Doctor Reveals What You Should Eat Every Day For Fat Loss And Health.

Ask Your Doctor for this Forgotten Fat Burner

Dear Health Conscious Reader,

In two words I’ll show you how to burn fat, build muscle and put an end to overeating.

More protein.

Protein gives you the feeling that you’re full, more so than carbs or fat. Protein boosts your sensitivity to a hormone called leptin. This hormone tells your brain that you’re full. As a result, you feel satisfied. Overeating stops.

Protein is important for both losing weight and gaining muscle. A very revealing study makes a point I always try to get across to my patients: People who increased their protein intake, lost fat and gained muscle.¹

In fact, the people who ate a high-protein diet lost seven pounds in six weeks. The group who followed a standard diet didn’t lose any weight. And, the high-protein group simultaneously gained twice as much muscle.

Here’s the good news… Foods that are protein rich are the best tasting. Meat and eggs are your best sources. If possible, eat grass-fed beef. The flavor is great and it’s far better for you because it has the right kinds of fats. If you eat commercial beef, find lean cuts or trim the fat yourself.

* The perfect food? *

Eggs are the perfect food. I eat them everyday. They are the “gold standard” by which we rate all other protein. This means that all of the amino acids are there in the ratios you need in one place. For best results, eat eggs that come from free-range chickens.

Health “experts” usually recommend 50 to 60 grams of protein a day. But Americans in general eat far too little protein. To reduce your appetite – and lose weight – try one gram of protein for every pound of lean muscle.

If you weigh 180 pounds, and have 20 percent body fat, you have 144 pounds of lean muscle mass. So shoot for 144 grams of protein a day. If you don’t know your body fat percentage, the average man can estimate between 15 to 18 percent and women 18 to 22 percent.

If you’re not getting enough protein, supplementing with protein powder can help. A protein shake especially after working out is a reliable way to boost your protein intake. Make sure the powder is pure protein. It should have no more than a few grams of carbs.

Eat Like a Pig And Still Lose Weight?

At about the same time I was becoming more perplexed over why patients weren’t responding to restricting calories. I encountered a patient at the opposite extreme. We’ll call him S.T.

S. T. also weighed 170, the same as the young lady from your last letter. But S.T. wanted to gained weight. He had been told to put on more muscle he had to eat more protein. When this didn’t work, he added more protein. He continued until he came to see me, frustrated. He said, “Doc I’m up to eating like a pig 6 times a day. I’m stuffed all the time and I can’t gain a pound”

When I asked for a log of his food, I could hardly believe it. He ate a dozen egg whites a day. He ate 24 ounces of steak at a time, sometimes twice a day. He drank a 40 oz protein shake twice a day. In between meals, he would scarf down 36 oz of canned tuna and frequent pure protein snacks.

When I totaled the calories, he ate from 4500 and 5000 calories a day for the previous 12 weeks and his weight had gone down 6 pounds.

The answer must be in his exercise. But he said, “No Doc, I’m doing very little. I go to the gym 3 times a week but I do no cardio and I’m out of there in 20 minutes. I don’t want to burn the calories.”

Then it must be the difference in the rate these two individuals burn calories at rest or Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). But to account for this dramatic a difference the BMR would have to vary by more than 500%. The problem is, research has shown only marginal variation in BMR nowhere near that magnitude. Clearly, something else was at play.

* The Answer Was Staring Me in the Face *

What S.T. had done was discover by accident the most important principal of healthy weight loss. To make weight loss relatively easy and healthy you must over consume protein.

I mean you must eat more protein than your body is going to use. Why do this? Because this is what throws the metabolic switch. It tells your body that times are good. When times are good, it doesn’t need the stored fat. It can now burn it for other things.

I know that this is true from hundreds of patients that have proved it through their own results. If you want healthy weight loss, eat more than you requirement for protein.

Why this is true, I can only speculate. I suspect that this is nature’s way of knowing that the hunting is good. If you are getting more protein than you need the game is plentiful, your food source is secure. What do you need a lot of body fat for if you will eat again tomorrow?

* How to Get More than Your Requirement of Protein *

I recommend that you normally eat at least a half a gram of protein per pound of body weight.

If you are trying to become leaner, you should increase that to one gram per pound of body weight. For instance, if you are a 180-pound man you should eat 180 grams of protein per day during the time you are trying to make yourself lean. Once your goal is achieved, you can decrease it back to 90 grams per day.

For all of you nutritionists out there – Please don’t write to tell me that this is more protein than you need. I know that. That’s the point, to consume more protein than you will use.

I prefer lean sources of protein like steak, turkey, chicken and, perhaps the best source of lean protein – fish.

This is the key to effective fat loss. Remember your body sets your body fat at where it wants it. It has mechanisms with considerable power to maintain it.

It can shut down building new muscle or bone. It can down regulate your immune surveillance to conserve calories. It can decrease your metabolic rate or turn off repair mechanisms. This capacity to vary and control all of these processes is the most important determinant of whether your body fat goes up, down or stays the same.

In other words, your body will lose the fat if you prove it doesn’t need it. But if you try to force it to lose weight when it thinks it needs the fat, it will fight you tooth and nail –and in the end, it will win.

Build Muscle AND Burn Fat — At The Same Time!

Men and women both ask me can they build muscle and at the same time burn fat. The answer is yes. It can be done but it’s not easy to do, and most people don’t know the secret.

Eating fewer carbs is key to getting lean. Yet, to gain muscle, your body needs more fuel than you usually get from a low-carb diet. But that doesn’t mean eating bread and pasta will get the results you want.

Today, I’ll show you how to get the best of both worlds. Get the muscle you want without the fat, heart disease, diabetes and poor health that comes from high carb foods.

* The Proof is in the Protein *

A very revealing new study shows a central point I always try to get across to my nutrition class at Barry University. People who ate a low-carb diet while raising their protein intake, lost fat andgained muscle.(1) In fact, the people who ate a low-carb, high-protein diet, lost seven pounds in six weeks. The group who followed a normal diet didn’t lose any weight. And, the high-protein group simultaneously gained twice as much muscle.

Protein is important for both losing weight and gaining muscle. Not only does it stimulate muscle growth, it can actually help your body burn fat. Protein creates an environment of abundance and good times in your body. You don’t need body fat if you will eat well again tomorrow. So, you will start to burn fat. A lack of protein does the opposite. It tells your body to store fat because your body fears famine.

Protein is your key to good health. Without it you’ll die. Carbs are a different story. Here’s something that might surprise you: your daily requirement of carbs is zero. You don’t need carbs at all. You can easily make carbs from fat or protein.

For years, the USDA’s food pyramid has been the model for the American diet. But by telling us to eat so many grains, carbs and starchy foods, we became the fattest nation on earth. The high carb diet causes problems with exercise too.

A recent study found that people eating high carb diets lowered the effectiveness of their exercise. When they started to lose weight, they lost muscle along with the fat. In some cases, muscle loss was as high as 30%.(2)

The same study revealed dramatic results for those on a protein rich diet. They lost more weight than the high carb dieters did. In addition, almost 100% of the weight they lost was pure fat. This means it’s a lot easier to lose that “spare tire” around your mid section. A high protein diet dramatically lowers your triglycerides as well. The combined effect is great for your heart.

* A Few Simple Tips for Getting More Protein*

The good news is: Foods that are protein rich are the best tasting. Meat and eggs are your best sources. If possible, eat grass-fed beef. The flavor is great and it’s far better for you because it has the right kinds of fats. When you eat commercial beef, find lean cuts or trim the fat yourself.

Eggs are the perfect food. I eat them everyday. They are the “Gold Standard” by which we rate all other protein. This means that all of the amino acids are there in the ratios you need in one place. For best results, eat eggs that come from free-range chickens.

If you’re not getting enough protein, supplementing with protein powder can help. A protein shake especially after working out is a reliable way to boost your protein intake. Make sure the powder is pure protein. It should have no more than a few grams of carbs.

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears, MD

(1) Phinney S. Ketogenic diets and physical performance. Nutrition & Metabolism. Aug 2004. 1:2

(2) Layman D, et al. Dietary Protein and Exercise Have Additive Effects on Body Composition during Weight Loss. J. Nutr. 135:1903-1910, August 2005