well THAT bubble has burst...

ok, have you heard of NEGATIVE CALORIE FOODS?? the idea is that by eating certain foods, it takes more calories to burn that food through digestion than the food actually gives you, thus, a negative calorie food. well, apparently it's all a lie. there is no such thing. that's not to say there aren't foods LOW in calories, and that is always good for you when trying to lose weight or maintain a low weight, but there are no negative calorie foods. oh wait, there is ONE. cardboard. but unless you're a cow (hahahaha, no pun intended) cardboard wouldn't work for us. i got this little gem of information from wikipedia:

"The phrase negative calorie food is a term used by people who believe that there are certain foods which require more energy to digest than they provide nutritionally. Low nutrient, high cellulose foods such as celery are often claimed to require very slightly more energy to digest than they provide nutritionally. However, these foods are often low in calories and can be consumed within a weight-loss diet to potentially relieve the feeling of hunger without adding greatly to total caloric intake."

i love how they say, "people who believe"...makes me feel soooo smart for believing that once upon a time. still, there is a LIST of these so-called negative calorie foods and even though they are not truly negative calorie, they are very LOW in calories, and therefore better for us to choose to eat! here is the list:

Asparagus
Apple
Beet Root
Blueberries
Broccoli
Cantaloupe
Cabbage
Cranberry
Carrot
Grapefruit
Cauliflower
Honeydew
Celery
Lemon/Lime
Chicory
Mango
Hot Chili
Orange
Papaya
Garden cress
Peach
Garlic
Pineapple
Green Beans
Raspberry
Lettuce
Strawberry
Onion
Tomato
Radish
Tangerine
Spinach
Turnip
Watermelon
Cucumber
Zucchini

the moral of this story is this: all things worth attaining require work. there aren't any shortcuts (at least not any that will have lasting results). happy eating!