The negative calorie diet is just another fad diet that promises weight loss through the use of foods that are considered “negative calorie foods”. These foods are thought to take more energy to digest, than the calories which the foods are comprised of. The energy to consume these foods includes everything from chewing the food to the movement of the food through the digestive system.

Negative calorie foods are high in cellulose and low in calories. The list of foods on the negative calorie diet consists of various fruits and vegetables which are common in raw food and other fad diets.
Which foods are considered to be part of the negative calorie diet? Apples, lemons, limes, onions, strawberries, raspberries, mangoes, carrots, broccoli and peaches are only some of the foods on the list of negative calorie foods.

Is there any merit to the negative calorie diet? Experts recommend that adhering only to the negative calorie diet can result in malnutrition as carbohydrates are required to create energy within the body. Consuming only foods that are located on the low calorie diet can lead to worse feelings of hunger than not eating at all. There is no merit to the negative calorie diet myth and it should be avoided for those trying to lose weight permanently.
Advocates for the negative calorie diet believe in the following theory – a stalk of celery contains seven calories, yet it takes the body thirty calories to chew, digest and absorb these calories. Therefore, each stalk of celery that is eaten has the possibility to burn over twenty calories. These calories, when bunches of celery are eaten can help to control weight by burning up to 3,500 calories per month – which equals a pound of weight loss. Using the negative calorie diet to offset weight gain is thought to be a great way to lose weight.

The diet was popularized in the 1990s with a book that advocated ways to lose weight by consuming a variety of these negative calorie foods. What the diet did not take into account was the components which our body absorbed from these foods – such as the natural sugars and carbohydrates which were a source of energy for the body. In fact, carbohydrates are one of the largest sources of energy within the body. A balanced diet requires carbohydrates in order to maintain the nutritious level within the bodily systems.

The book advocates that the process of digestion can take up to twelve hours. It is through these twelve hours when the calories are burned and therefore weight loss can be achieved. Apparently, following the negative calorie diet can help the dieter to lose up to fourteen pounds in seven days. Is there truth to this method? I suppose the only way to tell would be to try the negative calorie diet and see if you are able to achieve the fourteen pounds in the week, as the diet promises.