorie foods like pizza with sesame sauce or golden-brown steaks, but how much do you really know about foods that can have negative calories?

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**Lesson 1 Decoding Negative Calories**

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Can calories be a negative number?

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That's right, the calories we add when we eat refer to the heat energy from food that our bodies receive. Traditionally measured in calories, one calorie is the amount of heat energy required for one gram of water to rise by one degree Celsius. Because calories are a very small unit, they are usually expressed in kilocalories (kcal) when calculating the energy content of food.

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What are negative calorie foods?

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These aren't the "low-calorie foods" we usually think of. Rather, they refer to foods that are very low in calories, but require more energy to chew, resulting in a negative calorie intake. You eat something without adding calories. These negative-calorie foods not only don't add much calories, but they also offset the "fat risk" left by other foods.

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**Lesson 2: The Unveiling of Foods with Negative Calories**

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**The essential characteristics of negative-calorie foods: low in calories, high in water, and high in fiber.**

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> **Vegetables:** Green bell peppers, garland chrysanthemum, eggplant, beetroot, broccoli, bean sprouts, celery, chives, shiitake mushrooms, and onions, etc.

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> **Fruits:** Grapefruit, tangerine, apple, banana, cherry, cranberry, grape, kiwi, papaya, strawberry, orange, etc.

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**Nuts:** Brazil nuts, chestnuts, coconuts, macadamia nuts, peanuts, pine nuts, walnuts, etc.

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**Beverages:** Oolong tea, green tea, lactic acid bacteria drinks, low-fat yogurt, etc.

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**Grains:** Sesame seeds, red beans, peanuts, oats, etc.

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**Special Note:**

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Only foods that are eaten raw or not cooked too thoroughly, as well as fresh fruits and nuts, possess the characteristics of negative calorie foods. Dried, pickled, roasted, and canned foods do not have the effect of being negative calorie foods.

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**Lesson 3: Four Rules for Maintaining a Balanced Diet While Reaching a Negative Calorie Intake**

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**Rule of Balance 1: Negative-calorie foods must be paired with protein and fat.**

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Fat and protein are the sources of cholesterol and hormones in our bodies, so appropriate intake is necessary. The most common side effect of long-term negative-calorie or low-calorie diets is gallstones, caused by a decreased ability of the gallbladder to concentrate bile due to rapid weight loss. Therefore, from a long-term weight loss perspective, negative-calorie diets are no more effective than appropriate dietary restriction.

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**Rule of Balance 2: Ensure Adequate Water Intake**

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The amount of negative-calorie foods you consume daily should be proportional to your water intake. This is not only because most negative-calorie foods are rich in dietary fiber, but also because water is a necessary component in the breakdown and burning of fat molecules. Experiments have also shown that, all other things being equal, people who drink four or more cups of water daily lose two pounds more than those who drink less.

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**Rule of Balance 3: Don't Overindulge in Negative-Calorie Foods**

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Eating too many negative-calorie foods can lead to excessive calorie absorption, resulting in weight gain instead of weight loss. Therefore, the amount of negative-calorie foods consumed should be appropriately controlled. It's also important to cleverly combine different types of fruits and vegetables, and especially avoid high-sugar fruits and dishes with large amounts of cream, sugar, and spices to ensure the weight loss effect of negative-calorie foods is achieved.

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**Balance Rule 4: Cleverly Supplementing Vitamins**

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Regardless of the weight loss method chosen, vitamin supplementation is essential. This is especially true for those using negative-calorie diets, which can lead to a deficiency in certain vitamins. These can be obtained through dietary sources or by taking oral vitamin supplements. Vitamins such as B1, B2, B6, and B12 can promote the metabolism of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates, thus burning fat and preventing fat accumulation.

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**Lesson 4: Beware of Overdoing Calories**

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The same apple can cause dizziness and stomach upset in some people if they eat too much, while others can successfully lose weight using an apple diet. Apples are a good example of how improper or excessive intake of negative-calorie foods can have the opposite effect. The negative effects of "going too far with negative calories" include dizziness, low blood sugar, difficulty concentrating, and paleness.

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**Methods to Prevent Weight Loss from Going Too Far**

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The way to reasonably consume negative calorie foods is to consciously eat two or three kinds every day, or, during the rapid weight loss phase, to make negative calorie foods the main source of your daily diet.

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■ Every adult woman has a minimum daily calorie intake. If you only lose calories without increasing them, you'll naturally feel extremely hungry, and you'll not only fail to lose weight but also suffer more. For example, a woman weighing 100 pounds with a normal metabolism wants to gradually gain muscle and lose fat. In this case, her daily calorie intake should be: 100 x 14 = 1400 calories.

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If she chooses to eat celery, which has negative calories, a stalk of celery contains about 4-5 calories. However, chewing it requires 45 calories, and digesting it requires about 5 calories. This means that celery can provide more than 5 negative calories. If your diet is very monotonous and you don't consume fat, celery's digestive cleansing effect will be too strong, so it's not advisable to eat too much.

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High-calorie foods aren't inherently bad. You can combine high-calorie and negative-calorie foods to achieve true dietary balance. For example, fatty beef with broccoli, or pork with onions.

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Foods with negative calories should not be eaten in large quantities together with cold-natured foods, otherwise it can easily lead to hypoglycemia and malnutrition, causing temporary dizziness and weakness. Cold-natured foods include mung beans, kelp, mung bean sprouts, bitter melon, watermelon, and cantaloupe.