"Even after eating to my heart's content, I don't gain weight" The day after overeating, eating 'this' helps with dieting

If you're worried about gaining weight from frequent year-end gatherings and dinners, how about choosing "minus calorie" foods? Minus calorie foods are those that have low calories themselves but lose a significant amount of calories during digestion, resulting in almost no calories remaining in the body.

Eating a lot of negative calorie foods does not necessarily lead to weight loss. However, because the absorbed calories are so minimal that they cannot be compared to other foods, the term "negative" is used.

Foods that are mainly characterized by a hard outer shell and a crunchy interior include celery, cabbage, cucumber, and broccoli, which are representative negative-calorie foods. Dr. Kim Dae-ha, a gastroenterologist at Yonsei Hana Hospital, said, "The hard outer shell is made of dietary fiber without digestive enzymes in the human body, which only increases stomach movement and has a low absorbed calorie." The crunchy texture is due to high water content, with 50-70% being water, making their own calorie content relatively low.

When minus-calorie foods are eaten together with other foods, they also act to block absorption by attaching to carbohydrates or fats. There is a study (Korean Society of Animal Science and Technology) that added 4% dietary fiber to a 390 kcal/g sirloin pork cutlet, reducing its calorie content to 350 kcal/g.

In addition, low-fat high-protein foods such as squid, chicken breast, tuna, and tofu are also called negative calorie foods because they lose a significant amount of calories during digestion. Director Kim Dae-ha said, "Proteins have connective tissues that are difficult for digestive enzymes to break down, so they require a lot of energy for digestion." Eating grilled, braised, or steamed dishes that are low in oil is highly effective.

That said, you should not only eat negative-calorie foods. People need an average of 1,200 to 1,800 kcal per day to maintain their physique and activity levels. Negative-calorie foods cannot cover this caloric requirement, which can lead to decreased cell regeneration ability and reduced digestive enzymes, potentially causing digestive problems. It is best to replace only one meal per day with negative-calorie foods.