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“There’s Nothing To
Eat!!!”: A reference list of the 75 best foods to keep you in the
fat-burning zone
By
Eugene Thong
CSCS
................................................................................
 Now that 2011 has started
up in full effect, all the gym denizens crawl out of the woodwork, and fresh
with resolve and swelling with ambition (or due to the effect of
overindulging on high GI carbs over the holidays) head back to their usual
spots on the Stairmasters, elliptical machines, and treadmills.
Sigh…and
I was really hoping they would get the
fat-loss formula right this
year! Oh well – maybe next year.
It’s about this time of
year that the demand for personal training explodes, and Mike and I get
calls and emails out the wazoo: referrals, new contacts, folks who found our
respective sites on the web, etc., all looking to work with us and get help
putting together and implementing fat loss programs.
Now, both Mike’s and my
schedules are packed to the gills, but we make an earnest effort to help
direct interested trainees in the right direction (since it’s a terrible
thing having to refuse someone so passionate about reaching their goals): A
primer on how strength training and proper nutrition is the way to go for
fat loss, an overview of nutrition rules to follow, a quick lesson on
program design.
(I’ll admit, however –
sometimes when I’m harried I’ll just direct them to the
beginner’s articles
on MCNewsletters.)
Most of the time this
process flows smoothly, the trainee’s all set-up, the appropriate monies are
transferred, and life is grand again. But sometimes, there’s a sticking
point. And 99.9% of the time it’s the nutrition part. It usually goes
something like this:
Consultee: “You guys are
telling to cut out all these foods I love. Well, if I cut this, this, and
that out, I’ll be eating nothing but turkey and salad leaves! There’s
nothing to eat!!!”
Or something like that.
And what we’ve told them
is nothing new to you, dear reader: Cut out the starchy carbs. Forget the
grains. Focus on
Meat, Leaves, and Berries for feedings.
Nothing to eat? So, we
came up with a non-all-inclusive yet comprehensive list of foods that fall
under “Meat, Leaves, and Berries”, and therefore are good to eat to maintain
a
fat-burning environment in your body (of course, some are better than
others and we highlight these nutritional superstars in our book,
The Black
Book of Secrets).
Here, in no particular order, are the first 50 foods we
could think of that count as a “Meat”, a “Leaf”, or a “Berry.”
Red Meat (grass-fed is
best):
1) Beef (includes the
ground-up stuff. Hamburger without the bun, anyone?)
2) Lamb
3) Bison
4) Ostrich (yes,
ostrich. Come to think of it, Kangaroo and Emu are pretty damn tasty
too)
5) Venison (or other wild
game)
Poultry (free-range is
best):
6) Turkey
7) Chicken
8) Duck
9) Wild fowl like squab,
quail, pheasant, etc.
10) EGGS
(one of the all-stars right here)
Pork:
11) Pork Chops/tenderloin
12) Bacon (yes, bacon!
Don’t go eating 10 packs in one sitting, but from time to time it’s
fine)
13) Ham (especially
prosciutto – however, avoid most mainstream processed deli meats as they
are high in salt and potentially harmful preservatives)
14) Sausage (One of Mike’s
favorites; don’t overindulge - again, use common sense and
exercise control)
Fish and Seafood:
15) Wild salmon (avoid
farm-raised if you can as they are high in inflammatory Omega-6 fatty
acids)
16) Mackerel
17) Sardines (get the ones
packed in sardine oil for maximum Omega-3 content; avoid the ones packed
in vegetable oil at all costs)
18) Tuna
19) Shrimp
20) Mollusks (clams,
mussels, scallops, oysters, etc.)
“Leaves”
(packed
with fiber):
21) Arugula
22) Asparagus
23) Beets
24) Broccoli
25) Brussels sprouts
26) Cabbage
27) Carrots
28) Cauliflower
29) Celery
30) Green beans
31) Kale
32) Leeks
33) Mushrooms
34) Onions
35) Peppers
36) Spinach
37) Squash
38) Swiss chard
39) Watercress
40) Snow peas
41) Garlic
42) Zucchini
43) Cucumbers
44) Endive
“Berries”:
45) Blueberries
46) Cranberries
47) Blackberries
48) Strawberries
49) Raspberries
50) Goji Berries (by now
you can tell that anything with “berry” as the descriptor is likely a
berry)
After listing these 50
foods we realized there were quite a few others that didn’t strictly fall
into “meat, leaves, and berries” but were ok nonetheless. (BTW, you get
a downloadable food chart and our special report, The Dark
Side of Dieting when you
subscribe to our weekly newsletter, free) They are listed
here:
Other awesome fruit (eat
in moderation due to higher sugar content):
51) Apples (especially
green apples)
52) Grapefruit
53) Avocado
54) Kiwifruit
55) Watermelon
56) Honeydew
Nuts (eat in moderation
due to high calorie density; they work excellent as between-meal snacks):
57) Almonds
58) Walnuts
59) Brazil nuts
60) Cashews
61) Macadamia nuts
62) Pecans
63) Sesame seeds
Fats (use in moderation
due to high calorie density, but don’t be scared of using them!):
64) Butter (or it’s
clarified cousin, ghee)
65) Flaxseed oil (use on
salads)
66)
Extra virgin olive oil
(high in Omega-3s, but don’t cook with it.)
67) Coconut oil (use this
or ghee to cook with)
68) Fish oil (Carlson’s
Oil rocks – it has a light, lemony flavor)
Dairy (obviously avoid if
you’re lactose intolerant):
69) Full-fat yogurt
(low-fat and fat-free contain too much sugar)
70) Cheeses (real ones,
not “pasteurized cheese products” or “cheese food”)
71) Cottage cheese
Other:
72) Whey protein isolate
(great for
pre/post workout nutrition)
73) Flax seeds (grind
these up and add to salads, yogurt, cottage cheese for fiber)
74) Green foods/phyto
foods (optimize pH, purify your cells, and get a boatload of enzymes and
antioxidants while you’re at it)
75) Green tea (your
antioxidant/metabolic-accelerator solution)
So there you have it – a
non-all-inclusive yet comprehensive list of 75 foods you can eat and still
maintain a fat-burning environment in your body. I’m sure you can pick 12
or 13 foods you like out of the 75 and create a dizzying array of menus and
meals for the week around them. Remember, we didn’t even mention spices and
seasonings, nor preparation methods. You can create literally thousands of
combinations.
So the next time you
say to yourself “There’s nothing to eat!!!”, take a gander at this list and
remind yourself of the possibilities.
P.S.
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About the Author:
Eugene Thong, CSCS, was born a weak, skinny,
bespectacled child. Now, thanks to a steady diet of martial arts,
scientific inquiry, and heavy compound movements, he's no longer weak.
His scientific bent, Zen-like demeanor, and efficient but intense
methods have made him one of New York's most sought-after personal
trainers.
 When
not helping clients cultivate their own inner 6-packs, Eugene can be found
arm barring opponents at Renzo Gracie's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy or
sailing through the air on his snowboard. Read Eugene's semi-weekly musings
on exercise, fitness, and fat loss
at his blog
Eugene is Mike's co-author of The Black Book of Secrets- The Bible of
Effective Weight Loss.
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