When you see that title up there, you might be thinking, “Foods that burn belly fat?! Really, are there even such things?” It’s hard to think that food, the same stuff that builds poundage around your midsection, would have the power to burn belly fat, but it is true. Nope, this isn’t an urban legend or fad diet or mere hype. This concept is backed up by scientific studies and research. What makes these fat-burning foods effective is their capacity to increase one’s metabolism, resulting in faster burning of fats. For instance, some foods are harder to digest than others, so your body has to use more calories to digest them, which can help you in burning the fat more effectively. These fat-burning foods are the best foods you can eat to lose belly fat.

If you want to trim your belly area without depriving yourself of nourishment and enjoyment from food, here are some of the foods you should stock up on:

Chicken

Turns out, you can still have meat while trying to lose belly fat. Chicken is an excellent source of protein, which aids the body in building muscle. Muscle mass can burn fat. The more muscle you have, the more belly fat you can burn. Remember, chicken is better grilled than fried. Frying it in too much oil is just going to dampen the benefits with harmful fat. Other sources of protein that you can enjoy are turkey, fish and egg whites.

Oatmeal

Oatmeal is a wonder food. It is warm, comforting and filling. A bowl of oatmeal is perfect to wake you up on a lazy day and give you energy throughout the morning. Oatmeal is high in fiber, which is digested slowly and therefore keeps you full for a long time. Aside from that, fiber helps keep your blood sugar levels stable and boost your metabolism. If you want to further amplify oatmeal’s fat-burning properties, pair it with skim milk for a powerful fat-burning combo of fiber and calcium.

Nuts and Beans

Just like oatmeal, nuts and beans are high in fiber content, which speeds up metabolism and keeps your hunger pangs at bay. More than that, nuts and beans are also loaded with protein. As we mentioned earlier, protein feeds muscle tissue, which burns fat at a speedier rate than fat tissue.

Low-fat or Fat-free Dairy Products

Calcium is great for keeping your teeth and bones in good condition, but did you know that it’s also a metabolism booster? In a study that tested the effects of calcium on weight loss, two groups were tasked to do the exact same things and were given the same diet. The difference was that one group was given additional servings of calcium every day. After the test, the participants were weighed and the group given extra doses of calcium lost thrice as much weight as the other group.

Dairy products represent the most popular sources of calcium in the United States. Low-fat or skim milk is rich in calcium and low in calories. Other low-fat or fat-free dairy products such as cheese and yogurt deliver a high amount of calcium too. Additional sources of calcium include broccoli, almonds, salmon and sardines.

Olive Oil

When preparing your food, develop the habit of using olive oil in place of margarine or butter. Both margarine and butter contain saturated fat that raises bad cholesterol in your blood. But, olive oil has unsaturated fat, which increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL), the “good” cholesterol. HDL sweeps bad cholesterol from the arteries so it helps prevent cardiovascular diseases. Olive oil also boosts your metabolism and helps you burn fat.

Eating these foods will help you burn belly fat, but for faster and more serious fat burning, drink lots of water (read about a proper diet to lose belly fat here) and do cardio exercises at least three hours a week.