Many myths around weight loss can confuse. This is the case with negative calories, because in this theory, there is some reality but also a lot of fiction.
A food with negative calories is one that, just by consuming it, can produce weight loss. The truth is that no food has this powerful characteristic.
This popular belief is based on the fact that there would be certain foods that would provide fewer calories than those that the body itself consumes to make the digestion process. Therefore, a caloric deficit would be generated simply by eating.
This process by which calories are consumed by eating calories is known as diet-induced thermogenesis, and it indeed exists. However, it is not as easy as it seems.
The key is the percentage of calories consumed by digestion. Initially, a protein diet would be the one that would cost the most to digest and therefore consume more energy. Would a decalage be generated as you can believe? Of course not.
Thermogenesis would only account for 25 per cent of the calories spent so there would still be a wide reach of those negative calories that would help lose weight.
On the other hand, carbohydrate and fat data would be much lower compared to proteins so it would still be more complicated, truly impossible, to achieve that caloric deficit.
Therefore, the myth of foods with negative calories is denied. On the other hand, to lose weight, precisely because of the thermogenesis process, it is appropriate to maintain a high-protein diet and always control caloric intake.