Last updated:

25 July 2023

Some “experts” believe you can eat your way into a calorie deficit with this list of special foods.

are negative calorie foods real

Reading time:

3 min read

Social media fitness gurus are currently telling people they can eat their way into a calorie deficit using so-called negative calorie foods.

Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?!

So what the heck is a negative calorie food, you ask?

Well, their theory revolves around the thermic effect of food. This refers to the amount of energy your body uses to break down the food you eat, and a so-called negative calorie food is is said to contain fewer calories than is required to digest it (i.e. if a carrot stick contains 5 calories but the body expends 15 calories breaking it down, this would be described as a negative calorie food).

So is it really possible to eat your way into a calorie deficit and lose weight?

As you’ve probably already guessed.. of course it’s fucking not!


Negative Calorie Foods Do Not Exist

A picture showing so-called negative calorie foods.

The general rule of “if it looks too good to be true, it probably is” applies here.

You see, it’s not physically possible for the body to expend more calories breaking down a food than contained within the food itself. This defies the law of thermodynamics, and is a special kind of woo which has been dreamt up by a self-appointed “expert” who, I can only imagine, spends their spare time stapling their tongue to their forehead.

When pressed for examples of negative calorie foods, this is what you can expect to see:

Examples Of So-Called Negative Calorie Foods
AppleBerriesBroccoli
CarrotCeleryGrapefruit
LettuceWatermelon+ other water-based snacks

(FYI there are 116 calories in an apple!)

The reason why negative calorie foods do not (and will never) exist is because the thermic effect of food is too small.

Because while the body does indeed burn calories to break down the food you eat, this calorie expenditure only equates to about 10% of the food in question. There has never been instance of a food with a thermic effect greater than 10% (let alone greater than 100%!).

Also, anybody encouraging people to look for shortcuts like this may be unwittingly opening a Pandora’s Box of problems for them.

A successful body transformation takes time, patience, and discipline; and along the way you’ll learn how to create a healthy relationship with food. This is the real key to success.

You see, in my 20+ years working as a personal trainer (and the thousands of men and women I’ve helped with the training plans on this website) most of the of food-based behaviours I encountered were created very early in a person’s life. We develop mental associations between certain foods and certain feelings (this is why a stressful day at work often causes us to dial the local takeaway). It takes time and hard work to break those links and create a new, healthy lifestyle which is focused on your goals, instead of self-soothing and then beating yourself up for it… so it doesn’t help the situation when fucking cock taboggans basically say you can eat all you want and still lose weight, because that’s downright false information and it encourages binge eating.


Who Is Russ Howe PTI?

russ_howe_pti

Russ has been a personal trainer in the UK since 2002, and provided both training advice and full programs on this website since 2011.

His work has been featured in Men’s Fitness magazine, and the content on this website led to him being voted one of the world’s top 50 fat loss coaches by HuffPost.

Russ’ days are spent coaching men and women in the legendary Powerhouse Gym, and creating new content for the 109,246 followers of his popular free weekly e-mail, which you can join below!

Responses to “Can You Lose Weight With Negative Calorie Foods?”

  1. Richie avatar
    Richie

    Yet again another hilarious but informative blog from you Russ!!

  2. Tamara avatar
    Tamara

    I don’t know how you’ve worked in the fitness industry for so long Russ, the things people say must drive you insane! I guess this would be like paying for your shopping and expecting to get more change back 😀

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Training Programs

russ howe pti programs
russ howe pti

Unlock all training programs and nutrition plans by becoming a member, then build your best body with Russ’ work!

Click here to learn more.

Ads Keep The Site Low Cost

Latest Articles

  • How RussHowePTI.com Works

    Here’s how to get the most out of RussHowePTI.com.

    Click Here To Read


  • How To Get In Photoshoot Shape In 2 Months

    Here’s a quick and easy-to-follow nutrition plan which will whip your body into photoshoot shape in just 8 weeks.

    Click Here To Read


  • The Rules To Ripped

    Follow these 10 rules to melt away body fat and build an awesome new body.

    Click Here To Read


  • How The Undertaker Trained For His Best Physique

    Take a look at the workout routine which got The Deadman ripped.

    Click Here To Read


  • Training To Improve Your Mental Health

    Did I tell you about that time I stopped training for six months and it destroyed my mental health?

    Click Here To Read


  • Adapt Nutrition Pre Train X Review

    Adapt Nutrition have produced one of the best pre-workouts of the year in Pre Train X. Here’s the official review.

    Click Here To Read


  • How To Use Periodization For Better Results

    Use periodization to build more muscle, burn more fat, and gain more strength!

    Click Here To Read


  • How Much Volume Do You Need For Muscle Growth?

    Learn how to explode your results by hitting each muscle group with the correct amount of volume.

    Click Here To Read


  • Did You Spot These 4 RussHowePTI.com Easter Eggs?

    There are several little Easter eggs built into RussHowePTI.com which most readers never notice.

    Click Here To Read


  • Why Arnold Is Still The Best Bodybuilder

    Many people are hailing Chris Bumstead as the greatest bodybuilder of all time. Here’s my take on why Arnold is still #1.

    Click Here To Read


  • The 9 Biggest Myths About Creatine

    There are many myths surrounding creatine and it’s potential side effects. This article addresses them one by one.

    Click Here To Read