Superfoods You Need to Build Muscle and Lose Fat.

In honor of the super intense workout I'm about to have, I wanted to share a couple articles with you on the best superfoods for fitness. It's hard as a female to stimulate muscle growth and lose fat, but it is ENTIRELY possible. You have to eat the right foods in the right way. You don't have to eat a bunch of bland chicken and cardboard carbs either. Just pack your diet full of these superfoods, balance them out properly, eat often, and your metabolism will turn into a machine. 

 

The magazine I'm reading right now. About to bust out a kettlebell butt workout. 

TOP 20 Superfoods for Muscle Building, Recovery, and Fat loss

1. Whole Eggs. Cheap & rich source of protein: 7g/egg. The yolk contains most nutrients: half the protein, vitamins A/D/E and cholesterol to naturally increase your testosterone levels.

Don't worry about cholesterol in eggs. Dietary cholesterol isn't bound to blood cholesterol. Read this, this, this & this. If you have bad cholesterol, lower your body fat rather than throwing the yolk away.


2. Fish Oil. Reduces inflammation (joints/skin), lowers body fat and increases testosterone levels. You need 9000mg EPA/DHA per day. Since you'll probably struggle to get that from eating fatty fish, consider a fish oil supplement.


3. Wild Salmon. One of the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids that also gets you 20g protein per 100g serving. Farm raised salmon is, however, omega-3 deficient: it's corn/grain fed. Go with wild salmon.


4. Berries. Strong antioxidants that prevent cancer, heart & eye diseases. Any kind works: cranberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, etc. Buy fresh or frozen berries and mix with oatmeal.


5. Yogurt. Contain bacteria that improve your gastrointestinal health. Don't buy frozen yogurt or yogurt with added sugar and fruits at the bottom. Get plain low fat yogurt. Eat it with berries & flax seeds.


6. Flax Seeds. Source of fiber, protein & omega-3. Grind the flax seeds to get the most out of them. Take 1 tbsp with yogurt & berries before going to bed. Stay away from flax oil: it's unstable and contains no fiber.


7. Extra Virgin Olive Oil. 70% monounsaturated fats that protect against heart diseases and cancer. Add 1-2 tbsp olive oil to your salads. Buy Extra Virgin Olive Oil: it contains more polyphenols and tastes better.


8. Mixed Nuts. Contain mono- & polyunsaturated fats, proteins, fiber, vitamin E, zinc, potassium, magnesium, etc. Mixed nuts are caloric dense, great if you're askinny guy who wants to gain weight.

Anything works: almonds, walnuts, cashews, hazelnuts, ... Peanut butter also works as long as you buy natural peanut butter without added salts/sugars.


9. Red Meat. Protein, vitamin B12, heme iron, zinc, creatine, carnosine and even omega-3 if you eat grass-fed beef. Eat steaks & hamburgers from top round or sirloin. Read Dr. Lonnie Lowery's article on Meat.


10. Broccoli. High in cancer-fighting phytochemicals and anti-estrogenic indoles. Broccoli is also high in soluble fiber and low calorie, helping fat loss. Eat othercruciferous vegetables for a change: cabbage, bok choy, cauliflower, kale, ...


11. Spinach. One of the most alkaline foods. Spinach prevents muscle & bone loss, but also cancer and heart diseases because of its high nutrient profile. Try one of the spinach recipes I shared a while back.


12. Turkey. If you don't believe saturated fat is good for you, try white turkey. The leanest beef has about 4.5g saturated fat/100g, while white turkey has close to 0g (that why it's so dry). Eat turkey with spinach & quinoa.


13. Quinoa. South American "king of grains". Quinoa is higher in fiber & protein than rice or oats, tastes a lot better and is gluten free. Buy the whiter grain, it's better quality. Eat it post workout with meat & spinach.


14. Oats. Reduce cholesterol, provide you with low-gi carbs for energy, and high in soluble fiber. Try this post workout shake of whey & oats.


15. Tomatoes. High in lycopene, which prevents cancer. The lycopene in tomato paste is 4 times more bioavailable than in fresh tomatoes. Have pizza or pasta with tomato sauce & olive oil post strength training.


16. Oranges. Vitamin C to fight diseases, magnesium to lower blood pressure, anti-oxidant beta-carotenes, etc. Quit drinking processed orange juice which often has added sugars. Eat oranges or make your own orange juice.


17. Apples. Pectin in apples helps weight loss by increasing satiety. Apples are also the strongest antioxidiant after cranberries (eat the peels). Unfortunately apples are one of the most pesticide-contaminated fruits. Go organic.


18. Carrots. Their huge vitamin A content improves eye-health, especially night vision. Carrots are also rich in fiber, low calorie and taste good, even raw.


19. Water. Your body holds water if you don't drink enough. Drinking prevents water retention, helps muscle recovery and prevents dehydration from strength training. Get a brita filter and drink 2 cups of water with each meal.


20. Green Tea. Strong antioxidant and natural diuretic. Green tea also speeds up fat loss, prevents cancer and improves blood sugar & circulation. Drink green tea in the morning instead of coffee. Real green tea, not the teabags.


Putting it All Together. Eat proteins, veggies, fruits & fats every 3 hours. 2 cups water with each meal. Carbs post workout only. Junk food 10% of the time. Get stronger in the meanwhile and you'll build muscle & lose fat.




The following list is a little bit different but has great essentials too!

The 15 Best Fat-Burning Foods

Stock your fridge and pantry with these fat-burning essentials

1. WALNUTS All nuts do contain some amount of the omega-3 fat alpha-linolenic acid, but most only contain trace amounts. The real fat hero in most nuts is monounsaturated fats Walnuts are actually a rich source of omega-3s. One ounce provides almost 3 g of alpha-linolenic acid.

2. GINGER Used for centuries to help relieve digestive upset/disturbances, ginger can also help reduce inflammation, boost blood flow to muscles and aid muscle recovery It has also has been shown to boost calorie burn when eaten.

3. OATMEAL This very slow-digesting carb keeps blood sugar and insulin levels low, so fat burning can stay high. In fact, research has shown that athletes who consume slow-digesting carbs in the morning burn more fat throughout the entire day and during workouts than those consuming fast-digesting carbs.

4. AVOCADO The monounsaturated fats found in avocados are burned readily for fuel during exercise and actually encourage fat burning. Avocados also contain a very interesting carb called mannoheptulose, a sugar that. actually blunts insulin release and enhances calcium absorption, both of which are critical for encouraging fat loss.

5. SALMON This fish is one of the richest sources of the omega-3 essential fats EPA and DHA. Unlike flaxseeds, which provide a type of omega-3 that has to be converted into EPA and DHA, salmon provides your body a direct supply of them with no conversion required. This way you know you're getting a direct supply of the fats that turn on fat burning and block fat storage.

6. SOYBEANS (EDAMAME) Soybeans are the direct origin of soy protein, which has been shown to build muscle as efficiently as other forms of protein like whey and beef. Soy has also been shown to aid fat loss, possibly by decreasing appetite and calorieintake.

7. WATER This just may be your best ally in fighting body fat Studies have shown that drinking 2 cups of cold water can boost metabolic rate by 30%. It has been estimated that drinking about 2 cups of cold water before breakfast, lunch and dinner every day for a year can burn 17,400 extra calories, which translates into a little more than 5 pounds of bodyfat!

8. FLAXSEEDS They contain the essential omega-3 fatty acid alpha linolenic acid. These omega-3 fats have been found to turn on genes that stimulate fat burning and turn off genes that increase fat storage.

9. GRAPEFRUIT A study from the Scripps Clinic (San Diego, California) reported that subjects eating half of a grapefruit or drinking 8 oz of grapefruit juice three times a day while maintaining their normal diet lost an average of 4 pounds over 12 weeks--and some lost more than 10 pounds without even dieting! Results were likely due to grapefruit's ability to reduce insulin levels and to a chemical in grapefruit known as naringin, which prevents fat from being stored in the body.

10. HONEY Yes, it's a sugar, but it's fairly low on the glycemic index. Keeping insulin levels low and steady is critical for maintaining a fat-burning environment in your body Honey is also a rich source of nitric oxide (NO) metabolites; ultimately that means it actually encourages fat release from the body's fat cells.

11. PEANUT BUTTER Another source of helpful monounsaturated fat that can actually aid fat loss. What's funny is that many food manufacturers make low-fat peanut butters! Of course, they replace these healthy monounsaturated fats with carbs, namely sugar. Avoid these and stick with natural peanut butters that don't add the type of fat you surely want to avoid--trans fats.

12. EGGS Yes, we listed eggs in the muscle-building foods. So how can it also be a fat-burning food? Research supports the notion that those who start their day with eggs not only eat fewer calories throughout the day but also lose significantly more bodyfat.

13.CHILI PEPPER FLAKES Hot peppers contain the active ingredient capsaicin, a chemical that can enhance calorie burning at rest as well as reduce hunger and food intake. The boost in calorie burn is particularly enhanced when capsaicin is used withcaffeine.

14. BROCCOLI This fibrous carb doesn't provide many net carbs or calories, but it can make you feel full--one reason why it's a great food for getting lean. Broccoli also contains phytochemicals that can help enhance fat loss

15. OLIVE OIL Like avocados, olive oil is a great source of monounsaturated fats. Not only do they lower levels of the "bad" type of cholesterol and improve cardiovascular health, but they're also more likely to be burned as fuel, which means they're less likely to be sticking around your midsection.