List of Fat Burning Foods

Have you ever heard of the quote, “An apple a day keep the doctor away.”? The apple does live up to the quote’s hype because it’s packed full of vitamin C and malic acid. Malic acid plays an important role in energy regulation, which means they enable your body to convert fat into energy more easily. In addition to helping your body burn fat, apples also have a lot of fiber and are water based so they keep you full longer. Try snacking on an apple and a stick of string cheese midway between breakfast and lunch to stay full and keep your body’s metabolism running.

Next up is berries. Almost all types of berries are packed with fiber, antioxidants, and vitamins essential for fat burning (and helping you stay young). Try substituting berries for healthy snacks instead of a candy bar or other sugary sweets. Berries are perfect additions to morning oatmeal or cereal, giving you a quick nutritionally balanced breakfast in a bowl.

Another big fat burner food is raw almonds. Raw almonds are a great source of magnesium, a key element that your body needs to regulate energy and fat burning hormones. You can crush raw almonds and sprinkle them on top of a cup of non-fat plain yogurt for an afternoon snack. You can also keep 5-10 raw almonds with you at all times and eat a few whenever you feel fatigue as they are an excellent source of energy. In addition to being a fat burner, raw almonds also contain protein to help build muscle, fiber to help keep you full, and vitamin E to help you stay healthy.

Eggs is an unexpected fat burning food. Eggs contain vitamin B12, a supplement for breaking down fat cells into energy. In addition to its fat burning capabilities, eggs are also full of protein and animo acids so they are sometimes used by fitness extremes to supplement recovery protein shakes. You can cook eggs with just about anything (eggs make everything taste good). If you are concerned about cholesterol, you can try just using more egg whites than yolk.

Yogurt, like any other non-fat dairy item will aid you in burning fat and keep you full longer. The three a day rule is good for getting rid of fat and keeping up on your calcium (for fighting bone loss). It is also great for your digestive system. When purchasing, buy non-fat, and try to avoid yogurt with added sweeteners.

Green leafy vegetables are technically not a food that burns fat, but they contain so little calories and so much fiber that your body ends up burning a energy digesting it. Besides salads there are many wonderful and delicious recipes you can make that include all kinds of leafy greens.

Final Words

A word of caution: always remember to eat in moderation. Although these are natural fat burning foods, they are still food. Consuming a large amount of these foods will pack more calories than your body need, and that can work against your fat-loss goal. Aside from that, eating healthy is easy when you know the direction to take. All of these foods are delicious and can be combined with other foods to liven up your menu (plus a lot of these foods are a part of my daily diet plan). For best results, you should combine fat burning meals with proper fat burning exercises, the working man’s weight loss tips, and supplements like the ECA stack. It’s not a diet but a new way of life.

Three Important Types of Protein to Know

Whey (fast-absorbing)

Whey protein is found as a by-product of milk and cheese productions. This type of protein can be quickly ingested into the body quickly. Because of that whey protein shakes are the best protein shakes for post-workout recovery.

Casein (slow-absorbing)

Casein protein accounts for about 80% of proteins in cow milk and cheese. This type of protein has the ability to coagulate (gel or clot) in your stomach, which causes it to digest very slowly. I opt to use for Casein powder instead of milk is because milk contains fats and carbohydrates, which I do not need for my purposes.

Egg (medium-absorbing)

Egg protein is found in [you guessed it] eggs. These proteins take about one and a half to three hours to absorb into your body (medium absorption rate). As a side note, careful nutritional inspection will reveal that egg yolks are quite good for you too. Here is a comparison between egg white and egg yolk.

How to Take These Proteins

Whey Protein

Because whey protein can be absorbed quickly, it is best consumed immediately after a workout. After an intense workout, your body is in a state that craves nutrients. Failure to provide proper nutrition will force the body into a catabolic state (you do not want this). After a workout, you need simple carbohydrates to quickly push the body out of its catabolic state and whey protein to help your muscles rebuild. After my workouts, I drink a shake consisting of sugar and whey protein mixed at ~2:1 ratio. For example my post-workout protein shake consists of

• Water
• 50g of whey protein (usually 2 scoops)
• 100g of pure cane sugar OR 125g of honey

(About ~80% of honey is sugar, giving 100g of sugar total.)

I prefer using 125g of honey because it is more soluble it contains potassium which also aids in muscle recovery and helps prevent cramps.

Casein Protein

Because casein protein is absorbed very slowly, it is best to consume this protein before you sleep. The reason for this is because your body goes into starvation every night and runs on catabolism. Sleep is really the best time for your body to rebuild and recover, but it cannot do it if it is in a catabolic state. The slow release property of casein protein provides your body with a constant small source of protein to keep your body from catabolism. My pre-sleep shake is quite simple: water and casein protein (no other non-sense).

Egg Protein

Egg proteins fall in between the two extremes and it is also a truly natural gold-standard source of protein. Some people suggest drinking whey protein in the morning to combat catabolism from sleep, but I prefer to incorporate eggs into my breakfast. Why?

• One egg contains more than 6 grams of high quality protein containing all the essential amino acids our body needs to build and maintain muscle mass.
• I need my breakfast to keep me full longer than 2 hours. Egg protein take longer to absorb than whey protein. Eggs also contain several B vitamins required for energy production (good way to start your day full of energy).
• I don’t want to drink protein powders all day.
• Eggs is one of the best fat burning foods.

You shouldn’t eat more than 1 egg per day because of its cholesterol content. The good news is that cholesterol is only found in the egg yolk. So my optimal breakfast would contain, 1 whole egg (with yolk) + 1 egg without yolk, giving me ~10g of egg protein to start my day. I opt for 1 whole egg because the B vitamins and other useful nutrients are only found in the yolk.

Conclusion

Smart protein consumption is crucial to fitness success. I guarantee that if you follow this protein consumption plan, you will notice results quicker from your exercises. You will not be as sore during workouts, allowing you to workout longer. You will be sore less often, allowing you to exercise more often. You can even tweak your protein consumption (add more nutrients) to make them act like protein diet shakes and replace meals. Also, retaining more muscle mass will help you will lose fat quicker. As a bonus, check out my post on the best protein powder and optimize your protein consumption today!