With summer upon us, everyone wants to tone up and lean down for the beach. Unfortunately, most people looking to lose weight revert to eating less and/or skipping meals. According to Mary Enig in "Eat Fat, Lose Fat" and Debra Waterhouse in "Outsmarting the Female Fat Cell," depriving your body of healthy fats is the quickest way to pile on the pounds. So if you’re serious about decreasing your body fat, manage your stress, get to bed early, train smarter not harder, and keep your metabolism revved up with these three superfoods. High Quality Beef Jerky: It’s pretty simple: the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn. And to create muscle, you need high quality protein in your diet. In addition to helping you lean out, Loren Cordaine, author of the Paleolithic Diet, says that “protein boosts your metabolism and causes you to lose weight more rapidly than the same caloric amounts of fat or carbohydrate.” In other words, when given proteins, carbohydrates and fats, the body expends the most energy to break down proteins. So just by eating high-quality proteins, you rev up your metabolism and burn through body fat. While most people think of chips or crackers (aka sugars) when they think of a snack, organic beef jerky is a nutrient-dense, easy and satiating food that not only burns fat but also increases mental acuity and overall energy levels.
Avocado: You need healthy fat in your diet in order to lose fat. All of you who are still eating egg whites, this one’s for you. When trying to shed a few extra pounds, remember that you need to create a feast, not a famine. So if you’re hungry an hour after you ate a meal, you most likely did not eat enough healthy fat in that meal. And if you starve yourself of fat, you inadvertently signal your body to create more fat. The solution? Add avocados into the mix. Avocados are loaded with heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, which have been proven to help people lose weight. And because avocado is such a versatile food, it’s easy to add to your eggs at breakfast and to your salads and proteins at lunch and dinner to create a more satiating meal.
Coca Chia Bars: I’m not a fan of most food bars, but the quickest way to start losing weight is to keep your blood sugar levels stable. If you’re going out for a day of golf or know you have a long flight ahead of you, pack a high-quality food bar to ensure that you don’t go too long without eating. When looking for a healthy bar, the less ingredients, the better. My favorite is the Coca Chia Bar (available through LivingFuel). It’s made of only whole foods, is gluten and dairy free, minimally processed, and contains coconut, which boosts your thyroid, supports your immune system and has been proven to promote weight loss. One bar fills you up and helps you power through between meals without crashing.
Remember: you don’t have to deprive yourself to lose weight. By eating high-quality proteins and fats (and eating them regularly) you’ll not only look better, but you’ll feel better in the process.
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