My Top 10

Anytime the topic of discussion in my newsletters has turned to my own personal grocery shopping list, there has always been a spike in interest.

It seems that many people are not only curious about what foods a trainer eats, but they also want to be taken by the hand and told exactly what foods to eat themselves while on fat-burning programs.

Of course, I can't tell you exactly what YOU should eat because I don't know your likes and dislikes, not to mention whether you have any intolerances or allergies.

What I CAN do is show you what I eat

I have put together four separate "top 10" lists of healthy foods to help you burn fat. Exact quantities and menus are not listed, just the individual foods.

I aim to get as many different varieties of fruits and vegetables as possible over the course of every week and there are a lot of substitutions made, so you are not seeing the full list of everything I eat, only what foods I eat most of the time.

I also want to point out that while I don't believe that extreme low carbs are necessary or most effective when you look at the long term, research has shown that there are some definite advantages to a low to moderate carb and higher protein diet for fat loss purposes.

These include reduced appetite, higher thermic effect of food and "automatic"
calorie control.

I try to keep the green and fibrous veggie intake very high however, along with large amounts of lean protein, small amounts of fruit, and adequate amounts of essential fats ("LEAN, GREEN and MARINE!")

This list reflects my personal preferences, so this is not a prescription to all readers to eat as I do. It's very important for compliance to choose foods you enjoy and to have the option for a wide variety of choices.

In the past several years, nutrition and obesity research - in studying ALL types of diets - has continued to conclude that almost any hypocaloric diet that is not completely "moronic" can work, at least in the short term.

It's not so much about the high carb - low carb argument or any other debate as much as it is about calorie control and compliance. The trouble is, restricted diets and staying in a calorie deficit is difficult, so most people can't stick with any program and they fall off the wagon, whichever wagon that may be.

I believe that a lot of our attention needs to shift away from pointless debates (for example, low carb vs. high carb is getting really old... so like... get over it everyone, its a calorie deficit that makes you lose weight, not the amount of carbs).

Instead, our focus should shift towards these questions:

* How can we build an eating program that we can actually enjoy while still
getting us leaner and healthier?

* How can we build an eating program that helps us control calories automatically?

* How can we build an eating program that improves compliance?

Here are the lists of foods I choose to achieve these three outcomes. This eating plan is not difficult to stick with at all, by the way. I enjoy eating like this and it feels almost weird not to eat like this after doing it for so long.

Remember, habits work in both directions, and as motivational speaker Jim Rohn has said, "Bad habits are easy to form and hard to live with and good habits are hard to form but easy to live with."

These are listed in the order I frequently consume them. So for example, if oatmeal is on the top of the list, it means that is the food I am most likely to eat every single day.

My 10 top natural starchy carb and whole grains

1. Oatmeal (old fashioned porridge)
2. Sweet Potatoes
3. Brown rice (my favourite is basmati)
4. Quinoa
5. Multi grain hot cereal (I get this from the health food shop – it’s a mixture of oats, seeds, and various grains.)
6. White potatoes
7. 100% whole wheat bread (again I get my bread from the Mother Nature Health food shop in Ramsey)
8. 100% whole wheat pasta
9. Beans (different varieties – these are great for healthy chili recipes)
10. Cous Cous (I love the Cous Cous you can buy from Café Relish. The roasted veggie one is delicious. I buy a 1kg tub from them and add it to salads etc.)


My Top 10 top vegetables

1. Broccoli
2. Asparagus
3. Spinach
4. Salad greens
5. Tomatoes
6. Peppers (green, red or yellow)
7. Onions
8. Mushrooms
9. Cucumbers
10. Courgettes


My top 10 lean proteins

1. Eggs (I buy free range)
2. Whey or Casein protein (protein powder supplements)
3. Chicken Breast 4. Salmon (wild Alaskan)
5. Turkey Breast
6. Steak
7. Lean Steak Mince
8. Lean Turkey Mince
9. Prawns
10. Fish (Salmon is a great choice but I’m not a huge fan. I prefer Haddock or similar and love homemade fish fingers – yummy)


My top 10 fruits

1. Grapefruit
2. Apples
3. Blueberries
4. Melon
5. Satsumas or Clementines (prefer the easy peel and seedless variety)
6. Bananas
7. Peaches
8. Kiwi
9. Strawberries
10. Pineapple


Note: I DO include healthy fats as well, such as walnuts, almonds, extra virgin olive oil, flaxseeds, flaxseed oil (supplement - not to cook with), avocado and a few others.

Also, I do eat dairy products and have nothing against them, nor am I lactose intolerant. I simply don't eat as much dairy as the rest of the stuff on my lists.

When I eat dairy, its usually skimmed milk, unsweetened soya milk, low fat cottage cheese, low fat yogurt and cheese (great for omelettes). When eating cheese I have to admit that I select a full fat stronger tasting cheese. This means I just use less. I also use Feta Cheese in Salads and Buffalo Mozzarella.

Last but not least, I usually follow a compliance rate of about 90%, which means I take three or four meals per week of whatever I want - stuff that is NOT on these lists - like pizza, chocolate (a good dark chocolate), etc - whatever I want (contrary to the persistent rumours, I'm not some cyborg or "food neurotic" that never enjoys a good meal... believe me - I DO!)

I hope you found this helpful and interesting. Keep in mind, this is MY food list, and although you probably couldn't go wrong to emulate it, you need to choose natural foods YOU enjoy in order to develop habits you can stick with long term.