Eating to Burn!

What's a smart way to eat if you're looking to lose weight? That's right... replace high glycemic carbs (like breads, pastas, sweets, and so on) with high fiber fruits and vegetables. That's one important strategy. Here's another...

Increase your protein intake. Recent studies have indicated that high-protein meals actually raise post-meal thermogenisis (fat burning) and resting energy expenditure (Source: Journal of American College of Nutrition, 21(1):55-61, 2002). Secondly, it requires 25-30% of the caloric value of any protein source to be digested and utilized by the body. So a 400 calorie protein-based meal would only add 275-300 calories to your daily caloric intake. The remainder of those calories would be required for processing. For carbs, only 6-8% of calories is required for processing, and for fats, it's only 2-3%.

So what are good sources of protein? Good question! Lean sources of beef, pork, turkey, chicken, fish, and even some dairy sources are fantastic sources of high quality protein (for more on sources of lean proteins and even data for individual cuts, please click here!)

For individuals "on the run", high quality whey proteins and meal replacements may be the answer (click here for more on these supplements).

Bottom line? However you want to do it, adding protein-rich foods to your diet is a great weight loss strategy for anybody!