Healthy food is not fat loss food. It can be, but healthy does not equal fat loss. The idea that “healthy eating”, (whatever that means) is synonymous with body change is probably the single biggest misconception there is regarding what real physique change takes.
On the other hand, fat loss food is almost always healthy food. Especially when there is excess fat to be lost, and unless your less than 10% body fat for a male and 15% for a female, you probably could spare some more fat loss.
What is healthy eating?
Healthy eating has to do with vitamin amounts, mineral concentrations, essential fat content, fiber and phytonutrient levels. There are plenty of foods that have great nutrient profiles that are not going to help most people lose fat. These include whole grains, nuts/seeds, avocados, olives and high fat dairy foods to name a few. These foods, in anything but smaller amounts, will not be a great strategy for most people and if they hope to get any results with these staples the only option is controlling portions. And that is the issue, controlling portions does not work for most people. Especially the overweight and obese who often have metabolism that make it difficult for them to feel satisfied from meals and stay full between meals. A better approach is to eat your fill, and you can do just that when you trade in your “healthy foods” for fat loss foods.
To lose fat it takes two things; low calories in the context of hormonal balance. The hormonal balance has to come first, and when it does calorie intake normally takes care of itself.
In other words, eat more of the right things more often and you will have less hunger, absent cravings and stable energy leading to automatic reduction in food intake without trying. Do it the other way, by taking a calorie first approach and you will likely increase your hunger, elevate your cravings, suffer from energy lows and slowed metabolic rate (by slowed metabolic rate I mean a less efficient fat burning engine not how many calories you burn per day). You can be burning calories and losing weight, but if the hormonal balance is off those calories and that weight will just as likely be coming from muscle as opposed to fat.
What is fat loss eating
Fat loss foods have three things that set them apart; high volumes of water, high amounts of fiber and/or elevated protein content. Water, fiber and protein are all very filling. This is the reason many people can sit down and eat five or six cups of cereal and still feel hungry (cereal has no water, a
high starch to fiber ratio and almost non-existent protein). Try eating 5 cups of broccoli or 5 boneless skinless chicken breasts. If you can finish either you certainly aren’t going to be hungry after.
And just for fun, lets calculate the calories. For the sake of trying to be fair, lets choose the best cereal out there (or at least the one the nutrition divas tell you to eat), Kashi Go Lean. 5 servings (5 cups)= 950 calories (via
www.calorieking.com). 5 boneless skinless chicken breasts (6oz each)= 936 calories. 5 cups of broccoli= 273 calories. You could eat 5 chicken breast and 5 cups of broccoli and still be just over 200 calories more than 5 cups of Kashi. Even going through this exercise I have to shake my head.
Do nutritionists really feel cereal (one of the most processed foods on the planet) is a better fiber source than broccoli? Does anyone actually believe most people can overeat chicken breasts? I am 230 pounds and an active weight lifter, I can’t eat more than 2 chicken breasts at a sitting, and while I am not a big eater I have a hard time thinking people can eat 10 chicken breasts in a day. And even if they could, that still amounts to less than 2,000 calories. This would mean you need to eat three for breakfast, three for lunch and four for dinner. I am doubting anyone would have much room for their broccoli after that.
The reality is, you can take any lean protein source and pair it with as many non-starchy vegetables as you can eat (corn, potatoes, peas, beans etc= starchy vegetables if we can even call them vegetables, they are actually starches). Then throw in as much low sugar fruit as you want for your sweet tooth (things like berries, apples, pears and citrus). And you will end up with more food than you can eat, less calories, less insulin and more nutrients than any low fat, whole grain diet a nutritionist can dream up. By the way, this has actually been compared in research (see the table below and the citation reference).
Fat loss eating means eating more of the right things more often. The right things= lean protein, vegetables and low sugar fruit. In our clinical practice almost everyone (upwards of 90%) who eats this way sees substantial improvements in body composition and health. That is the difference between healthy eating and fat loss eating. Fat loss foods are both healthy and help with body composition, while “healthy foods” may be neither.
Here is my list of top 10 healthiest fat loss foods based on the same criteria above. High water, high fiber and higher protein along with power packed nutrition including vitamins, minerals, essential fats and healthy plant chemicals. Eat from this list of food 90% of the time and our bet is your body’s appearance and its health improves dramatically.
1) Salmon & Sardines- High protein, good essential fats and low mercury unlike most fish.
2) Berries (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries)- Low sugar, potent amount of antioxidants
3) Bison- All the best elements of chicken and red meat rolled in to one (no, bison is not an animal that is part chicken and cow). It is low fat like chicken and loaded with nutrition like beef.
4) Cruciferous vegetables (Cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, kale, etc)- low amounts of starch compared to fiber and phytonutrients that help estrogen metabolism.
5) Eggs (lose all or some of the yolks if you have a tone of fat to lose)- The yolks are one of the most nutritious foods on the planet and the whites are the perfect protein. If your doctor still thinks eggs raise cholesterol and cholesterol cuases heart disease please give him or her a recent nutrition book to replace their 1980′s nutrition library.
6) Greens (lettuce, spinach, chard, kale, etc)-Almost negative calorie with power packed nutrition
7) Water veggies (celery, cucumbers, etc)- Eat a dump truck full of this stuff and you still probably wont break 1,000 calories.
8. Apples- Great for a sweet tooth, loaded with water and soluble fiber and plenty of nutrition.
9) Boneless skinless chicken breast- low fat, satiating, every ones favorite protein.
10) Cocoa powder- zero calories, high fiber and loaded with bioactive compounds that raise energy, blunt hunger and reduce cravings. Add 1 tablespoon to a mug, pour hot water on top while stirring and you have the worlds best diet aid. It also lowers blood pressure, has the same blood thinning effect as aspirin, balances blood sugar, etc etc
By Metabolic Effect
