While there are no specific foods that burn fat there are foods that you should be prioritising when you’re trying to lose weight. Ideal foods are those that help keep you fuller for longer, reduce cravings, preserve muscle and increase the TEF (thermic effect of food), which I will explain in more detail in this blog.
Will increasing my protein consumption result in fat loss?
Protein consumption should be your top priority. Mainly focussing around lean meats which are low in fat. Fatty meats can still be included in your diet but in moderated amounts. Lean meats can be anything from pork, chicken, beef, lamb, or fish and are complete sources of protein. Other sources such as nuts, beans, lentils, peas and tofu are also acceptable sources of protein. A complete protein or whole protein is a food source that contains an adequate proportion of each of the nine essential amino acids necessary in the human diet. For beef the USDA defines lean as 100 grams of beef with less than 10 grams of fat. These meats are lower in calories and hitting your required protein consumption each day will help to fight hunger and preserve your muscle.
As a personal trainer, typically when I’m training new clients, they often think they are consuming enough protein. When looking deeper into it 80% of the time they are not. The RDA (recommended dietary allowance) is the amount of nutrients you need to meet your basic or minimum nutritional requirements. For protein the RDA is 0.8g of protein per kilo of bodyweight if you are sedentary. If you weigh 70kg that’s 56g of protein per day. This amount of protein is not enough to help fight hunger, preserve, repair or build muscle tissue if you are an active person. A better guideline for daily protein consumption for someone who is active is around 1g per pound of bodyweight.
Protein helps to build muscle. The more muscle you have the more calories your body will burn in a day. But don’t be fooled, you’re not going to suddenly get big and bulky. Only when a high protein consumption is combined with an excess amount of calories is when you will start to bulk up. Make sure you stay in a calorie deficit while keeping protein consumption high. At the end of the day who wouldn’t want a leaner physique with more muscle definition and strength. You won’t get that physique if you don’t consume enough.
Which foods can help with fat loss?
Fibre is a type of complex carbohydrate that’s found in all types of plant-based foods, including fruit, seeds, beans, vegetables and grains. Fibre doesn’t get broken down and absorbed in your small bowel like other types of food. Instead, it passes undigested into your large bowel. As the digestion process is a lot longer, this helps to keep you fuller for longer and reduce cravings.
You should be getting all of your fibre from whole grains, fruit, green vegetables, nuts and seeds or anything plant based really. There are no bad plant based foods and most contain lots of fibre, vitamins and other nutrients the body needs. I’m not going to name any specific foods as you need make sure you consume a wide variety of natural plant based foods.
Generally vegetables aren’t very calorie dense. So you can get away with consuming vast amounts without it having a huge impact on your total daily calorie consumption. Again this will reduce cravings and help to keep you full.
Fibre is extremely important in your diet. It helps keep your digestive system remain healthy, prevents constipation, reduces cholesterol and helps to fight bowel cancer.
How does my TEF affect fat loss?
Your TEF is the amount of energy expenditure it takes to process food for use and storage. Certain foods have a higher thermic effect so it would be wise to consume more of these foods on a daily basis. The amount of extra calories is not that dramatic but it will help you create a calorie deficit. Around five to 10 percent of your body’s daily energy requirements go into processing the foods you eat. So out of your total daily energy expenditure around 200-300 calories is used just digesting foods.
My final thought…
Increasing your intake of lean meat and high fibre plant based foods will increase your TEF which will result in a higher energy expenditure resulting in a calorie deficit.
For more nutritional advice on fat loss please don’t hesitate to get in touch.