ERTU presents....

I recently got an email from someone who asked me for a list of what they called weight loss foods. I wasn't really sure what they meant at first, so I wrote back asking for a better description. They then explained that they wanted a list of foods that they could choose from to be a part of their weight loss diet. Sounds simple enough... so let's get to the list.

Wait...

Before you go looking over the list of weight loss foods, there is one very important diet fact you need to understand. Eating the right food is extremely important. You need protein, you need carbs, and you need fat. Making sure these nutrients come from the right food sources is very important. However, you need to realize that eating these so-called weight loss foods will not be what causes you to lose weight. It will definitely help, but eating "good" and "healthy" food alone is not what causes weight loss to happen.

As I've explained in other parts of this web site, the key to weight loss isn't just eating weight loss foods... it's making sure you take in less total calories than your body requires each day to maintain your current weight. For example, if you eat 3000 calories a day and this causes your weight to stay the same, you will lose weight by eating 2500 calories day. Got that? Good. If not, the weight loss and diet plans pages explain it in much more detail. Once you understand it completely and realize it's all about eating less total calories each day, the next step is making sure those calories come from good food sources...

Here now, separated by category (protein, carbs, fat) is a list of what can be described as weight loss foods. They are foods that contain things your diet needs, and nothing it doesn't.

High Protein Weight Loss Foods

As you should know by now, protein is an extremely important part of every diet. The following weight loss foods can be considered good high quality sources of protein.

- Chicken breast

- Tuna fish (and most other fish)

- Turkey

- Lean cuts of meat

- Egg whites

- Nuts

- Whey protein shakes

High Carb Weight Loss Foods

Despite all of the gimmick low carb diets around, you do actually need carbs in your diet. The key is to make sure most of these carbs are complex carbs rather than simple carbs. The following weight loss foods can be considered good sources of complex carbs.

- Oatmeal

- 100% whole wheat bread

- Whole wheat pasta

- Brown rice

- Yams

- Sweet potatoes

- Beans

- Fruits and vegetables

High Fat Weight Loss Foods

Don't be scared of fat. First of all, every diet needs fat. It is required by the body in order for it to function properly. Second, just like carbs there are both good types of fat and bad types of fat. The bad types are unhealthy and should be avoided completely. The good types however actually have positive health benefits and may even help assist your weight loss. The following weight loss foods can be considered good sources of healthy fat.

- Fish (salmon, mackerel, albacore tuna, sardines, etc.)

- Fish oil supplements

- Peanuts

- Walnuts (and most other nuts and seeds)

- Olive oil

- Avocados

- Flax seed oil

So, there's your list. Pick out your favorites and try to make sure your diet consists primarily of these types of weight loss foods. However, remember to make sure that they fit into your diet in such a way that you are eating the right number of calories that you need to eat each day for your body to lose weight. This combination is what makes weight loss happen.

Read our "Diet info.", and try to get rid of your "Fat Gene" with....

 

A lot of times people who workout complain that they aren't getting the results they want to be getting. The #1 cause of not being able to get your body to do what you want it to do is usually NOT your workout. Most, if not all of the time, it is due to your diet. So, sit back and get comfortable. There is a lot of information in this (free) 2 part article, but it will contain EVERY SINGLE THING you need to know about diets and nutrition so that an improper diet plan DOESN'T stop you from getting the results you want to get.

"Diet"

Before we can start talking about diets and diet plans, you must first understand what a diet REALLY is and what it REALLY means. See, people tend to use the phrase "I'm on a diet" when they want to tell people that they are trying to lose weight. People who do this are... well... stupid. A diet IS NOT weight loss. Diets are just simply what you eat on a regular basis. You could eat McDonald's cheeseburgers covered in ice cream 4 times a day, and you'd still be "on a diet." While eating like this would certainly be the worst of all diet plans, you get my point.

If someone said, "that monkey's diet consists of bananas," would that mean the monkey has a weight problem? No, it would just mean that the monkey eats bananas on a regular basis. Saying you're on a diet really just means you eat food. That's why I think it's funny when people state that they're "on a diet" and expect it to mean something it doesn't. "You're on a diet? Wow... congratulations... so is EVERY OTHER LIVING THING ON THE PLANET!!" These people should be saying that out of the many different diets and plans that exist, they're "on a weight loss diet." Hopefully these people are reading this right now, and hopefully they have learned their lesson. It's ok, we forgive you.

Diet Plans for Different Goals

Now, chances are you ended up here for one of the following reasons:

A) Your goal is weight loss and losing fat.
B) Your goal is weight gain and increasing muscle.
C) Your goal is to lose fat and increase muscle.

Which ever it is makes little difference at this point, because it all starts with your diet. You see, with the exception of a few small details, all diet plans are exactly the same. They all break down the same way. All diets consist of the same things. It's how you adjust those things that makes the difference between A, B and C. So, let's find out what exactly these "things" are.

Calories and Maintenance Levels

Now that you fully understand what diets are, let's break down what all diet plans consist of. Above all things, there are calories. All diets are made up of calories. Everything you eat and drink (besides obvious calorie-free things like water and celery, etc.) has calories in it. It's how many calories and exactly where those calories are coming from that effect your body and your weight.

The way the human body works is pretty simple. There is a certain number of calories that your body requires every day in order for it to maintain its current weight. I like to call this your "Maintenance Level" because, well, that's what it's actually called. If your diet plan is made up of less calories than this maintenance level, you will lose weight. If it's made up of more calories, you will gain weight. It's all really simple, actually.

If you just read that last paragraph you should feel good about yourself. Why? Because right now you already know more about diets and nutrition than at least 80% of the population. No, you're no genius yet. It's just that most people are clueless about the subject of "diet plans" and how to actually control their body and weight.

So now that you know that diets are made up of calories, you should be wondering what exactly calories are made up of. Basically, calories are made up of 3 things. Protein, carbs, and fat. Yeah yeah, I know. High protein diet!! Low carb diet!! Low fat diet!! Healthy fat!! Fat free!! Good carbs!! Bad carbs!! Those are probably the assortment of confusing things that enter your mind as soon as you hear the words protein, carbs and fat. It's ok though, relax. In a few minutes none of it will be confusing ever again. Let's take them one at a time.

Protein

Protein is an extremely important part of all diet plans. That's why you have most likely never heard of any low protein diets, and also why you probably HAVE heard of protein supplements. That's because your body needs protein, and lots of it. It is the building block of muscle. Protein is measured by the gram. 1 gram of protein is equal to 4 calories. So, if you are eating something that has 20 grams of protein in it, that means that whatever you are eating is at least 80 calories. In case you failed 2nd grade math, that was 20 grams of protein multiplied by 4 calories per gram... 20 x 4 = 80

Carbohydrates

Carbs (or "carbohydrates" for the people who don't mind typing 8 extra letters) is another of the three main elements that make up calories. I have a feeling that of the three, carbs are the most confusing for people creating diet plans. I think the reason for that is because everything you enjoy eating has carbs in it. Hell, everything you don't enjoy eating has carbs in it. Carbs are in almost everything and therefore seem to be the hardest for people to manipulate within a diet plan. Just like protein, 1 gram of carbs is equal to 4 calories. So, if you were eating something that had 20 grams of protein and 10 grams of carbs, you just ate at least 120 calories (20x4=80, 10x4=40, 80+40=120calories).

Fat

Unlike protein and carbs which are both 4 calories per gram, 1 gram of fat is equal to 9 calories. So if you eat something that has 10 grams of fat in it, you just ate at least 90 calories. This explains why high protein foods are usually low in calories, while foods high in fat are high in calories. This is also probably the reason why there are so many fat free foods and why people on diets think fat makes them fat. Guess what... it doesn't. That is a myth.

Fat does not make you fat. Eating too many calories makes you fat. It just so happens that a gram of fat has more calories in it than a gram of protein or carbs. However, the only thing that makes a person gain fat is when that person is eating more calories than their maintenance level, and then not burning them off through working out. Whether these excess calories in your diet plan are coming from protein, carbs or fat makes little difference.

Sometimes people on specific weight loss diet plans just try to eat less fat (or even fat free) and think that alone will work. What they don't realize is that they are probably replacing those fat calories with calories from protein or carbs. Yes their fat intake has become lower, but their calorie intake evens back out to what it was, if not more. And, since you now know that it is too much calories, NOT fat, that causes fat gain, the person's weight usually won't decrease.

Different Diets and Plans

So now that you know diets consist of calories, and calories consist of protein, carbs and fat, you should have just one final 4-part question. Exactly how much protein, how much fat, how many carbs and how many calories should you be eating each day in your own diet plan? It's hard to answer this because there are 100's of different diets out there whose "gimmicks" revolve around the answers to those questions.

Especially when it comes to weight loss fad diets. There's the low carb diet, the low fat diet, the high protein diet, the atkins diet, the south beach diet, the zone diet, weight watchers and too many others to even remember. While those diets have their place and some people like all of the gimmicky aspects of them, honestly... none are truly needed. If one seems ideal for you, then by all means, use it.

It’s hard to know what you’re supposed to eat, there are so many people claiming that they have the answers about your health and nutritional needs. This table will help you understand the Food Pyramid. The key with most of this: Don't eat anything WHITE: e.g. white rice, bread that is not made from 100% whole wheat, pasta that is not from whole wheat and NO white potatoes, chose yams instead or eliminate them completely.

As with vitamins, it can be difficult, to get the amounts of minerals needed for optimum health through diet alone. Mineral supplements can help you make sure you are getting all the minerals your body requires. Below is a list of essential minerals we recommend.

Calcium: Calcium is vital for the formation of strong bones and teeth and for the maintenance of healthy gums. It is also important in the maintenance of a regular heartbeat and the transmission of nerve impulses. Calcium lowers cholesterol levels and helps prevent cardiovascular disease. It may increase the rate of bone growth and bone mineral density and children. It may lower blood pressure and prevent bone loss associated with osteoporosis as well. RDA: 1000 mg. per day, 1500 mg. per day after menopause.

Magnesium: Magnesium assists in calcium and potassium uptake. Supplementing the diet with magnesium can help prevent depression, dizziness, muscle weakness and twitching, and premenstrual syndrome, and also aids in maintaining the body’s proper pH balance. Recommended amount: 750 mg. per day. Potassium Role: This mineral is important for a healthy nervous system and a regular heart rhythm. It helps prevent stroke, aids in proper muscle contraction and works with sodium to control the body’s water balance.

Selenium: Selenium’s primary function is to prohibit the oxidation of lipids (fats). A vital antioxidant, especially when combined with vitamin E. It protects the immune system by preventing the formation of free radicals, which can damage the body. It has also been found to function as a preventive against the formation of certain types of tumors. Selenium and vitamin E act synergistically to aid in the production of antibodies and to help maintain a healthy heart and liver. This trace element is needed for pancreatic function and tissue elasticity. Recommended amount: 200 mcg. (Micrograms) per day

Potassium: Important for chemical reactions within the cells and aids in maintaining stable blood pressure. Recommended amount: 50 mg. per day

Iron: Perhaps the most important of irons functions in the body is the production of hemoglobin and myoglobin and the oxygenation of red blood cells. Iron is the mineral found in the largest amounts of the blood. It is essential for many enzymes, including catalase, and is important for growth. Iron is also required for a healthy immune system and for energy production. Recommended amount: 30 mg. per day (if you take a supplement, this can cause black-looking feces and constipation).

Zinc: Assists with digestion and metabolism. This important mineral may help prevent acne and regulate the activity of the oil glands. It promotes a healthy immune system and the healing of wounds. It protects the liver from chemical damage and is vital for bone formation. Recommended amount: 15-50 mg. per day. The above dosage recommendations vary from source to source. Taking these vitamins individually may be costly and time consuming. Look for a balanced vitamin preparation with which you are comfortable. Ask your pharmacist for recommendations.