An article by Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.BurnTheFat.com
Anytime the topic of discussion in my blogs, articles or newsletters has turned to my own personal grocery shopping list, there has always been a spike in interest. It seems that many people are not only curious about what foods a natural bodybuilder eats to maintain single digit body fat, but they also want to be taken by the hand and told exactly what foods to eat themselves while on fat-burning or muscle building programs. That’s why I decided to put together four separate “top 10” lists of healthy foods that burn fat and build muscle.
Exact quantities and menus are not listed, just the individual foods, and of course my food intake does vary. I aim to get as many different varieties of fruits and vegetables as possible over the course of every week and there are a lot of substitutions made, so you are not seeing the full list of everything I eat, only what foods I eat most of the time.
I also want to point out that while I don’t believe that extreme low carbs are necessary or most effective when you look at the long term, research has shown that there are some definite advantages to a low to moderate carb and higher protein diet for fat loss purposes. These include reduced appetite, higher thermic effect of food and “automatic” calorie control.
Personally, I reduce my carb intake moderately and temporarily prior to bodybuilding competitions. Specifically, it’s the foods that are on the starchy carbs and grains list that go down during the brief pre-competition period when I’m working on that really “ripped” look. I keep the green and fibrous veggie intake very high however, along with large amounts of lean protein, small amounts of fruit, and adequate amounts of essential fats.
This list reflects my personal preferences, so this is not a prescription to all readers to eat as I do. It’s very important for compliance to choose foods you enjoy and to have the option for a wide variety of choices. In the past several years, nutrition and obesity research - in studying ALL types of diets - has continued to conclude that almost any hypocaloric diet that is not completely “moronic” can work, at least in the short term.
Low Carbs or High Carbs?
It’s not so much about the high carb - low carb argument or any other debate as much as it is about calorie control and compliance. The trouble is, restricted diets and staying in a calorie deficit is difficult, so most people can’t stick with any program and they fall off the wagon, whichever wagon that may be.
I believe that a lot of our attention needs to shift away from pointless debates (for example, low carb vs. high carb is getting really old… so like… get over it everyone, its a calorie deficit that makes you lose weight, not the amount of carbs).
Instead, our focus should shift towards these questions:
- How can we build an eating program that we can enjoy while still getting us leaner and healthier?
- How can we build an eating program that helps us control calories?
- How can we build an eating program that improves compliance?
Here’s one good answer: Eat a wide variety of high nutrient density, low calorie density foods that you enjoy which still fit within healthy, fat-burning, muscle-building guidelines!
Here are the lists of foods I choose to achieve these three outcomes. This eating plan is not difficult to stick with at all, by the way. I enjoy eating like this and it feels almost weird not to eat like this after doing it for so long.
Remember, habits work in both directions, and as motivational speaker Jim Rohn has said, “Bad habits are easy to form and hard to live with and good habits are hard to form but easy to live with.”
These are listed in the order I frequently consume them. So for example, if oatmeal is on the top of the list, it means that is the food I am most likely to eat every single day.
My 10 top natural starchy carb and whole grains
1. Oatmeal (old fashioned)
2. Yams
3. Brown rice (a favorite is basmati, a long grain aromatic rice)
4. Sweet potatoes (almost same as yams)
5. Multi grain hot cereal (mix or barley, oats, rye. titricale and a few others)
6. White potatoes
7. 100% whole wheat bread
8. 100% whole wheat pasta
9. Beans (great for healthy chili recipes)
10. Cream of rice hot cereal
My Top 10 top vegetables
1. Broccoli
2. Asparagus
3. Spinach
4. Salad greens
5. Tomatoes
6. Peppers (green, red or yellow)
7. Onions
8. Mushrooms
9. Cucumbers
10. Zucchini
My top 10 lean proteins
1. Egg whites (whole eggs in limited quantities)
2. Whey or Casein protein (protein powder supplements)
3. Chicken Breast
4. Salmon (wild Alaskan)
5. Turkey Breast
6. Top round steak (grass fed beef)
7. Flank Steak (grass fed beef)
8. Lean Ground Turkey
9. Bison/Buffalo
10. Trout
My top 10 fruits
1. Grapefruit
2. Apples
3. Blueberries
4. Canteloupe
5. Oranges
6. Bananas
7. Peaches
8. Grapes
9. Strawberries
10. Pineapple
Note:
I DO include healthy fats as well, such as walnuts, almonds, extra virgin olive oil, flaxseeds, flaxseed oil (supplement - not to cook with), avocado and a few others.
Also, I do eat dairy products and have nothing against them, nor am I lactose intolerant. I simply don’t eat as much dairy as the rest of the stuff on my lists. When I eat dairy, its usually skim milk, low or non fat cottage cheese, low or non fat yogurt and low or non fat cheese (great for omelettes).
Last but not least, I usually follow a compliance rate of about 95%, which means I take two or three meals per week of whatever I want (stuff that is NOT on these lists - like pizza, sushi, big fatty restaurant steaks, etc)
I hope you found this helpful and interesting. Keep in mind, this is MY food list, and although you probably couldn’t go wrong to emulate it, you need to choose natural foods you enjoy in order to develop habits you can stick with long term. In the fruits and vegetables categories alone, there are hundreds of other choices out there, so enjoy them all!
photo credits:
allyrose18
allyrose18
myhsu
About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder, certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS)
and a certified personal trainer (CPT). Tom is the author of "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using methods of the world's best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: www.burnthefat.com
Related posts:
- Top Fat Loss Foods Coming up with a fat loss diet can be tedious because there are a lot of food choices out there that are acceptable. Trying to combine all the different food choices can be difficult when you are planning your meals. You might have a hard time mixing and matching carbs, protein, and fats so I’m [...]...
- Fish Oil May Help You Burn Fat… But Not THAT Much Fat! Here’s an article by Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS, author of the best-selling fat loss program “Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle” www.BurnTheFat.com What the latest research says about omega-3 fatty acids and weight loss Unless you’ve been living under a rock somewhere for the last several years, you’ve probably heard about the health benefits of eating fatty fish [...]...
- Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle- Tom Venuto Tom Venuto is one of the most highly regarded fat loss coach and trainer who’ve been helping clients lose thousands of pounds of permanent fat for over 15 years. His book “Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle” is, in my opinion, the most powerful, effective, and comprehensive fat loss guide out there. It’s only 40 [...]...
- Fat Loss 101: How to Lose Fat with Fat Loss Nutrition- Part 2 In the first part of Fat Loss 101, we talked about why traditional dieting and starvation diets suck. Now let’s move on to the first nutrition principle of the fat loss equation to help you better understand how to lose fat. Negative Energy Balance The first principle is the idea of a calorie deficit diet. This is [...]...
- The Greatest Weight Loss Diet Mistakes When it comes to dieting there are many weight loss diet mistakes that are made on a near daily basis. While there are many real profound mistakes that go along with the territory there are a few that seem to have far more profound and lasting implications than others. These weight loss diet mistakes can [...]...
- Muscle Mass Diet If you’re struggling to build muscle, the first thing you should look at is your muscle mass diet. More than likely, you’re not eating enough calories to build muscle. You’re not on a muscle mass diet at all. Remember that calorie surplus is extremely important. The surplus should be at least 500 calories above what [...]...
- Fat Loss Fundamentals Most people who want to lose weight and reduce body fat often first think about reducing the amount of food they eat. A reduction of calories is one solution but not exactly the best one out there. In fact, depending on the amount of calories you reduce, it may even be dangerous to one’s health. Drastically [...]...
- Fat Loss 101: How to Lose Fat and the Dieting Dilemma- Part 1 In this 4-part Fat Loss 101 series, you’ll be given the most basic and fundamental rules to lose weight. No complicated science. No alien jargon. Just basic and straight-to-the-point practical strategies and techniques in the most effective way possible for helping you achieve maximum fat loss in minimum time. Many of you would like to lose [...]...
{ 1 trackback }
{ 0 comments… add one now }