20 FOODS THAT BOOST FAT LOSS

Stocking up your supermarket trolley or online shopping basket with these nutrient-dense foods will help you to trim your belly while enjoying a host of other health benefits.

01. COLD-BREW COFFEE
Coffee beans lose some of their antioxidants when they’re roasted. Plus the cold-brew variety contains a bigger hit of caffeine to give you increased energy and focus, allowing you to train harder for longer to ignite fat burning.

02. STEAK
Packed with protein to keep you fuller for longer, plus zinc and creatine to help increase testosterone levels and your performance in the gym, steak is the ultimate muscle-building and fat-burning food for red-meat lovers.

03. BLACK PEPPER
Add it to eggs, vegies and everything else – a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry showed that piperine, the stuff that gives pepper its pungency, can stop the formation of new fat cells.

04. SWEET POTATO
Many starchy root vegetables can radically elevate blood sugar levels, but sweet potato actually improves blood sugar regulation – even in people with type 2 diabetes – meaning you’re less likely to crave high-fat sugary foods later.

05. GREEN TEA
Green tea is picked earlier than black, so it retains more polyphenols and antioxidants. This means it can boost your metabolism – the rate at which you burn calories – which burns more body fat. It can also reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer, but possibly the best thing about green tea is that it tastes great without milk and sugar.

06. FIZZY WATER WITH LIME JUICE
Fizzy drinks are packed with flab-causing sugar, while diet versions contain artificial sweeteners that are associated with insulin spikes, leading to weight gain, and bone-weakening phosphorus. Instead, squeeze lime juice into fizzy water. The juice lowers your blood sugar response to other foods to discourage fat storage.

07. BRAZIL NUTS
These nuts, which actually come mostly from Bolivia, are high in the antioxidant vitamin E. This “mops up” the damaging free radicals caused by stress and exercise. Producing too many of these damages your cells and your body prioritises repairing them over other actions, specifically building muscle and burning fat.

08. PUMPKIN SEEDS
These are a great source of protein, zinc, magnesium and iron – all of which are vital to keeping your body using up fat stores around the clock. They also contain a wide variety of antioxidants, including forms of vitamin E found in few other foods. Grab a handful between meals to stay full and ripped.

09. TURKEY
So much more than a festive staple, turkey is a lean source of animal protein, which helps keep post-meal insulin levels within a desirable range by moving food at a steady pace through the digestive tract.

10. RED WINE
Beer is full of fattening carbs and white wine can be high in calories, but red wine, apart from its antioxidant benefits, has been shown to boost levels of testosterone by reducing the amount you excrete as waste, encouraging your body to make more muscle and burn more fat.

11. OLIVE OIL
There’s evidence that, as well as being packed with healthy monounsaturates, extra virgin olive oil can help process troublesome brown fat tissue, making it easier to shift.

12. PARMESAN
Although cottage is the cheese with the lowest fat content, Parmesan is the best source of both protein (to keep you full so you don’t overeat) and calcium. A high-calcium diet has been shown to increase fat oxidation, helping burn calories after a meal.

13. SALMON
Its high protein content keeps you feeling full, omega-3 fatty acids look after your heart and an abundance of selenium supports proper function of the thyroid gland in its regulation of metabolism.

14. ALMOND BUTTER
A great substitute for peanut butter, it’s high in healthy monounsaturated fats, magnesium and potassium and helps maintain muscle function, letting you push on through fatburning workouts.

15. GREEK YOGHURT
The body burns more calories digesting protein than carbs and since Greek yoghurt contains twice as much protein as other yoghurts, that means it’s twice as effective in helping you achieve your fat-loss goal.

16. DARK CHOCOLATE
If you’re going to indulge your sweet tooth, do it with some high-cocoa dark chocolate. The cocoa solids produce stearic acid, keeping you full for longer and reducing sugar cravings without an insulin spike. Look for 85 percent on the wrapper.

17. BLUEBERRIES
Bursting with antioxidants, blueberries are effective at combating the damaging effects caused by exercise, pollution and other toxins. Have a handful as a snack or put them in a smoothie to keep your body torching fat efficiently.

18. ROCKET
As well as being packed with filling fibre and a mere handful of calories, these leaves are jammed with B vitamins, which will help you release energy to fuel workouts – and with its peppery flavour, it’s much tastier than boring iceberg.

19. RASPBERRIES
Raspberries might make it easier to lose body fat. The idea behind the ketogenic diet is that metabolism in fat cells is increased by key phytonutrients and rheosmin – also known as raspberry ketone – is the one most supps are using.

20. BROCCOLI
Nature’s finest vegetable is fibrous and low in calories and it staves off excess oestrogen, helping you avoid the dreaded manboobs. Cook it in coconut oil for a delicious fatburning side that works with almost anything.

Published in "Australian Men's Fitness", September 2018, excerpts pp. 37-39. Digitized, adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.