Just about everyday people ask me, "Jamin, which foods do I need to eat to lose fat, get 6 pack abs, and improve my health?" When I ask these people what their diet consists of they usually enthusiastically name off a few "health foods" and various other things that are on my "do not eat list". They have no idea that the "health foods" they are eating are sabotaging their fat loss efforts and actually ruining their health.
While most people are generally aware that eating certain types of foods frequently can add to weight gain, they often do not realize that these same foods can also significantly increase their risk of developing degenerative diseases like arthritis, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and diabetes.
Now you may say, "But Jamin, there is a huge variety of food in the health food store. How will I ever know what to buy?"
Here is a good principle to live by when choosing healthier foods to eat. Think of foods that grow as living foods (not man made), and think of foods that do not grow as dead food (man made foods). Living foods will improve your health and dead foods will take away from your health.
Living Vs. Dead Foods
Now don't get me wrong, food is meant to be enjoyed. But certain foods can definitely take years off your life and cause you to get fatter. Don't live to eat, eat to live.
The consistent consumption of man-made foods wreaks havoc on the human body. Not only are these foods generally very toxic, but they are almost instantly stored as fat. Your body also views substances like bleaching agents, food additives, preservatives, and chemicals as foreign invaders and processing these foods puts an intense burden on your liver.
If your liver isn't functioning at its peak, your fat loss efforts will be in vain. Therefore, it is essential to avoid foods that put additional stress on the liver so that it can function properly and keep you healthy.
If the stress on your liver wasn't bad enough, these dead foods contain few, if any, nutrients, and if your diet contains too much of these food types you are at a high risk of being overfed, overweight, and undernourished.
So be sure to eat foods that are alive and unaltered by man. Your body can use the natural antioxidants, phytonutrients, fiber, vitamins, and minerals found in unaltered foods to keep you healthy as well as keep your body functioning at its peak.
Foods To Avoid
1 Processed Foods
These top my list of foods to avoid because not only will they make you fat, but they can cause a variety of deadly health problems. Processed foods contain no natural antioxidants, phytonutrients, fiber, vitamins, or minerals, and eating them puts a strain on your digestive system.
Processed foods are also usually very high in sugar, salt, food additives, and toxic fats. The human body was not designed to be able to fully process and digest this type of man-made food, so avoid processed foods at all costs for a healthy and lean body. Some examples of processed foods are white bread, breakfast cereal, chips, white rice, etc.
2 Toxic Fats
You don't have to go far these days to hear people talk about the dangers of trans fats and saturated fats. In case you have been on the moon for the past few years, I will share a few facts about these deadly fats. Trans fats are basically chemically altered fats and oils.
A few examples of foods laden with toxic fats are: snack bars, breakfast cereals, rolls, pastries, crackers, and many other packaged and processed foods. While grocery shopping, be sure to shop in the perimeters of the store because most of the garbage food is in the aisles.
3 Sugary Foods & Drinks
Let's face it, sugar tastes great, but eaten in excess it will make you fat and unhealthy. I call sugar the most powerful drug in the world because it has more addicts across the world than most other drugs combined!
Here's the thing: when you eat sugar, your body creates a cycle that constantly demands more and more sugar.
Not only that, but sugar also raises insulin levels! If you are not familiar with insulin, it is a very powerful hormone that tells your body to store fat.
Over time, if you continue to have sugary foods as a large part of your daily diet, your cells will become resistant to this over-production of insulin and you could end up with type 2 diabetes.
4 Processed Meats
Now I have to admit, I love a great deli sandwich or hot dog at a ball game, but buyer beware. Packaged meats and cold cuts contain nitrates and nitrites which many experts believe cause deadly cancers.
Processed meats also contain insanely high amounts of salt and saturated fats, which can lead to hypertension, high cholesterol, and heart disease.
If that wasn't bad enough, eating these foods is guaranteed to cause you to gain weight. So avoid foods like bacon, hot dogs, sausage, salami, bologna, and any other processed deli meat like the plague and cook your meat yourself.
5 White Flour
White bread and white flour products will make you fat. Plain and simple. Not only do they have no nutritional value, but they are converted to sugar by your body just as fast as cake and ice cream. Eating foods made with white or refined flour is a sure-fire way to add some quick pounds of blubber!
Here is a tip: Be sure to read all bread labels carefully because many clever food manufacturers try to disguise white bread as wheat bread by adding molasses to it so it looks darker. Don't fall for this trick!
6 Chemically-Laden Foods
Do you have any idea how many toxic chemicals are in our food supply? Do you realize that these toxins are keeping you fat and unhealthy?
If you are one of the millions of people across the planet eating processed foods, chances are you are also consuming bleaching agents, flavoring agents, chemical preservatives, texturizers, emulsifiers, as well as synthetic dyes.
If that isn't enough to gross you out, get this, most chemical food additives are made from coal, tar, or petroleum products! Most foods that are grown non-organically are likely tainted with harmful toxic chemicals, as well as herbicides and pesticides.
These toxins overwhelm the liver, increase your risk of disease, and can make you fat. If you value your health and want to be fit, steer clear of foods containing dangerous chemicals.
7 Artificial Sweeteners
If you are like the rest of us, you see food products everywhere in flashy boxes that read "Sugar Free" and you think, "Awesome, I can eat this and not gain weight." Not so fast my friend!
Most people don't realize that these fake sugars are bad for you because artificial sweeteners generally have zero calories, but artificial sweeteners will make you fat. How is this possible, you ask?
First, these fake sweeteners increase your appetite by sending false signals to the brain that sweet food is on the way. Your brain subsequently becomes confused when sweet food never arrives and so it never gives the signal that you are satisfied.
You will develop a nasty sweet tooth, and have sugar cravings throughout the day. Not what you want if your goal is to lose stubborn body fat!
The body typically sees artificial sweeteners as a foreign invader and treats it as such, thus overwhelming the liver with an intense workload.
Now, the liver is important because it filters and removes dangerous or unnecessary substances from the body, but when the liver is overwhelmed with toxins like artificial sweeteners it can no longer process the essential nutrients that your body needs to function at its peak.
An overworked liver can't properly break down fats so you will have a very tough time losing any weight at all if your liver is tired. If you want to lose fat, you need to keep your liver functioning at its peak.
Conclusion
Hopefully this article opened your eyes about the types of foods you need to avoid to keep your body, lean, healthy and strong for life.
So eliminate toxic, processed, man-made foods, fast foods, toxic fats, and sugar from your diet and you will live a long, healthy life. With intense training, you will also get the rock hard body and 6 pack abs you deserve in the process.