With so much conflicting information available on the internet these days, it's no surprise people are confused more than ever with what to eat, when to eat, and why to eat certain foods to lose fat. Find out the best and worst foods to rid belly fat for good, along with my 3-step recommended strategy for better fat burning nutrition.
How essential is one's nutrition for getting a lean stomach?
Nutrition is absolutely, 100 percent essential. It is the most important component of having a flat stomach, lean sexy abs.
Does the source of calories dictate from what part of the body we lose the fat?
I'm not familiar with any research that suggests it does. I do know what determines where you have body fat is mostly due to genetics - Men tend to have it in the abdominal area, while women tend to have stubborn fat on their legs.
This explains why a women can be about 16 percent body fat and achieve some abdominal definition, whereas a man at 16 percent body fat would have way too much fat over his abs, so he has to be down at least under 12 percent.
I recently spoke with Dr. Chris Mohr and surprisingly he recommended people seeking to lose fat consume 1,500 calories. He said that number applies to both men and women, so that was very interesting.
He then added his number one diet secret...
...consume 90 percent of your carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables when trying to lose fat.
This will keep you full and give you lots of mental energy that won't cause you to be tired or anything.
Although the calories are a little bit lower than I expected, especially for men - 1,500 for women sounds good, but 1,800 is what I thought it would be for men. But, that's what he recommends and that's his number one diet secret.
What are the best and worst foods to eat to get rid of belly fat?
The best foods to eat are simple, fiber rich, one ingredient foods. So, your fat loss foundation is fruits, vegetables, and raw nuts.
In my opinion, from there you can go in almost any direction you want because you've gotten most of your calories from those basics. If you want to add meat to your diet, you can add meat to your diet. If you want to add dairy to your diet you can add dairy to your diet. If you want to add grains to your diet you can add grains diet.
Afterward, if you're still not getting rid of the belly fat, then try the elimination diet. So, try going without dairy, without wheat, maybe even try going without certain types of meat, maybe red meat. Just find out what works for you.
It's pretty simple what foods work and then it's very simple what foods don't work, and those are clearly alcohol, soda, processed foods, fried foods, everything that's superbly awesomely tasty to a frat boy shouldn't be in your diet on a regular basis.
My friend, Joel Marion is very liberal when it comes to foods you can eat on cheat days, as is Brad Pilon with what he eats because of his fasting days. However, Isabel is a little stricter.
So, you've got three approaches to eating to lose belly fat;
You've got mine - Simple Nutrition, which is trying to be as simple as possible with the foods you eat, yet as healthy as possible.
You've got Mike Geary's Fat Burning Kitchen, which is a little bit more like Isabel Del Rios' Diet Solution, a little bit stricter, a little more holistic.
Then you have Kardina's Easy Veggie Meal Plans, which obviously is for those interested in vegetarian nutrition.
Just find the right person there. Or as I like to call it...getting the people in the right seats on the bus, because everybody's got a different perspective on the world, everyone likes a different type of person.
I think you can find a nutrition leader and a nutrition diet that works for your personality and your schedule and it's going to make you happy.
3-Step Strategy for Better Fat-Burning Nutrition
I also want to share my three step strategy for getting better fat burning nutrition.
First of all, you need to find out how much you're eating and what you're eating right now. You can do this by using a food journal, such as FitDay.com and find out the approximate number of daily calories you're consuming.
Just write everything down and make sure that you're not missing stuff in your mental thoughts ie "I only ate 1,800 calories," but when you write everything down you forgot a big cookie that you might have had that increased your calorie intake by 300.
Second, after you've determined how many calories you consume on a regular basis, go back to the number one diet rule from Dr. Chris Mohr - eat 90 percent of your carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables.
By doing just that, and then adding raw nuts and removing processed foods and a few of the grains, while making sure you're not consuming a lot of extra fat, you will find you're more full and more satisfied with fewer calories.
Third, if you're still not burning fat, then re-do your calorie level to see how many calories you're consuming with this higher quality diet, and then reduce that by 10 to 20 percent, or maybe just go down to the 1,500 calories Dr. Chris Mohr recommended.
So those are the recommendations, but in my opinion, quality is first and foremost.
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Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health and Oxygen magazines and will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment.
Discover more fat loss nutrition to help you lose belly fat, and build ripped six pack abs in less time than ever before.
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