A quick and to the point article by fitness guru, Tom Venuto, on the top ten foods for fat loss. These are not only great for fat loss but should should also be used a baseline or core for a healthy eating lifestyle.
Anytime the topic of discussion in my blogs, articles or newsletters has turned
to my own personal grocery shopping list, there has always been a spike in interest.
It seems that many people are not only curious about what foods a natural
bodybuilder eats to maintain single digit body fat, but they also want to be
taken by the hand and told exactly what foods to eat themselves while on
fat-burning or muscle building programs.
Of course, I can’t tell you what YOU should eat because I don’t know your
likes and dislikes, not to mention whether you have any intolerances, allergies
or foods you don’t eat for ethical reasons, etc.
What I CAN do is show you what I eat, which has helped me keep my body fat
under 10% all year round and peak in the low single digits when I want to
get cut for competitions or photo shoots
I decided to put together four separate “top 10″ lists of healthy foods to feed
your muscle and burn fat.
Exact quantities and menus are not listed, just the individual foods, and of
course my food intake does vary.
I aim to get as many different varieties of fruits and vegetables as possible
over the course of every week and there are a lot of substitutions made,
so you are not seeing the full list of everything I eat, only what foods I eat
most of the time.
I also want to point out that while I don’t believe that extreme low carbs
are necessary or most effective when you look at the long term, research
has shown that there are some definite advantages to a low to moderate
carb and higher protein diet for fat loss purposes.
These include reduced appetite, higher thermic effect of food and “automatic”
calorie control.
Personally, I reduce my carb intake moderately and temporarily prior to
bodybuilding competitions. Specifically, it’s the foods that are on the starchy
carbs and grains list that go down during the brief pre-competition period
when I’m working on that really “ripped” look.
I keep the green and fibrous veggie intake very high however, along with large
amounts of lean protein, small amounts of fruit, and adequate amounts of
essential fats (”LEAN, GREEN and MARINE!”)
This list reflects my personal preferences, so this is not a prescription to all
readers to eat as I do. It’s very important for compliance to choose foods you
enjoy and to have the option for a wide variety of choices.
In the past several years, nutrition and obesity research - in studying ALL
types of diets - has continued to conclude that almost any hypocaloric diet
that is not completely “moronic” can work, at least in the short term.
It’s not so much about the high carb - low carb argument or any other debate
as much as it is about calorie control and compliance. The trouble is, restricted
diets and staying in a calorie deficit is difficult, so most people can’t stick with
any program and they fall off the wagon, whichever wagon that may be.
I believe that a lot of our attention needs to shift away from pointless debates
(for example, low carb vs. high carb is getting really old… so like… get over it
everyone, its a calorie deficit that makes you lose weight, not the amount of carbs).
Instead, our focus should shift towards these questions:
* How can we build an eating program that we can actually enjoy while still
getting us leaner and healthier?
* How can we build an eating program that helps us control calories automatically?
* How can we build an eating program that improves compliance?
Here are the lists of foods I choose to achieve these three outcomes. This eating
plan is not difficult to stick with at all, by the way. I enjoy eating like this and
it feels almost weird not to eat like this after doing it for so long.
Remember, habits work in both directions, and as motivational speaker
Jim Rohn has said, “Bad habits are easy to form and hard to live with and good
habits are hard to form but easy to live with.”
These are listed in the order I frequently consume them. So for example, if
oatmeal is on the top of the list, it means that is the food I am most likely
to eat every single day.
My 10 top natural starchy carb and whole grains
1. Oatmeal (old fashioned)
2. Yams
3. Brown rice (a favorite is basmati, a long grain aromatic rice)
4. Sweet potatoes (almost same as yams)
5. Multi grain hot cereal (mix or barley, oats, rye. titricale and a few others)
6. White potatoes
7. 100% whole wheat bread
8. 100% whole wheat pasta
9. Beans (great for healthy chili recipes)
10. Cream of rice hot cereal
My Top 10 top vegetables
1. Broccoli
2. Asparagus
3. Spinach
4. Salad greens
5. Tomatoes
6. Peppers (green, red or yellow)
7. Onions
8. Mushrooms
9. Cucumbers
10. Zucchini
My top 10 lean proteins
1. Egg whites (whole eggs in limited quantities)
2. Whey or Casein protein (protein powder supplements)
3. Chicken Breast
4. Salmon (wild Alaskan)
5. Turkey Breast
6. Top round steak (grass fed beef)
7. Flank Steak (grass fed beef)
8. Lean Ground Turkey
9. Bison/Buffalo
10. Trout
My top 10 fruits
1. Grapefruit
2. Apples
3. Blueberries
4. Canteloupe
5. Oranges
6. Bananas
7. Peaches
8. Grapes
9. Strawberries
10. Pineapple
Note: I DO include healthy fats as well, such as walnuts, almonds, extra virgin
olive oil, flaxseeds, flaxseed oil (supplement - not to cook with), avocado
and a few others.
Also, I do eat dairy products and have nothing against them, nor am I lactose
intolerant. I simply don’t eat as much dairy as the rest of the stuff on my lists.
When I eat dairy, its usually skim milk, low or non fat cottage cheese, low or
non fat yogurt and low or non fat cheese (great for omelettes).
Last but not least, I usually follow a compliance rate of about 95%, which
means I take two or three meals per week of whatever I want - stuff that is
NOT on these lists - like pizza, sushi, big fatty restaurant steaks, etc -
whatever I want (contrary to the persistent rumors, I’m not some cyborg
or “food neurotic” that never enjoys a good restaurant meal…
believe me - I DO!)
I hope you found this helpful and interesting. Keep in mind, this is MY food
list, and although you probably couldn’t go wrong to emulate it, you need
to choose natural foods YOU enjoy in order to develop habits you can stick
with long term.
If you’d like to learn for yourself, more about fat burning nutrition and what
to eat for maximum fat loss, then be sure to take a look at the Burn The Fat,
Feed The Muscle program.
Thousands of men and women call this their “fat loss bible.” For all the details,
just go to: http://www.BurnTheFat.com
Train hard and expect success,
Tom Venuto,
