Losing weight sounds like a very hectic job, especially when you love to eat tasty food. There are times when you make a self-resolution and decide that no matter what you are going to lose weight. But, you follow a diet for a few days and start missing the taste and get back to your old junk foods.
Well, the most common reason behind people failing at their weight loss regime is the tasteless diet food that makes them miss all the amazing food in the world, and in the end, they give up following their weight loss plan. But, what if we tell you that you can add some spices to your diet food, making it tasty and still not compromising with your diet plan? This might sound like a trick to you, but the truth is that it is very simple to incorporate these spices in your diets. There are various spices that can be added to your food which help you with your weight loss plan. These are:
1. Turmeric
It is one of the common spices easily available in the kitchen. It can be an effective solution for losing weight because of an antioxidant called curcumin present in it.
Also, a study conducted by the researchers from Tufts University found out that mice who were given curcumin rich diet lost more weight as compared to the mice that weren’t given curcumin. Consuming turmeric can increase metabolism, thus helping in losing weight fast. Also, it helps in controlling the levels of cholesterol in body.
How to use:
- Take some turmeric root (½ inch) and crush using a mortar and pestle.
- Add it to a cup of warm water and pour lime juice into it.
- Stir well so that the ingredients mix up properly.
This turmeric weight loss recipe can help you lose weight, however, you can also use turmeric in other ways such as adding it to your food or consuming two teaspoons of turmeric powder every day. Just make sure you are not eating too much of turmeric as it can cause some side-effects like nausea, increase in menstrual flow, etc.
2. Cumin
Cumin is widely used to enhance the taste of various foods. Even a single pinch of cumin can make your food tastier. But, what if we tell you that cumin can do much more than just adding taste to your food? Well, it really can, cumin is proven to help in burning fat leading to weight loss. Also, in a recent study conducted on obese women, researchers found that cumin can be very effective when it comes to weight loss.
How to use:
- Take 2 teaspoons of cumin seed and soak them in 1 cup of water overnight.
- Later, heat water until it gets warm.
- Separate the water and add some honey to it.
- Stir well, and your turmeric weight loss recipe is ready to drink.
If you don’t want to use cumin this way, you can add to your soup or whatever you want, and it will still help in losing weight. Cumin can help in maintaining gut health and also prevents respiratory disorders and serious health conditions like anemia.
3. Ginger
Ginger can be very effective if you are planning to start a weight loss regime. This is because it can help in controlling the blood sugar levels of the body, thus preventing excessive weight gain. Not just this, it can also help in boosting the metabolism of the body, thus triggering fat burning and weight loss. Besides this, it has natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that makes it suitable for soothing the intestine. Moreover, a study have proven that ginger consumption makes a person feel full and help control appetite.
How to use:
- Crush ½ inch of ginger root using a mortar and pestle.
- Put one cup of water to boil and the crushed ginger to it while boiling.
- Let the water boil for two more minutes and then turn down the flame.
- Strain the water and add some honey to it.
- Stir well before drinking.
This ginger tea recipe will help your weight loss regime. Honey is added to enhance taste, as well as, it helps in boosting the immune system of the body. However, if you don’t like this, you can chew raw ginger or add it to other foods or smoothies. It is essential for gut health and also helps in removal of toxins from the colon.
4. Cinnamon
Cinnamon works similarly like ginger. It helps in controlling the appetite by creating a feeling of satiety in people. Also, it boosts the metabolism of body and prevents rise of blood sugar levels, thus preventing storage of fat in body. Also, it is very effective in controlling the levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in body.
How to use:
- Take 1 cup of water and put it to boil.
- Add cinnamon powder to it and let it boil for a few minutes.
- Before drinking, strain the mixture.
Follow these steps to make cinnamon tea for weight loss. If not interested in this, you can take 1-2 teaspoons of raw cinnamon every morning or drink cinnamon infused water to meet your weight loss goals. You can also add it to your yogurt or can sprinkle it on cottage cheese.
5. Black Pepper
As we are talking about black pepper here, we want you to not get confused with cayenne pepper, the other member of pepper family. Black pepper contains piperine that gave its flavor. Also, just like ginger, black pepper has a variety of fat burning properties that can help in reducing body weight. Moreover, it helps in controlling the growth of new fat cells in body, thus helps in weight loss.
How to use:
- Take some powdered black pepper (¼ teaspoon) and honey (1 teaspoon) and it to add 1 cup of warm water.
- Stir the ingredients well before drinking.
This is how you can use black pepper for weight loss. However, this isn’t the only way, you can take raw black pepper corns and chew them. If not this, you can also add it to your juice recipes or eat it along with yogurt and cottage cheese. No matter how you take it, it is still going to fulfill your weight loss goals.
6. Garlic
Garlic is an effective herb for treating cardiovascular conditions such as coronary artery disease and stroke by maintaining the levels of cholesterol. This can also help in maintaining body weight. Recent studies have shown that garlic can be effective in burning the fat around the waist. Also, it contains a compound called allicin that helps in controlling the appetite by suppressing the hunger. It also boosts metabolism.
How to use:
- Take a clove of garlic and crush it using a mortar and pestle.
- Add the crushed cloves of garlic to a cup of water and add some lime juice (to reduce the smell of garlic) to it.
- Stir the mixture well and drink in one go.
If you didn’t like this garlic weight loss recipe, you can use it in other ways too. You can add it to your foods to enhance their flavor as well as get its weight loss benefits. Also, if you want you can chew a raw garlic clove every day. It also has anti-cancer properties and is very effective in improving your heart health.
7. Cardamom
One of the thermogenic spices, cardamom can help in burning fat, and has shown promising results in weight loss. It also finds an important place in Ayurvedic medicine. You can also it add to your diet to enhance metabolism.
How to use:
- Boil a cup of water and add one teaspoon of cardamom powder to it while boiling.
- Let the water boil for 2 more minutes and then remove it from the flame.
- Later, add one tablespoon of green tea leaves to it for about 5 minutes.
- Strain the mixture and then stir it well before finally drinking it.
This drink is very effective and adding green tea to it makes it even more amazing. This is because green tea can help in the removal of harmful toxins from body. Basically, this mixture is win-win for you. But, if you don’t want to use cardamom this way, you can consume one teaspoon of raw cardamom powder every day or add it to some baked foods or even to your regular tea.
8. Cayenne Pepper
Belonging to the family of peppers, cayenne pepper is rich in capsaicin, the compound responsible for its heat. Consuming cayenne raises body temperature, thus boosting metabolism. This mediates fat burning leading to weight loss. Also, according to some experts, cayenne pepper is so effective that it can burn at least 100 calories per meal.
How to use:
- Take a lime and squeeze its juice in a glass.
- Add cayenne pepper (¼ teaspoon) and a cup of water to the lime juice.
- Stir all the ingredients well and drink the final mixture.
To balance the spicy taste of the pepper, lime juice is added to the mixture. However, if you aren’t interested in this cayenne pepper recipe, you still have many alternatives for using cayenne pepper. You can add a pinch of it to your daily glass of juice or sprinkle it over your soup bowl or over scrambled eggs.
9. Dandelions
It is not just a flower. It is used by many professional chefs as an ingredient for their amazing recipes. But, dandelions aren’t only about taste of food, they also have various weight loss benefits that can help you meet your body transformation goals.
One of the main functions of dandelions is that they can slow down the process of digestion, thus making a person feel full for longer time and controlling their appetite. Also, an essential component of dandelions is beta-carotene, an antioxidant that can help in fighting the harmful free radical particles thus promoting the health of liver.
How to use:
- Take a cup of water and boil it.
- While boiling add some dandelion to it and let it boil for at least 2 more minutes.
- Finally, strain it before drinking.
Dandelions flowers not only promote weight loss but are also packed with various essential nutrients such as dietary fibers, minerals like potassium and iron, and vitamins A, C, and E. They are easily available at Ayurveda stores. However, if you don’t want to boil them in water, you can eat 1-2 teaspoons of raw dandelion every day or consume a dandelion pill.
10. Ginseng
Ginseng plants are proven to be effective for balancing the levels of cholesterol and blood sugar in body. Also, it is effective for the treatment of stress in people. All the three factors, i.e., disturbed levels of cholesterol and blood sugar and excessive stress can affect body weight and lead to other harmful conditions such as diabetes. However, using ginseng can resolve these problems and can help in aiding weight loss.
How to use:
- Boil 500ml water in a pan and then put it away for about 5 minutes to cool down.
- Add 3 tablespoons of ginseng extract to it and let them mix for a few minutes.
- Strain the mixture and add one tablespoon of lime juice and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon powder to it.
- Stir well and drink the final mixture.
If you aren’t interested in this recipe, you can directly consume ginseng extract every day or add a few drops of extract to your regular tea.
