The food you eat while dieting to lean out can get boring and it’s natural to want to incorporate as many food options as possible. When leaning out, it is arguable more important what you are putting in your mouth than what is done in the gym. This isn’t to say that working hard and burning calories isn’t important. But, there are foods that are sometimes added, or mistaken for different forms of macro nutrients, into diets that are counterproductive towards cutting fat. There are also foods that help to speed your metabolism, learning the difference between the two will be a huge help in dieting!
Alcohol
For some people, this may seem like a no brainer that you should not be drinking while dieting, but this isn’t always common knowledge. I hate to inform those glass of wine at night lovers out there, but stop drinking while dieting! There needs to be some clarification that all alcohol, brown or clear or wine, is seven calories per gram consumed. This high of a caloric value for consumption only rivals that of fats, which is nine calories per every gram. It does not matter the kind, alcohol packs a high caloric intake!
The other issue with drinking while dieting is the bodies focus on metabolizing the alcohol out of its system. Typically, drinking is done at night. Throughout the night while you sleep, your body has its biggest fat burning and muscle repairing opportunity. When you drink, your body loses a whole night of this and instead works on getting rid of the alcohol that was consumed – even that one glass of wine along with the extra calories that it packs with it!
Saturated Fats
Fats have gotten a bad reputation but shouldn’t be entirely written off. Fats are essential to have in any diet, even one to lean out, because they serve many essential functions in the body ranging from cell structure to vitamin absorption to hormone regulation. It’s the kinds of fats that are important when choosing which to eat. Monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats as well as essential fatty acids are healthy fats and excellent to use while trying to lean out. These fats tend to stay liquid at room temperature and include: extra virgin olive oil, canola oil, soybean oil, cold water fish as well as omega 3 and omega 6 (fish oil).
Saturated fats are the kind of fat that cause the most difficulties within a diet and lead to a slippery slope. Foods that are high in saturated fats are red meat and full fat dairy products. Lean red meats such as bison or sirloin are the better alternative to add into a cutting diet and dairy should be very limited if consumed at all. I apologize to all the fellow cheese lovers out there, but eighty-six the cheese while trying to lose fat! Another saturated fat that is often mistaken for protein is peanut butter. I’m not too sure about anyone else, but when the jar comes out, it’s not going back in the pantry after one tablespoon. Avoid temptation and learn the kinds of fats you can consume that will provide the essential fats you need while not going over-board on consumption.
Fatty Protein
Protein is a staple in any diet and consuming lean meats definitely aids in fat loss. It is important to choose proteins that do not have excessive amounts fat, such as full fat beef, pork or chicken that still has the skin on it. Rotisserie chicken is absolutely delicious, but for the purposes of leaning out, take the skin off when eating it. However, if the temptation is too great to eat the chicken with the skin on, avoid this option all together. Go for boneless skinless chicken breast that has been cooked in a pan or baked in an oven. Salmon is my favorite kind of fish, but it packs a high fat content – about fourteen grams of fat per every four ounces – and should be avoided.
Diets aimed at cutting fat include white fish of any kind when trying to limit fat consumption. Bison and sirloin are very tasty lean red meats to include into any diet as well as extra lean ground turkey – very lean and high protein meat. Even boring boneless skinless chicken breast can get a little something extra when spiced and cooked in a pan stovetop. Dieting doesn’t have to be boring, getting creative with the same proteins does the trick!
Simple Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are usually the first macro nutrient to be dropped from a diet when discussing cutting body fat. But, carbs are not all bad. Some carbohydrates will help speed the body’s metabolism and burn more fat, rather than be stored as adipose fat when eaten in appropriate amounts. The kinds of carbohydrates to avoid are simple carbohydrates, typically different forms of sugars, such as lactose and fructose. Lactose is the main sugar found in milk, yet another reason to keep dairy far, far away from a cutting diet! Fructose is fruit sugar, which is abundantly present in foods such as corn, oranges, mangos and carrots. But, this isn’t to imply that all fruit is bad. Some fruit, such as berries and apples, are naturally low in fructose and have very healthy antioxidants for your body.
Complex carbohydrates can be found in meat products, seafood, starches, grains and vegetables. Foods such as sweet potato, broccoli, quinoa, couscous, spinach, squash, oatmeal, and brown rice are all the kinds of complex carbohydrates that can be used to help speed your body’s metabolism and burn more fat. Vegetables and lettuce can be great fillers when getting hungry during a cutting diet – minimal amounts of carbohydrates added to your daily macro count or caloric intake and plenty of vitamins as well as antioxidants for health.
Whatever method being used to diet down and lose excess fat, these foods should be avoided or added to help make the process a lot easier and quicker. Remember to eat for health and maintain a healthy weight for yourself!
Written by: Samantha Meinrod
IG: sammiegirl_fitness
Email: sammiemeinrod@gmail.com