Getting Lean For Life by Robert D. Franklin

One of the most important messages taught to fitness readers in this world of heavy confusion is that your diet shouldn't be any of the fad diets... you don't need to go "low carb" or "low fat" to be successful in losing enough body fat to get lean.

Simplify things. Balance is the key to success along with eating a diet that is made up of nutrient dense foods in their natural state (unprocessed foods).

Generally, it is the heavy processing of foods that makes it dangerous to our bodies. Most foods in their natural unprocessed state are good for us. Of course there are always exceptions, like a salad of poison ivy!

Here's some of the most important aspects of nutrition that can help get you lean for life...

1. Get enough quality protein in the daily diet - not only does it have a higher thermic effect than carbs and fat (so you burn more calories digesting it), but it also creates satiety so your hunger is satisfied longer. It's also a building block for maintaining and building lean muscle. Remember that the amount of lean muscle you carry is one of the main factors for controlling your metabolism.

2. Fiber, fiber, fiber! When it comes to carbs, make sure that almost all of your carbohydrate intake is from higher fiber sources like vegetables, fruits, and high fiber unrefined grains. Avoid refined sugars and refined grains because they are some of the main reasons many people struggle with body fat.

Fiber helps fill you up and slows down the glycemic response of the foods you eat, all beneficial for getting super lean.

3. Don't be afraid to eat fat! Many people try to go way too low on their fat intake and this can negatively affect hormone levels in your body as well as causing more cravings. You should eat healthy fats on a daily basis.

Good sources are all nuts and seeds, nut butters, avocados, olive oil, organic meats and eggs, coconuts and virgin coconut oil. On that note, saturated fats from tropical oils are VERY misunderstood, even by many nutritionists and other health professionals. Even though they are composed highly of saturated fats, they are beneficial.

4. Avoid the two worst things in our food supply at ALL COSTS:

*artificial trans fats from margarines, shortening, and hydrogenated oils that are in most processed foods

*high fructose corn syrup

If you avoid processed foods, it becomes easy to avoid these two worst offenders in our food supply.

Once you get a handle on these main points of your diet, the rest starts to take care of itself as you gain control of your appetite, blood sugar levels, and hormone levels. You eventually gain total control over how lean you want to get.