The Fat burning dos and don’ts

Recently we caught up with Matt Lovell, a nutritional therapist and brand ambassador at Kinetica Sports to get the lowdown on natural fat burning foods.

Let’s start with the 5 worst foods for you to eat in order to lose fat. These foods actively promote fat gain by either being super easy to convert to fat or by disrupting a balancing mechanism which switches the hormonal machinery over to storage mode rather than burning mode.

Excess omega 6 fatty acid foods promote inflammation which can lead to fat storage and swelling of fat cells. Combining this with trans fats and insulin promoting foods and you can also get a rise in the number of fat cells. So fat cells increase in size and number… not good. Omega 6 rich foods include vegetable oils and anything fried in them, doughnuts, crisps, biscuits, cakes, pastries and excessive use of nuts, seeds and their oils.

Doughnuts combine the high levels of omega 6 heated fats along with sugar coating to round them off a treat. Why not just chub up properly and stuff your face with some French fries and a milkshake to boot?  The toxic combination of high salt, high sugar and high-fat foods disrupts brain chemistry for 2-3 days making you more likely to get fat and more likely to be lazy.

Pizza with the highly refined wheat content combines the fat promoting lethal effects of a pro-inflammatory gluten grain with saturated fats. Reduce the impact by buying thin base and adding loads of extra protein and vegetable toppings – spelt flour is also a better option.

Turn your attention now to stuff which helps you burn off fat and trim down the waistline. The first of these magic little gems is fish oil. The same fat which can trigger fat burning genes and shrink fat cells over time – nice. Why not try some CLA a designer fat which occurs naturally in grass-fed beef (yes they are supposed to eat grass not corn flakes to make them fatten up faster)…. CLA can be brought as a supplement or naturally increased as part of a shift to wild meats.

Green tea actually helps the body metabolise and burn fat. A nice side effect after you consider it’s multiple other health-enhancing benefits ranging from anti-cancer to better clarity of thought – according to some studies anyway.

In addition to green tea, a good whey protein supplement can help with body composition – making more muscle and less fat when combined with resistance exercise and a healthy overall intake. Its high cysteine levels help the body make a major anti-oxidant enzyme called glutathione.

Time to reconsider your lunch plans?