Most of us want and expect to burn fat while we’re building muscle, but the truth is — it doesn’t always happen that way. That’s because the food you eat plays a vital part in the process. That’s exactly why it’s essential to focus your diet on the best foods for burning fat and building muscle at the same time.
The first thing to remember is that you are not on a weight loss diet. You won’t need to starve yourself to reach your goals. However, there’s a good chance you will need to change some eating habits.
This is by far the best method I’ve ever used for changing eating habits. Even though it says to lose weight, it’s about how to stop eating junk food and other unhealthy foods.
You can forget burning fat if you’re eating junk foods, sugar, too many processed foods, soft drinks, and anything made with white flour. A lot of people think it’s ok to eat whatever they want after a workout, but it will hinder your fat burning efforts for sure.
You’ll need to focus on protein (mostly from natural sources instead of supplements), fiber rich foods, and fresh or frozen vegetables and fruits. Healthy nutrition is the key. Here’s an article on how to gain muscle without getting fat.
10 Best Foods for Burning Fat and Building Muscle
I’m going to talk about something that you may not be aware of:
The vital role testosterone plays in men when it comes to losing weight, building muscle, and maintaining the best health.
Testosterone is known to be essential when it comes to building muscle and losing fat. The more lean muscle you have, the easier it is to control weight and stay energized.
It’s possible to increase testosterone levels with no evident increase in your strength. You will avoid that scenario as you use use muscle building tactics while consuming the foods in the following list.
Here are the 10 best foods for burning fat and building muscle while boosting testosterone levels.
1. Beef
Beef is primary, but it must be lean beef with low fat content. Lean beef provides a small amount of essential saturated fat along with the protein and zinc needed to build muscle and burn fat.
2. Chicken & Turkey
Chicken and turkey breast are often considered the main source of protein for gaining muscle. A 3 oz breast can provide 26 grams of protein along with niacin and B6. That makes it ideal for reducing fat mass, and the protein is vital to building mass.
3. Eggs
A primary building block of testosterone is cholesterol, and eggs have a high content level cholesterol. Eggs are low calorie and nutrient rich making them one of the best foods for burning fat and building muscle. According to this article at Mayo Clinic, you don’t need to worry about eating the cholesterol in eggs, either.
4. Beans
Zinc increases testosterone, and beans have a very high level of this hormone. But, that’s not the only benefit of beans when it comes to muscle and burning fat. Beans are extremely high in fiber and the protein you need for muscle growth.
5. Broccoli
Broccoli is quite rich in protein with high levels of fiber. You know by now that protein is a building block of muscle and fiber is important to maintaining a healthy weight. Broccoli is also rich in Indole-3 Carbinol which is responsible for indirectly elevating testosterone levels.
6. Cabbage
The lowly cabbage head is another vegetable that you should include in your regular diet. Like all green vegetables, it’s high in fiber and include a high content of Indole-3 Carbinol.
7. Brussel Sprouts
No matter what you think about brussel sprouts, you should definitely be eating them (fresh when possible frozen other wise). They are another vegetable loaded with indole-3 Carbinol that is shown to decrease estrogen (a female hormone) in men by as much as 50%.
8. Garlic
Garlic is another leading food for staying healthy, increasing T levels, and building muscle. In fact, garlic has Allicin in it which boost testosterone and decreases cortisol which can inhibit the production of testosterone.
9. Cottage Cheese
Cottage cheese is one of the best foods for burning fat and building muscle simultaneously because few foods have as much protein and little fat. Cottage cheese has less fat and more protein than red meat when you choose the low fat option.
10. Oysters
Oysters are full of protein, zinc, and magnesium. They have long been considered an aphrodisiac due to the effect they have on your testosterone levels.
More must have nutritious foods to include in your diet:
- Fish oil
- Virgin olive oil
- Red pepper
Fish oil and olive oil can aid in reducing the fats and cholesterol in your body. Both of these can help increase testosterone and protect you from heart disease, among other health benefits.
Summary
There it is, the best foods for burning fat and building muscle. Why are the best foods? Because they are the foods that naturally boost testosterone levels. These 10 super healthy foods are all the backbone of any healthy fat burning and weight loss regime.
However, you will never increase your muscle mass without workouts aimed at building muscle.
So, forget all the fad diets and tricks, and incorporate these foods into your diet and lifestyle along with a good resistance training program. Your training and these 10 best foods for burning fat and building muscles will turn up the results of your workouts.