We are coming up to the final days of the year and a time where most recipes take a turn to “the dark side of the force”. Instead I’d like to share with you my top 7 Tips To Make Fat Burning Meals.
Wouldn’t it be great if all your favorite comfort meals naturally promoted fat loss? I think that would be awesome.
Unfortunately these old favorites used to bring on rapid fat storage, and the older I’ve gotten the harder it’s become to enjoy these all time favs.
My biggest fear is this will cause you to yo-yo diet because most people still consume these unhealthy foods AND try to limit their calories from other sources to offset their mistakes.
(^^DON’T DO THIS!!!^^)
So you’re fueling your fat and starving your muscles, that’s a one-two knock out punch to your metabolism!
Over the past decade I’ve read countless books on nutrition and my #1 goal is to always provide you with healthier options and alternatives to live your best life and LOVE what you eat.
Fat Burning Tip #1) Focus On Protein
The base of a fat burning meal is a healthy serving of quality, lean protein. Choose from chicken, pork, beef, lamb, veal, fish or eggs.
Why is protein so important? Protein supports and fuels your lean tissues (your muscles) and does not have an effect on blood sugar levels, which would promote fat storage.
Fat Burning Tip #2) Ditch Grains and Refined Sugar
A fat burning meal does not contain a serving of grains or starches. Yes, I realize that this goes against everything that we have been taught or experienced with dinners. Most meals are plated with a jumbo serving of noodles, pasta, potatoes, rice, has been breaded or is served with bread, tortillas, chips or buns.
As I have learned the hard way these carbs are more than we need and end up being stored as fat. And I PROMISE it is possible to create fat-burning dinners that satisfy even the hungriest meat-and-potatoes members of your family.
This was the hardest part for me to get used to. Grains and sugar are filled with fat-promoting carbs and most of my favorite meals are all carb-ed out.
There’s really no reason, other than habit, to eat grains or sugar on a regular basis. Once I removed these from my day-to-day diet and got out of the habit of eating them, I no longer craved them as much or as often.
Fat Burning Tip #3) Bring On The Veggies
After you remove the grains and sugars from your meal, add a bunch of fiber-filled veggies instead. One of my favorite things to do now when building a fat burning meal is to get a bowl, add a few handfuls of lettuce, field greens, spinach and arugula, and then top it with protein and some cooked veggies.
Add a light homemade dressing and you’re looking at the perfect, quick fat burning meal. Fiber-filled veggies are important for many reasons in addition to the fiber.
They are filled with nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, all of which your body needs. They are also very low in calories compared to the amount of space that they take up in your stomach. So you’ll get full faster on fewer calories.
Fat Burning Tip #4) Quality Ingredients
Ingredients are the building blocks to a healthy meal so pay attention to the quality of the ingredients you use. Fast food just isn’t going to cut it! Be willing to spend a little more on the foods that you eat. Quality is much more important that quantity.
When choosing meat look for organic, antibiotic and hormone-free. Avoid processed foods as these contain potentially harmful additives and lots of salt.
Choose foods that are:
• Fresh, organic and seasonal
• Pronounceable ingredients
• Whole foods
Fat Burning Tip #5) Use A Healthy Cooking Method
The method in which you cook your meal determines how many calories, how much added fat, and the number of nutrients that survive.
Don’t prepare meals like this:
• Fried and battered
• Processed and packaged
• Doused with cream sauce
Choose these cooking methods:
• Grilled
• Baked
• Broiled
• Steamed
…or my new favorite is using my air fryer to cook, well, everything!
Fat Burning Tip #6) Cook With Coconut Oil
I used to always cook with vegetable oil, never realizing how harmful it was to my fat loss efforts. Unfortunately most people use harmful, unstable and fat promoting oils when they cook.
The good news is that coconut oil is an amazing, healthy oil that not only tastes great but also helps promote fat loss.
Among its many benefits coconut oil is stable even at high temperatures. It’s filled with lauric acid, which boosts the immune system and helps ward off infections.
Best of all, coconut oil has been shown to increase metabolism and thyroid activity, which boosts fat burning.
Fat Burning Tip #7) Enjoy Dessert of Fresh Fruit
When is the last time that you bit into a fresh, organic, perfectly ripe piece of fruit? Delicious, wasn’t it?
I used to overlook fruit as the perfect dessert that it is, and instead would eat sugar sweetened, processed desserts that encourage rapid weight gain and declined health.
I’m not going to say that ice cream and chocolate don’t taste awesome, because they do, and you can still enjoy them in moderation.
But eating desserts like that on a regular basis is one of the big reasons that people gain weight. By making the simple switch from refined sugar desserts to desserts of fresh fruit you’ll be able to lose weight without feeling deprived.
Let’s bring fruit back to its rightful place as our favorite, most popular after-dinner sweet. Out with the refined sugar and corn syrup and in with Nature’s sweetest gift…fresh fruit!
I hope that you have enjoyed these 7 Tips To Make Fat Burning Meals. My clients and I are walking proof that this way of eating truly delivers results without deprivation or boring, bland meals.
Enjoy what you eat and the body you’re living in 🙂
Committed to your fitness success,
Derek
