The list of fat burning foods that makes me insanely angry.

The list of fat burning foods you see plastered all over the net are a total crock. I am going to tell you for free what to look for in food and how to develop your own nutritional plan.

Yes, you've seen the list of fat burning foods. If you're here looking at this page, you've been to the other sites listed on the google search engine results. They list all types of fruits and vegetables, dairy (oh that's a doozy), sometimes eggs, refer to vegetables with negative calories such as celery.

Now it's very easy to put up a list of fat burning foods and tell someone else that if you eat them, they will make you somehow burn fat. The whole idea is just complete nonsense. It just boggles the mind how people can first of all write this stuff, but then you get more people, who just want to make a quick buck (basically from the misery of others) that copy it, pass it off as their own and perpetuate the whole idea.

I'm not saying that the list of fat burning foods shared around aren't healthy, they are - but to imply that they automatically burn fat is wrong, it is just physically impossible for food to be fat burning.

I know that you're looking for information on what to eat to help you lose weight. In doing so, you're saying that I have to change my eating habits and that there is the wrong kind of food to eat, and the right kind of food. You are right. You have to be selective about what you eat - get educated know what to look for - it's your body, and you need to take control !

The Savvy Fat Burning Food 'list of fat burning foods' !

Lots of Nutrients For the Calories You're Consuming

Example: Globe Artichokes

In short the globe artichoke is power packed full of vitamins and minerals. It also contains substances called synarin (thought to be important for liver health) and luteolin (an anti-oxidant with anti-inflammatory properties) which may be useful in relieving symptoms of hayfever.¹

The major reason that I've chosen the globe artichoke is for its fiber, which can help to keep you feeling fuller for longer. For a 120 gram serving of this vegetable, you will be serving yourself 10 grams of fiber - compare this with a 138 gram serving of baked potato which only offers your body 3 grams of fiber. You'll also consume 128 calories into the bargain if you eat the baked potato, but only consume 64 calories if you eat the 120 gram serving of the globe artichoke. See what I mean - that's tripling the amount of fiber you get while cutting your calories in half !²

Substitute Empty Calories For Those That Offer More Than Pure Energy

Example: Floral Honey

Low GI foods offer your body slow and sustained release of energy, so that again you don't feel tired and needing to eat half an hour after breakfast or lunch. If you have a sweet-tooth and don't want to give up sugar, floral honeys offer you a sustained source of energy.

You can go even further and substitute sugar with sources of fruit which contain a wide variety of anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals. For example, rockmelon or canteloupe will also supply you with 14% of your daily requirements for potassium. ³ Rockmelon or canteloupe offers an example of how natural foods contain the nutrients we need to keep ourselves healthy.

Design Your New Nutritional Plan and Leave The List of Fat Burning Foods alone !

Step 1: Determine your individual nutritional needs. If you need help doing this, find a health professional that can identify them for you.

Step 2: Write down in an exercise book everything that passes between your lips for 1 week (food, drink, vitamin supplements, cigarettes, alcohol). Write beside it how you felt at the time (tired, stressed, hungry, angry)

Step 3: Familiarise yourself with portion and serving sizes.

Step 4: Different countries will have differing information about healthy eating and different food pyramids. Generally an adult needs to be consuming:

6 - 11 servings of breads, grains, rice and pasta

2 - 4 servings of fruit

3 - 5 servings of vegetables

2 - 3 servings of meat, fish, eggs

2 - 4 servings of dairy

6 - 8 glasses of water/fluid a day

and fats/sweets should be eaten sparingly.

Use this as a guide, adjust it to your needs, e.g. you may have high cholesterol so you might want to limit the amount of eggs you eat. If you have serious medical conditions like this, you need to consult a health practitioner.

Step 5: Eat in moderation but eat a variety of foods within each food group. If you do this you'll get more nutrients out of your food. Remember how I was saying that canteloupe has 14% of your daily potassium requirements, well if you only eat this fruit, then you'll miss out on the soluble fiber in the apple that you passed up. So eat widely within each food group.

Step 6: Slowly implement your new dietary plan and use your food diary that you did earlier to substitute your old food habits with your new food habits one at a time. If you do this slowly, it won't seem like such a shock, you won't feel deprived and you will be giving yourself a better than average chance of developing good eating habits and not just 'going on a diet made up of a list of fat burning foods' that you saw on the internet.

O.K., so I'm done. Not everyone's going to agree with this. In fact, I can tell I'm going to get some hate mail. But I don't care. I'll stop now.

References

² Nutritiondata on Globe Artichokes

³ Nutritiondata on Canteloupe

⁵ Glycemicindex