A calorie is a calorie is a calorie. Right? Wrong.
If weight was purely a function of calories then it would be true that 2000 calories of cake would have the same effect as 2000 calories from green vegetables.
Eating 2000 calories of veggies would provide a full feeling that will provide you long-lasting energy all day. Whereas 2000 calories of cake would result in a spike in your insulin levels, shortly making you craving another sweet and more famished before you had the first one and more likely to deposit fat around your butt and gut.
Consuming certain foods will actually help you burn fat while others can cause you to store fat. Some foods have abilities to surpass their fat-burning effect. Certain choices result in fullness; some require energy to be broken down; and some can some can even release body fat elevating your metabolism.
So which foods promote fat burning? Here are a few of my favourite fat-burning foods and why they can be so effective:
1. Oatmeal
Oatmeal will help you reduce fat levels by providing sustainable energy and keeping you full so you don’t over eat mid morning. It’s full of plenty of fiber to maintain your insulin levels throughout the day.
A key to losing fat is to keep insulin levels lowered because insulin moves fat into storage more easily, especially if you’re not weight training regularly.
Start each morning with a bowl of organic whole grain oatmeal. Add natural peanut butter, sprinkle some cinnamon and pour a chocolate protein shake on top. Top your breakfast off with 3 scrambled egg whites.
2. Distilled Water
Don’t expect this to work miracles but everything has an incremental effect. Studies showed that cold (or iced) water can increase metabolic rate, although most studies kill the excitement reporting a minimal effect on your metabolism.
Regardless, keep cold water in your thermogenic food plan and rely on water’s other advantages: It keeps you hydrated, which assists with energy, absorption, being anabolic and is required to burn fat. Staying hydrated can also help you keep your overall calories lower.
Drink water at least 20 mins between your meals on a empty stomach. Water should be your drink of choice when you dine in or dine out. Drink 1 liter as soon as you wake up, between breakfast and lunch and between lunch and dinner. That will ensure you have at least 3 liters of water a day.
3. Eggs
Studies show that eating 2 eggs for breakfast instead of calories from bagels helped reduced appetite and calorie intake for up to 24 hours. The study showed that those who ate eggs for breakfast instead of bagels lost considerably more fat. Not to mention the muscle-building power of the protein found in eggs because of it’s superior amino acid profile. The fat in the yolk of the egg is the healthiest part and helps with slower digestion and reduces hunger.
Eat eggs at least five times a week with up to three eggs per meal. Eliminate muffins, bagels, pastries and any other sugary carbohydrate from your breakfast because they result in insulin spikes and fat storage.
4. Olive Oil
Your body cannot live without certain foods and “good fat” is one of them. That’s because approximately 70% of it Olive oil is one of those “good fat.” Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fat, a type of fat that has many healthy benefits like preventing heart disease, colon cancer and controlling LDL (bad cholesterol).
It’s also loaded with vitamin E and antioxidants. Olive oil can increase the activity of certain chemicals called “uncoupling proteins.” These chemicals effectively “tell” the body to burn excess calories, rather than store it.
The easiest way to add olive oil to your diet is to add a tablespoon to your protein shakes or simply mix it one-to-one with a balsamic vinegar, and use it instead of those high-fat, high-carb salad dressing.
And Finally…
If you want a step by step program that will help guide you every day check out this muscle building nutrition program called Empowered Nutrition Systems – a collection of done-for-you meal plans designed to transform your body in 12 weeks. This is for you if:
- you want to take your body from regular-to-ripped in the next 28-84 days with a step-by-step progressive meal plan system.
- you lack proper knowledge of how much protein, carbs and fats you should be eating each meal and clueless on when to change your calories and nutrient breakdowns.
- you’re a complete beginner to nutrition and don’t have a clue on what the best foods are to lose the first 100 pounds of fat (or you need to lose the last stubborn 10 pounds of fat).
