8. Cold therapy
Cold immersion has been all the rage in recent years, taken up by many celebrities and entrepreneurs as a way to build self-discipline, alleviate many health issues, and possibly live longer. But exposing yourself to the cold has proven to have a fat-burning effect, according to a 2019 study. [4]
How and why?
Cold temperature affects our body so it starts producing brown fat instead of white fat.
What’s the difference?
White fat or white adipose tissue is the standard fat we all know and hate. This is the energy stored all over our body, covering our organs for the time we might need it.
Brown fat is what babies use to regulate their temperature, and we lose it as we get older. Its energy stored in much smaller space than the white fat and it activates when we get cold. When it burns, it creates heat and burns calories — without the shivering effect.
Good news, you don’t have to climb Mount Everest just wearing shorts like Wim Hof or immerse yourself in ice baths. You can get all the benefits by cooling down your room. Cold showers could be equally beneficial for fat burn if you don’t like the idea of cranking up your AC unit.
Keep reading as we reveal a simple activity we do daily that, when done right, can help you shed more weight.
7. Improving sleep quality
Does it seem odd that one of the best ways to burn more fat while you sleep is sleeping…better? It shouldn’t come as surprise, though. Sleep, exercise, and diet are the holy trinity of weight loss.
Research from the Quebec Family study has shown people gain weight when sleeping under 7 hours per night. [5]
Poor sleep quality is directly responsible for reaching out for calorie-dense foods and an increase in Body Mass Index and the stress hormone cortisol, as well as the hunger signal hormone ghrelin.
Lack of sleep’s biggest drawback is lowering the resting metabolic rate. The less you sleep, the fewer calories you burn. Since we already have to sleep daily, why not do it right and maximize the fat loss?
6. Spicy food
Whether Mexican, Asian, or your grandma’s style of cooking that packs some heat – spicy food can help you shed off unwanted pounds and trim inches off your waste.
But how does it do it?
The heat in your favorite hot sauce comes from a compound named capsaicin. This bad boy speeds up the metabolism and the burning of calories.
A study from 2018 [6] has shown that this is done through the process of thermogenesis, which means creating heat by burning fat. Through this process, capsaicin turns white into brown fat which is the natural in-body fat-burner.
It also promotes satiety – makes you feel fuller faster, curbs up your appetite, and makes you want to overeat on other foods less. Feel free to load up on that chili and add a dash of hot pepper to your dishes.
Make sure to keep reading all the way to number 1, because we’ll reveal a shockingly simple, research-based way you can use to let your body do the work for you and drop weight while you’re sleeping.