Foods That Feed Muscle And Starve Fat

BY Chef Murph October 24, 2017

Foods That Feed Muscle And Starve Fat:

by Chef Murph K.T.

Planning on embarking on a journey to lose weight and build lean muscle mass? Is there excess body fat you want to lose and lean muscle you want to gain?

To reach these goals it is important to live a healthy lifestyle, but, what does that mean exactly?

First, it means following a healthy diet filled with foods that support your goals. Second, it means to exercise regularly with heart pumping cardio workouts and muscle toning strength training exercises. In order to get a hard, lean, strong and healthy body, you must combine the two.

It is also crucial to understand the workings of metabolism, because it is going to be key in developing the right attitude to eating.

While some engage in drastic fad diets that center on starvation, this is never a good idea, nor will it will ever lead to permanent healthy weight management.

When the body is exposed to long periods of food shortage, it develops a so-called starvation response, which means that it learns to adapt and adjust your metabolism to save stored energy, first in your fat and then in your muscles.

Therefore, when you do eat it will automatically store that food in the body to save it for later. It is an emergency response that is meant to protect the body as it reacts to a lack of nutrients and energy that one gets from eating enough food every single day. Starvation, as such, actually proves to be counterproductive in attempt to burn fat and build lean muscle tone.

The best course of action lose weight is to eat! But, not just eat blindly!

Instead, it is critical to know which types of food effectively feed muscles and starve fat, so you achieve your goals of developing a lean, toned and strong body.

To guide you through, here are some foods you need to integrate in your diet:

Lean Proteins

Forget about deleting lean proteins from your daily meal plan, and make sure that you eat them first before any other food item on your plate.

Lean proteins such as chicken breast, turkey, salmon, trout, top round steak and egg whites should be your go-to lean protein sources.

Make sure you eat lean protein during every meal and it should be a larger portion than other foods like, carbs and fat.

To get maximum results, eat protein within 30 minutes after exercise so you are able to maximize your body’s ability to metabolize it.

Whole Grains

Get your carbs from whole grains, such as, quinoa, oatmeal, brown rice, yams, beans and barley.

Go ahead and eat breads and pasta, just make sure they are made with 100% whole wheat flour. You will need the carbohydrates supplied by these foods to give you energy, which, is something you need to build lean muscle mass.

Stay away from white starches, like, bread, rice and pasta, they are empty calories that pack on the pounds.

Raw Foods

It is a not-so-secret truth that food that is cooked or processed loses most of its nutritional value. This is why eating raw food does a great service to your body.

The more raw food you incorporate in your diet, the higher your chance of getting the nutrients that your body needs to burn fat and develop muscles.

Depriving your body of nutrients means you are increasing the toll on it to look for other quickly digested sources like those found in the blood, hence depleting energy and making you feel more hungry.

Eating raw food, such as, vegetables and fruits not only keeps your body’s nutritional level at its optimum, but, also makes you satisfied more easily.

Dark green leafy vegetables, such as, Kale, spinach, and lettuce, are some of the best options as they are high in fiber, which, keeps you full longer. And they are very low in calories so you can eat them in abundance.

Other great vegetables include, asparagus, broccoli, bell peppers, cucumber, mushrooms, onions, tomato and zucchini.

For fruits, it is advisable to stick with low sugar varieties, such as, apples, bananas, berries, cantaloupe, grapefruits, and kiwi.

Healthy Fats

Make it a habit to incorporate healthy, good fats, such as, those found in almonds, avocado, flaxseeds, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil and walnuts.

Healthy fats allow for the effective absorption of nutrients by the body, while monosaturated fats found abundantly in almonds and walnuts also help reduce belly fat.

Combining healthy fats with carbs in your diet will stabilize blood sugar levels, thus reducing hunger pangs caused by ebbs and flows in your blood sugar.

Low Or Non Fat Dairy Products

It is alright to eat dairy products, but, always go for the low or non-fat variety and eat them in moderation and definitely less than the share of proteins, carbohydrates, fiber and fat. Skim milk, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese and skim milk cheeses are good choices. 

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