11 Ways to Rev Your Weight-Loss Engine

Shock your tongue.

 

Be liberal with spicy ingredients like cayenne pepper, hot sauce, jalapeños, chipotle, and hot salsa, and incorporate them into more meals: Consider adding chopped hot peppers to scrambled eggs, chicken or tuna salad, and tossed salads, or make a spicy sandwich spread by mixing a generous shot of hot sauce into hummus or low-fat mayo. Why? Research has found that adding spicy ingredients to your food can help suppress your appetite and even stoke your metabolic fire a bit. In one study, dieters who didn’t normally eat spicy foods ate a soup seasoned with cayenne pepper for lunch, resulting in them consuming 60 fewer calories at their next meal and burning an extra 10 calories. A recent study on mice might explain the calorie perks of peppers: Researchers from the University of Miami discovered that capsaicin activated a certain type of fat cell, referred to as brown fat cells, to burn the type that stores energy (called white fat cells). Sure, it’s a small amount, but over time it adds up!