How To Eat To Lose Fat

As we’ve talked about when it comes down to it the number one thing that’s going to have a beneficial effect on your fat loss efforts is going to be what you eat. What you eat determines insulin response and fat accumulation. Like I’ve said multiple times but bears repeating you can’t outwork a bad diet. It just isn’t going to happen plus it’s counterintuitive, why fight against yourself? Losing fat can be challenging enough for many people no need to make it harder on yourself. When you eat the right things then the weight (well the fat) is going to come off. When you combine this with a good workout program you could actually end up not losing tons of weight (but tons of fat) while building muscle.

Don’t worry about the scale weight, the scale weight in and of itself means very little. What matters is body composition and hormonal health. And because essentially everything in health is related those two indicators of health (body composition and hormonal health) are tied together. Meaning someone with good hormonal health is likely to have good body composition and likewise someone with good body composition is likely to have good hormonal health. Granted that they didn’t go on a crazy crash diet for a contest or photo shoot and aren’t injecting hormones or “performance enhancers” but that’s a topic for another time. Alright now for the food to eat to lose the fat and get a better body composition.

Foods To Avoid

Alright so I’m going to guess that you already know to avoid things laden with sugar. Things like cookies, cakes, candies, ice creams, and all of that junk. You already know that a cinnamon bun isn’t good for you. But if not well here it is. Don’t eat things laden down with sugar. Sugar has a host of negative effects and can even rid the body of essential vitamins and nutrients. Something that with the modern diet is already in short supply and that crap found in most multivitamins is not the same as what you’re going to find in real food. If it has sugar then get it out of your diet. This is going to include many fruits as well. Especially fruits like apples and all dried fruits which are almost pure sugar and have little nutritional content.

We’ve already covered the general structure of what you should eat, especially as how it relates to insulin levels. But I want to cover this more in depth to make sure you understand. We know that sugar spikes insulin levels but so do carbohydrates. We know that not all carbohydrates are not created the same as well. Sugar, whole wheat bread, and kale are all considered carbohydrates yet the first two are bad for your health and the last is amazing for your health. As a general rule you want to avoid the vast majority of carbohydrates. So ignore what the USDA and others who want you fat and sick have to say. This includes “health” (because obesity is so healthy) whole grains, pasteries, and essentially anything made with grains. Get your carbs from green sources.

What To Eat

Alright now you may be thinking “What on earth do I eat then?” and I’ll be happy to tell you. Again regardless of your goal whether it’s hormonal health or body composition what you eat isn’t going to change much (though the amounts will depending on whether you want to put on muscle or lose fat). However what you eat matters much much more than how much you eat. You generally want to eat moderate amounts of protein (which will vary from person to person depending on how intense their training program is), however you never want to go above .7-1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass as it will have no positive effect past that point and even then that’s for those who are on high intensity training programs. For the average person you want about 25-30% of your total calories from protein.

The best sources of protein are grass fed red meat, wild caught fish, and free range eggs. A good way to look at this is that if it’s found in nature (not man made) and is closest to it’s natural habitat (meaning grass fed vs soy fed) the better off it’s going to be. Now with protein covered most of your calories on a fat burning diet (or really any healthy diet) are going to come from good fats. Things like egg yolks, grass fed butter, the fat from meats, olive oil, coconut oil, and fish oil are all good sources of good fats. Though it’s hard to believe (but scientifically sound) fat doesn’t make you fat. Carbohydrates (the insulin response from carbohydrates) are what make you fat. Meaning that toast will make you fatter than bacon. Not to mention that fats (especially saturated and cholesterol) are requirements for hormonal production (for example testosterone) and optimal hormonal health. So if you want to be a fat hormonal mess then stay away from fats.

Examples Of What To Eat

Alright now that you know the general idea I want to provide a general list of foods that should be eaten and foods that should be avoided. Now everyone is different and if a food doesn’t agree with you then get rid of it. For example I have trouble with cream even though it’s great for others likewise there are those who have issues with eggs, nuts, and even broccoli. So use common sense and if something isn’t agreeing with you then you’re probably not getting the nutrients from it anyways so it’s not going to do anything for you (other than make you feel like crap). Alright now for the list.

Foods to avoid: Sugary foods, grains, processed foods, starchy carbs, corn, vegetable oils (one exception), and soy.

Foods to eat. Meats (including organ meats, marrow, fish, poultry, etc.), butter, olive oil (the exception), coconut oil, eggs, green vegetables, cheeses, avocado, and fish oil.

I’d avoid milk and cream if you’re trying to lose fat, but when you’re trying to bulk up some these type of food can come into play.

Summary

The best way to look at it is that if it’s something that could have been eaten by early man then it’s probably good, obviously there are some exceptions such as many cheeses and such but again that’s as a general rule. And the more the thing you’re eating was grown/matured in a natural way the better off it’ll be. Grass fed meats superior to processed and so on and so forth. This is more for hormonal purposes (which play a key role in regulating fat and getting rid of excess fat) than it is for the actual macronutrient profile. A processed steak will generall have the same amount of protein, fat, and carbohydrates as a grass fed steak. But with the grass fed you won’t be getting all the hormone disrupting crap that comes along with the processed steak. Hormones play a huge role in fat loss. This diet is nothing new the paleo, keto, and grain free diets follow a similar template and work effectively. Do what works for you while following the general principles. And remember a spike in insulin is what you’re trying to avoid while eating.

If you have any questions you would like to see answered in a future post send them to me at charlessledge001 (at) gmail (dot) com. If you found value in this post then I would encourage you to share this site with someone who may need it as well as check out my books here. I appreciate it.

-Charles Sledge