Today I want to share another classic fat burner. No, no, not fat burner supplement pills – those things are worthless! Total rip off! I completely debunked and destroyed the fat burner supplement myth in a previous blog. If you missed it, check it out here: www.burnthefatblog.com/fat-burners-dont-work. Today what I’m talking about is classic “fat burning” recipes
One of my friends from the gym was busting my chops the other day when he saw I used the phrase, “fat burning recipe” in the title of my free cookbook (download my free fat burning cookbook here).
He said, “You know there’s no such thing as a fat burning recipe don’t you Tom? Foods don’t burn fat and neither do recipes. You’re putting calories into your body, not taking them out.”
I saw where he was going with this and chuckled. Half of me had to agree (but only half because I have my own meaning for “fat burning recipe”).
I’m not referring to the idea that certain foods contain compounds that are thermogenic (boosting metabolism). For example, chili pepper (capsaicin) is often seen on “fat burning food” lists.
Researchers say there really is thermogenic activity in hot peppers. I mean think about it. You eat them and it makes you sweat, right? And I know supplement shysters put capsaicin in fat burner pills. But the truth is, even in supplement form, the effect is miniscule – it doesn’t move the fat loss needle over time.
It’s the same thing with green tea. Technically it’s also thermogenic (so is caffeine). But I’d never call it a good fat burner. Research on tea looked intriguing back in the 2000s, but long-term results never panned out. To this day, there are still tons of ads for “fat burning teas” (or tea extract pills)… if you see them, hold on to your wallet and run for cover!
A great study exposing the truth about fat burner supplements was published by James Clark and Sarah Welch (pubmed 33427571).
This scientific review confirmed that a few studies and many anecdotes reported measurable weight loss. What that means is that if you were intellectually dishonest, you could “cherry pick” a study that appears to suggest that certain fat burners actually work.
But these researchers didn’t stop at one study. They examined 21 of them and reported that after pooling the results, the benefit of fat burners was somewhere between nil and trivial.
They added:
“We must also draw attention to the ever-growing reports of adverse effects and negative outcomes from the use of purported fat burner supplements. This list of adverse outcomes includes Rhabdomyolysis, ischemic stroke, and sudden cardiac death stemming from using these supplements in conjunction with diet and exercise.”
Ok, some risk of stroke and death for a possible trivial fat burning benefit. But I digress…
Sometimes on these “fat burning food” lists you see things like celery listed. In this case the claim might be that it’s a negative calorie food and it costs more calories to digest than are in it.
That’s not quite accurate either. If you subtract the value of the fiber, then for sure it’s about as close to zero calories as you can get, but that’s celery for you – no thermogenic magic, simply a lot of water and hardly any calories.
It would be hard to overeat celery, or cucumbers, bell peppers, asparagus, cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, onion, tomato, spinach, lettuce, and well, you get the idea. They’re fibrous carbs.
That’s a little closer to what I mean when I use the term, “fat burning recipes.”
I’m talking about the fact that fibrous carbs contain very few calories for a high volume of food. So a simple fat burning recipe trick is to increase the fibrous carbs (veggies). That’s perfect for fat loss.
Conversely, during a fat loss phase, I decrease starchy carbs. So while foods like brown rice and potatoes are healthy, all-natural, and unprocessed, I use less of them in fat burning recipes to decrease calorie density.
Same with noodles or pasta. Instead of a big bowl of noodles with a few token vegetables, the ultimate “fat burning recipe” hack is to make it more like a big bowl of vegetables with a modest portion of noodles.
Another important feature of fat burning recipes is to use very lean protein and plenty of it. Protein has the highest thermic effect for any macro, and extra lean sources are widely available. The ground beef in the recipe I share below is 96% lean.
[TIP: Readers complain to me that their grocery store doesn’t have 96% lean, only 90% to 93% lean at most. Try Wal Mart. I’ve never been to their meat department and not seen 96% fat free ground beef available.]
The last step is to minimize fats and oils including in sauces. They call me “2 teaspoon Tom.” I can get away with 1 tsp or even no oil in some recipes. (Did you know that you can stir fry with minimal oil or even no oil? It’s true. You simply need a small amount of liquid in the bottom of the wok. You can use broth or water instead).
Some fat is important for good health, but you don’t need a lot.
By the way, there are many sauces with almost no calories. (G Hughes BBQ and Kinder’s Teriyaki are the bomb, with only 5 calories per Tbsp. You’re welcome).
With simple ingredient tweaks like these, you get a generous serving size that fills you up and instead of 600 calories you might get in a traditional recipe, you get less than 400 calories in the modified “fat burning” recipe.
In some cases, we can cut the calories in half. I’m not kidding. Many of our Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle recipes only have 300 to 350 calories per portion but they fill you up and they’re delicious.
So, if you hear me talk about “fat burning recipes” in the future, and you will, now you know what I mean. We’re simply reducing calorie density while increasing food volume.
And with that, here’s today’s fat burning recipe:
==> Tom Venuto’s Lean Beefy Rice Meal Prep <==
If you would like to get instant access to more than 350 fat-burning recipes, join us in the Burn the Fat Inner Circle members-only area:
==> Click here to learn more about Burn The Fat Inner Circle <==
Until next time…
Train hard and expect success!
-Tom Venuto,
Author of Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle
Founder of Burn the Fat Inner Circle
About Tom Venuto, The No-BS Fat Loss Coach
Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilding and fat loss expert. He is also a recipe creator specializing in fat-burning, muscle-building cooking. Tom is a former competitive bodybuilder and today works as a full-time fitness coach, writer, blogger, and author. In his spare time, he is an avid outdoor enthusiast and backpacker. His book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle is an international bestseller, first as an ebook and now as a hardcover and audiobook. The Body Fat Solution, Tom’s book about emotional eating and long-term weight maintenance, was an Oprah Magazine and Men’s Fitness Magazine pick. Tom is also the founder of Burn The Fat Inner Circle – a fitness support community with over 52,000 members worldwide since 2006. Click here for membership details
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