Though there are many nutritional tips below (and many more not there), if you incorporate just a few into your weekly diet, and add a few more per week, you should see clear improvements in your training and results.
Within this page are links to other pages for further explanations on the importance of water, fiber and cholesterol.
1. A High Protein Diet
A high protein diet promotes hypertrophy and also enhances fat loss.
Over an eight week period, individuals taking part in research by Skidmore College (Saratoga Springs, New York), where their diet has 40% of total daily calories from protein lost more body fat. This was in comparison to a low fat/high carbohydrate diet. This is partly down to protein increasing levels of peptide YY, a hormone that the ileum and the colon produce to send messages to the brain to reduce appetite.
2. Eat Complex Carbohydrates
Choose slow digesting whole grain carbohydrates such as brown rice, oatmeal and whole-wheat bread to keep insulin levels low and consistent. This will prevent insulin spikes which would prevent fat burning and increase fat storing.
3. Eat The Right Fats
Certain fats, such as omega-3s, actually promote fat loss.
If your fat intake is from fatty fish such as salmon, sardines, trout or other healthy fat sources (peanut butter, olive oil and walnuts) you actually boost your fat loss.
4. Eat Plenty of Eggs
Eggs contain plenty of protein and have actually shown to reduce appetite and promote fat loss.
5. Grapefruit
Grapefruit reduces insulin levels which we have previously mentioned, prevents insulin spikes that would reduce fat loss and promote fat storing.
6. Apples
Apples are slow-digesting carbohydrates that contain many antioxidants.
Polyphenols from apples helps increase fat loss, muscle strength, endurance and even life expectancy.
A large apple provides about around 200mg of apple polyphenols.
7. Drink Milk
Milk is rich in calcium to promote fat loss.
Calcium regulates a hormone called calcitriol, which causes the body to produce fat and prevents fat burning.
Thus when calcium levels are satisfactory, calcitriol and fat production are suppressed while fat-burning is promoted.
You can try adding low fat dairy products (cottage cheese, yoghurt) to boost protein intake and help with fat loss.
8. Be Organic
Organic milk had about 70% more omega-3 fatty acids than conventional milk.
Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) levels in both meat and milk are also higher in cows grass fed rather than grain fed.
Studies have shown CLA to increase lean body mass and reduce total body fat.
9. Eat Spicy Foods
Chili peppers contain the active ingredient capsaicin, a chemical that reduces appetite and fat intake. It has also been shown to reduce weight regain.
10. Eat Nuts
As mentioned before, nuts such as almonds, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts and walnuts, with healthy fats help to promote fat loss.
11. Guacamole
Avocados contain mannoheptulose, a sugar that reduces insulin release and enhances calcium absorption.
Again, keeping insulin levels low and consistent will prevent insulin spikes thus preventing fat burning and increase fat storing.
While calcium regulates a hormone called calcitriol, which causes the body to produce fat and prevents fat burning.
Thus when calcium levels are satisfactory, calcitriol and fat production are suppressed while fat-burning is promoted.
12. Oolong/Black Tea
Oolong tea has been shown to enhance metabolic rate due to polyphenols other than EGCG.
While Black tea may also aid fat loss by reducing Cortisol levels, which encourages fat storage.
13. Green Tea
Green tea contains epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which prevents the enzyme that breaks down norepinephrine.
Norepinephrine keeps the metabolic rate up, so preventing its breakdown helps you burn more calories throughout the day.
14. Whey Lean
Whey protein can enhance muscle growth and also fat loss.
It can also reduce appetite as opposed to casein. This is due to whey’s ability to boost hunger suppressing hormones cholecystokinin and glucagon-like peptide-I.
15. Water, Water, Water
The general recommendations for someone who trains and sweat is to consume 4-7 litres of water per day. This includes water intake from foods such as fruit and vegetables.
There is a whole plethora of reason to drink water, with benefits ranging from increased performance, fat metabolism to reduced water retention.
Artificially sweetened drinks cause you to feel hungrier as well as increase insulin level, leading to reduced fat burning and increased fat storage.
20. Green Tea Extract
The reasons for this is the EGCG mentioned previously, however the EGCG from green tea extract is shown to be absorbed better than that straight from green tea.
We advise 500 mg of green tea extract in the morning and afternoon before meals.
21. CLA
Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) studies have shown CLA to increase lean body mass and reduce total body fat.
22. Omega 3
Omega-3 fats promote fat loss, which is enhanced with exercise.
23. Fat Burning Products
Products will vary but they generally attempt to do as mentioned. Due to their relatively new emergence, most products havn't been thoroughly tested for results on humans, so be wary. Make sure to read product labels.
24. Astaxanthin
Astaxanthin combined with an exercise program enhances fat burning and endurance. This is because astaxanthin is believed to protect fat as it is transported to be broken down in the mitochondria.
25. Carnitine
Carnitine has many forms (L-carnitine, L-carnitine L-tartrate or glycine propionyl-L-carnitine) and is critical for carrying fat to be broken down in the mitochondria of cells.
26. Calories Deficit
This simply means working off more calories than consumed. This should be done consistently throughout the week to lose weight.
27. Extra Protein
The extra protein protects muscle loss, because it can be burned instead of muscle tissue.
If you cut calories too drastically, you shock your body and it tries to store energy by slowing down its metabolism, the calorie-burning mechanism in the body.
Moderate cuts in calories (200-400 per day) allow the body to tap into fat reserves without adjusting metabolism.
29. Add Fiber
Fiber slows the digestion of carbs, which moderates insulin secretion.
The American Dietic Association recommends 25-30 grams of fiber per day.
Fiber is very important for digestion and metabolism and lowering cholesterol levels.
Glutamine spares the burning of branched-chain amino acids, which are used in greater amounts when calories decline. Glutamine has also been found to increase metabolic rate and fat burning.
31. Low Fat Fish = Fat Loss
Many fish are very low in fat and when you deprive your body of fatty acids it starts to break down its own reserves to make up for it. Therefore substituting in fish every now and then can cause you to lose more fat.
32. Fatty Fish = Fat Loss
These fish sources provide omega-3 fatty acids, which encourage the body to take glucose from carbs to store as glycogen rather fat.
A four-month study showed that 63 overweight subjects who ate higher-fat fish daily lost more weight than those eating fish only once per week.
33. Ratios Are Important
Of women following a 1,600-calorie daily diet, one group went with higher protein and fewer carbs, while the other followed a higher-carb, lower-protein menu. After 10 weeks, they both lost similar weights but the higher protein group lost 18% more fat and retained 27% more muscle.
34. Smaller Frequent Meals
This prevents metabolism from slowing down as well as keeping energy levels steady and reducing hunger.
35. Carbs At Night?
It is not correct to believe carbs at night will cause fat gain, or prevent fat loss compared to consuming them at other times of the day.
Researchers from Israel put people on a calorie restricted diet for 6 months and split them into two groups, one group (control) ate carbs throughout the day, whereas the experimental group consumed the majority of their carbohydrates (around 80%) at night.
Results showed that the group that ate their carbs at night actually lost more weight and bodyfat than the control group, as well as feeling less hungry.
It appears that exercise increases your sleeping metabolic rate. Obese individuals have sleeping metabolic rates lower than their resting metabolic rates, whereas lean individuals had sleeping metabolic rates greater than their resting metabolic rate.
Therefore if you remain fit and healthy your metabolism will actually increase instead of decrease (as most believe).
36. Chocolate: Cacao vs Cocoa
There are important differences that you should take into account when deciding what chocolate to eat, with cacao being the best to pick.
Smarter Health and Fitness Chocolate Analysis
Cacao
Cocoa
Aids In Weight Loss
Low Levels Of Cacao
Promotes Healthy Skin
Processed
High In Antioxidants
Heat Refined
Mood Enhancing
Stripped Of Nutrients
Contains Essential Vitamins & Minerals
Often Contains Sugars, Milk Fat, Hydrogenated Oils, Artificial Flvaourings
Quells Headaches
May Cause Weight Gain
Promotes Heart Health
Aphrodisiac
37. Cinnamon
There are numerous health benefits of consuming cinnamon. It helps improve insulin sensitivity and regulate blood sugar levels (which is also good for diabetics) as well lowering LDL (harmful lipoproteins that carry cholesterol) levels. To learn more on cholesterol see here.
On top of this, it also lowers the negative effect of high fat meals (though perhaps it's best to reduce the fat levels), offers anti-infectious compounds and may reduce the proliferation of cancer cells.
