Can what you eat help you lose fat? There are some that claim to be true. Honestly though, I believe that concept to be false. Fat burning is a metabolic mechanism caused by a certain set of hormones released at a certain time due to what stress you put on the body. Sugars are metabolized, fat is moved from its location and used as fuel, and this is all used to produce energy the body needs to survive.
What diet is best for shredding fat?
There are some who follow a strict ketogenic diet. The health effects of this diet are unknown. While some may claim this is very harmful to your metabolism the simple fact of the matter is there is just not enough information on the subject. For those that don’t know what a ketogenic diet consists of then essentially you would give your body just protein and fats in order to force your body to use its fat stores to get the fuel it needs.
Many people have claimed to lose a lot of fat on a ketogenic diet. There is no doubt about that, but I seriously am concerned as to what happens after the diet is over, what occurs in the metabolism long term?
Is there such a thing as a negative calorie?
Can foods produce a negative calorie? For instance are some foods so difficult for your body to process that it takes more energy to metabolize than the energy stored? In this case I believe that there is significant evidence to support that there are foods that have a negative calorie effect. These foods can include fibrous foods such as celery, apples, and other foods that are high in fiber. By eating foods that are high in fiber and actually cause your body to burn more calories than you are taking in then you are bound to lose weight.
Now keep in mind that you are burning more calories then you are taking in, that does not mean you are burning specifically fat but rather you are running a calorie deficit from your intake of food. That is what makes a crucial difference in burning fat as opposed to just losing weight.
Don’t just focus on weight loss!
Many people just seem to be focused on the weight loss of their goal. In reality it is fat loss that they are desiring the most. In order to do this however you need to simultaneously build muscle while losing weight. That is what causes people to burn fat as opposed to just losing weight. The scale is just a measure of how much you weigh and not what your total body composition consists of. A healthy fit person would have a lot of muscle mass with very little fat.
So based upon this then the intake of protein and other foods that stimulate muscle growth would help to burn your fat off. Just having a negative calorie deficit in your diet would help in losing weight but gaining muscle at the same time would help you shred fat.
Then if you are serious about changing your body composition then it is it would be better to eat dense protein foods such as:
- · Steak
- · Lobster
- · Chicken Breasts
- · Salmon
- · Egg whites
- · Tuna Fish
To name just a few of the best foods to help build muscle by supplying your body with the needed protein that it needs after an intense weight lifting session. As well some of the best ways to digest protein is when it is already broken down for you such as drinking a BCAA or branched chain amino acid post workout drink.
Eating at specific intervals throughout the day will keep your metabolism running efficiently, as well it would help to metabolize the 30 grams of protein in each meal. There have been many studies that essentially prove that the body cannot in most cases metabolize more than 30 grams of protein in one setting. Consuming more than this is just a waste of a good meal and of course it could be a waste of your hard earned money.
Knowing exactly what you are eating and tracking it will give you the best results. If you can measure and track something in regards to your health then that is what should be done if you want to be the best athlete you can be.
Monitoring how you feel is also very important. While some can get away with a fat shredder diet of 50 percent protein, 30 percent carbohydrate, and 20 percent fat there are many who for various reasons just cannot seem to cope with this diet. It is perfectly acceptable to use a 40/40/20 combination of the above macronutrients to help alleviate some of the problems you may encounter with a low carbohydrate diet.
Clearly this may involve some experimentation on your part to see what would work best for your body and how you operate on a daily basis. Don’t just guess at what might work, always test out new things and figure out what works for you!