What Is Fat Burning Food and 5 Ways To Implement It Into Your Diet

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Many people (especially on the net) claim that you can eat fat burning food exclusively and lose weight. While I do support the idea that it's not how much you eat when trying to lose weight, its what you eat - I do not support the idea that if you eat a lot of strawberries almost to the exclusion of other foods, that you will lose weight. In fact I have heard stories where people have actually done this, eaten a lot of strawberries and pineapple because their friend said that they would help them lose weight, only to find that they'd gained weight.

Unfortunately, it's just not true that you can eat a certain food and it will help you to lose weight. There are foods such as nuts, tea, milk and medium chain triaclyglycerols and diaclyglycerols (dietary fats) that they are researching at the moment that could be considered functional foods for weight maintenance and prevention of obesity but at the moment no conclusive evidence exists1.

That's not to say that eating indiscriminately is alright either. The message about fat burning food, that I want to get across is much different to eat this and you'll lose weight. I want to define for you my view of what fat burning food actually is. There is so much speculation that to the average joe blo that wants to lose weight, it's hard to choose the fact from the fiction.

So here is my definition of what fat burning food actually is, this definition is based on my reading of the current applicable research:

Fat burning food is food that have high water content, high fiber content and high micro-nutrient content, but losing weight will also be dependent on how much the food itself has been processed, the glycemic load of the food, the portion size and how satisfying the food itself is. To add to this, lowering your total energy intake (how much calories you take in) may be dependent on how much variety you have in your diet within the food groups themselves. Sounds complicated doesn't it - well thankfully, when put into practice, it's not really. You can find a simple diagram here that explains it more simply.

Now, many people (such as the low carb supporters) are going to disagree with this definition - that's fine. I don't want to get into that right now - that's another article in itself.

So what makes me think that food high in water, fiber and micro-nutrients make it fat burning ? Well a paper written by McCrory et. al in 2000 examined recent research in this area and found that energy densities of food had at least a direct and indirect affect on total energy intake.2. Foods that have a high amount of water usually have low energy densities and contain a low amount of energy per unit of food.

So implementing these fat burning food dietary guidelines into your diet can go a long way to reducing your total energy intake and giving you a bigger chance to maintain an energy deficit (consuming less calories than you are expending).

So HOW do you implement these dietary guidelines into your diet? Follow these five simple steps:

1. Don't try and implement all the guidelines at once. First replace high energy dense foods (french fries) with low energy dense foods (apple). Once your body seems O.K. with that change, then go onto the next. Look at how much food you're actually eating - if your portions are way to large - then start reducing them in small amounts until your body is satisfied with the correct portioning. In many cases when you implement one of these guidelines, you will be inadvertently covering another.

2. Don't be lazy - make your own fat burning food. If you are a big fan of ready to made meals and snacks, its time to start making your own. Many pre-prepared meals are high in salt, and many pre-prepared snacks are either high in fat or high in sugar. So make your own, then you'll only have yourself to blame if there is something unhealthy in it.

3. For healthy eating, choose at least 3-5 vegetables and 2 fruits you love and eat them every single day. If you get sick of them, add variety and choose new ones.

4. Eat wholegrain cereal based foods. Many of these foods have a low glycemic index, which will help keep your blood glucose level stable.

5. Limit saturated fats and replace these with unsaturated fats. Many foods that are high in saturated fats, taste good and may satisfy at first, but also have high energy densities, that is they have a high amount of calories per unit of food. So watch your fat intake, it should be no more than 30% of your total energy intake.

So, I know that it all seems a bit over the top, but implement them slowly, and surely. With diligence and patience, weight loss will not seem so much of a battle. When you combine these fat burning food techniques with exercise (the other side of the weight loss battle), success will be attainable for most people.3

References:

1. Marie-Pierre St-Onge Dietary fats, teas, dairy, and nuts: potential functional foods for weight control? American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 81 No. 1, 7 - 15 January 2005.

2. McCrory MA, Fuss PJ, Saltzman E, Roberts SB. Dietary Determinants of Energy Intake and Weight Regulation in Healthy Adults J Nutr 2000;130;276S-279S.

3. Note: Discuss any changes to your diet and weight loss techniques with your doctor or dietician. This article is for educational purposes only, and should not replace an individual consultation with a weight loss professional such as your doctor or dietician.

Copyright @ 2005 Jenny Mathers All Rights Reserved.

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