The Top 10 Fat Burning Weight Loss Foods

The Top 10 Fat Burning Weight Loss Foods

By Tom Venuto, Fat Loss Coach,
author of Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle

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.
Of course, I can't tell you what YOU should eat because I don't know your likes and dislikes, not to mention whether you have any intolerances, allergies or foods you don't eat for ethical reasons, etc.
What I CAN do is show you what I eat, which has helped me keep my body fat under 10% all year round and peak in the low single digits when I want to get cut for competitions or photo shoots.
I put together 4 separate "top 10" lists of healthy foods to feed your muscle and burn fat.
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 ("LEAN, GREEN and MARINE!).
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.
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 automatically?

·                  How can we build an eating program that improves compliance?

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 (lean game meats)
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).
How strict should you be with following these food lists?
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. (contrary to the persistent rumors, I'm not some cyborg that never enjoys a good restaurant meal... believe me - I DO!)

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.
If you'd like to learn more about fat burning nutrition and what to eat for maximum fat loss, then be sure to take a look at the Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle nutrition program. Thousands of men and women call this their "fat loss bible." For all the details, visit: BURN THE FAT
- Tom Venuto

About Bodybuilding & Fat Loss Coach, Tom Venuto

Tom Venuto is the author of the #1 best seller, Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle: Fat Burning Secrets of the World's Best Bodybuilders and Fitness Models. Tom is a lifetime natural bodybuilder and fat loss expert who achieved an astonishing ripped 3.7% body fat level without drugs or supplements. Discover how to increase your metabolism and burn stubborn body fat, find out which foods burn fat and which foods turn to fat, plus get a free fat loss report and mini course by visiting the home page at BURN THE FAT

DEAR DIARY PT.2

I started thinking after my last post, and realized I should be using a journal for my diet!!! I received this from Vince Delmonte along the same lines

"I have NO IDEA how you could possibly think you can get
ripped and muscular without following a meal plan!"

No offense, but whether you're trying to gain muscle mass or
lose your stubborn love handles, consider both these goals a
LOST CAUSE if you're just guessing and "eating healthy."

Stop confusing yourself and listen to me VERY clearly.

"You WILL NOT stop struggling with your physique and gain the
respect you want UNTIL you start following a meal plan
designed around your specific goal."

Did you get that?

Here are 5 reasons you MUST have a meal plan (or I have
to question how serious you are):

1. You know exactly WHAT TIME to eat. During my contest prep
I knew I had to consume a meal at 6am, 9am, 12pm, 3pm and 6pm
every day and the rest of my day was structured around these
times - not the other way around. You can ask my friends to
confirm that we would be on the phone around 11:45 am and
knowing that I need to consume my meal in 15 minutes I would
politely say, "Hey, I got to go cook my next meal... I'll
call you in an hour."
2. You know exactly what to SHOP for. While I was at the
cottage with my parents last week I had to battle the
temptation of cookies lying around, ice cream in the freezer,
Frosted Flakes for breakfast and muffins for snacks. At my
home in Hamilton, I don't have those battles or slip ups
because that food is not allowed in my house period.
3. You know exactly how MUCH to eat. If my meal plan says
1 slice of bread for breakfast and I have 2 or 3 then at the
end of the week when I step on the scale and have not lost
my 1-2 pounds of fat I have to admit I didn't follow my plan
and it's MY fault.
4. You WILL get all your veggies. If your meal plan says
1/2 cup of mushrooms, 1 tomato, 1/2 cup of onions and 1 clove
of garlic with your eggs in the morning then you can
experience how your body recovers quicker, sleeps better and
does not get tired at 3pm in the afternoon every day.
Experiencing this will be far more powerful than hearing or
talking about it.
5. My pre contest diet was 2600 calories until the last few
weeks and lets say I slipped up and had an extra slice of
bread which is around 150 calories. Now I know that I need
to burn an extra 150 calories during my workout which means
an extra 20 minutes of running that night.

Do you see how crazy this can appear? Do you see why you or
some of your friends will go through your entire life with
a "decent body' but you will never get your dream physique?

Do you like how hard I am on you today? :) I just can't stand
when people say, "But I eat healthy..." and can't figure out
why they are not gaining muscle or losing fat.

Do you know that you could eat chicken breast and broccoli
all day and still get fat if you consume too much of it?

Click here to get your own 84-day meal plans included
in my No Nonsense Muscle Building program
--> No Nonsense Muscle Building

They range from 2,000 calories and go all the way up to 6,000
calories so you are in complete control of how much muscle
you gain.

I have have a set of Cheap meal plans and Veggie meal plans
if this helps your situation.

You even get my Metabolic Calculator that will tell you how
many calories you should be starting off with and the calories
are hormonally balanced perfectly.

Make your life easy and stop guessing
--> No Nonsense Muscle Building


By the way, if you were to get one of these meal plans
customized from Empowered Nutrition Systems (the company that
makes these for me), separately they'd cost you $235.00 for
an entire set.

And no one has these meal plans ANYWHERE. I know this because
well... plans like this are not cheap to have made. I'm able
to offer them because well the guy who owns the nutrition
company, Patrick McGuire, is a personal home town friend.

Aside from building a quick and easy 2-3 lbs of clean, lean
muscle weight in the next 4 weeks, not next 4 months, you will
have these meal plans as a resource for ever.
You can print them off, bind them and set them up in your
kitchen as a TREMENDOUS starting point to move you closer
to your goals and get the respect you deserve for your hard
efforts in the gym.

Get Your 84-Day "Secret Weapon" Meal Plans
--> No Nonsense Muscle Building