"Negative calorie" foods — foods that supposedly take more energy to digest than they provide — don't exist. Celery still contains more calories than celery-digestion burns. But low-calorie, high- volume foods functionally approximate the idea: they fill you up for very few calories, which supports a deficit without fighting hunger. Twenty worth prioritising.

Vegetables (10)

1. Cucumber — 16 kcal/100 g
2. Celery — 16 kcal/100 g
3. Lettuce — 15 kcal/100 g
4. Zucchini — 17 kcal/100 g
5. Radishes — 16 kcal/100 g
6. Spinach — 23 kcal/100 g
7. Cauliflower — 25 kcal/100 g
8. Broccoli — 34 kcal/100 g
9. Cabbage — 25 kcal/100 g
10. Asparagus — 20 kcal/100 g

Fruits (5)

11. Watermelon — 30 kcal/100 g
12. Strawberries — 32 kcal/100 g
13. Grapefruit — 42 kcal/100 g
14. Cantaloupe — 34 kcal/100 g
15. Apples — 52 kcal/100 g, higher in fibre than most

Lean proteins (5)

16. Egg whites — 52 kcal/100 g, protein-dominant
17. White fish (cod, tilapia) — 80-100 kcal/100 g
18. Plain non-fat Greek yoghurt — 60 kcal/100 g
19. Chicken breast — 165 kcal/100 g, but protein-dense
20. Shrimp — 85 kcal/100 g

How to use the list

Fill half your plate with the vegetables. A quarter with the proteins. Snack on the fruits between meals. That pattern produces a natural 400-600 kcal/day deficit for most people — not because these foods "burn calories" but because you can eat them in enough volume to feel satiated while staying under your daily target.

Avoid the marketing around "negative calorie" foods — the science doesn't support it. The practical benefit of the list is real anyway.