Weight Loss and Healthy Living

The healthy shopping guide contains a list of high protein foods, as well as healthy fats, carbohydrates, fats, fruits, and vegetables.


To learn more about how to read nutrition labels, check out Food Labels 101.

Lean Proteins

Lean proteins are the main source of amino acids in the diet. To learn more about amino acids and the role that protein plays, read The Pros of Protein.

• All fish and shellfish (cold water fish are generally preferred to double as a source of healthy fats)
• Buffalo
• Chicken breast
• Cottage cheese (use full fat unless watching calories, as there are healthy fats such as conjugated linoleic acid in dairy fat)
• Eggs (whole eggs from free range or grain-fed chickens contain healthier fats in the yolk)
• Lamb (leaner cuts or in moderation)
• Lean beef (10% fat or less - steam and drain excess fat for best results)
• Ostrich Tip: this meat should be seared on the outside and remain rare or medium rare on the inside or it may be too tough
• Protein powders
• Turkey breast
• Venison

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are not the evil they have been made out to be. There are certainly "good carbs" and "bad carbs." The classification relates more to a combination of factors than any single criteria (such as simple or complex or the glycemic index - for more information, read Human Petroleum and Plants and Fruits with Seeds) These carbohydrates are on our "good" list:

Apples Applesauce - all natural (no sugar-added) Artichokes Avocados - these double as healthy fats Baked potato (red is better than white) Bananas Beets Black beans - doubles as an excellent source of protein and fiber Blackberries Blueberries Brown rice - wild rice is best! Buckwheat Carrots Cherries Chickpeas - another excellent source of protein and fiber as well

Corn Farina French beans Grapefruit Grapes Green peas Groats Kidney beans Kiwi Leeks Lemons Lentils - one of nature's "perfect" foods, known as "pulse" in the bible Lima beans Limes Mangos Navy beans Oats - old-fashioned, slow-cook variety Okra Oranges Parsnip Peaches Pearled barley Pears

Pinto beans - watch the canned variety, as those are high in sodium Plain whole yogurt - excellent source of protein, carbs, and healthy fats - add frozen fruit and let sit overnight to create your own "fruit" style Plums Pumpkin - the seeds rate as a healthy fat Quinoa Raspberries Rye Soy yogurt Squash Strawberries Sweet potato Tangerines Turnips Wheat Whole bread

Healthy Fats

Fats have received a bad reputation lately, when they are an important part of the diet. I typically consume at least one portion of fats for every 45 pounds of weight - a portion being around a tablespoon of liquid, or 1/8 - 1/4 cups or 1 - 2 ounces of seeds or cheese. For more on fats, read Fat Lies and The Fat of the Land. Here is the list:

Almond butter Almond oil Almonds Butter - yes, just plain whole fat butter. When used in moderation, I believe this is perfectly fine Canola oil Cheese Flaxseed Oil Fish Oil Macadamia nuts Olive oil

Peanut butter - All natural Peanut oil Peanuts Pecans Pistachio nuts Pumpkin and squash seeds Safflower kernels Sunflower butter Sunflower seed Walnuts

Vegetables

I consider vegetables to be one of the most underrated components of a healthy diet. Not only do these supply incredible amounts of nutrients, they are rich with water and can help with hydration and contain various chemicals that have been shown to fight cancer and other illnesses. Most importantly, they provide fiber and are tough for the body to process, so they may actually raise the metabolism and aid the body with burning fat. I place no restrictions on these vegetables in my nutrition plans, and consume as much of these as possible along with two to four servings of fruit each day.

Amaranth leaves Arugula Asparagus Bamboo shoots Bean sprouts Beet greens Bell peppers Borage Broccoli Brussels sprouts Cabbage Cardoon Carrots (raw) Cauliflower Celery Chicory Chives

Collard greens Cowpeas Cucumber Dandelion greens Eggplant Fennel Garlic Ginger root Gourd Green beans Jalapeño peppers Kale Lamb's quarters Lettuce Mushrooms Mustard greens

Onions Parsley Peppers Radishes Radicchio Scallop squash Snap beans Snow peas Spinach Spaghetti squash Summer squash Zucchini Taro leaves Tomatoes Turnip greens Watercress

While this is by no means an all-inclusive list, it should be a great start for shopping healthy. In general, focus on whole, unprocessed foods as much as possible. If you are concerned with convenience, create time on the weekend to prepare your meals and then store them in containers and bags to reheat when you are ready to consume them.

How about a FULL 12-Week menu?...

Our Lose Fat, Not Faith Transformation Guide comes with a complete nutrition guide. These guides contain the nutrition lists you found in this article, along with information about protein, amino acids, carbohydrates, the glycemic index, fruit, fats, vitamins, supplements, shakes, and more! It includes tips for eating "on the go" as well as a sample 84-day menu (every meal of every day is described with calorie breakdowns). There is also a vegetarian guide ... learn more by clicking here!

Share comments and discuss this article

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5 License, unless otherwise noted at the footer of the article. Article boilerplates, terms, conditions, and licenses supercede this license when present. Any republication of any form must attribute Jeremy Likness as the author and copyright holder. Any republication on the web must be accompanied by a live, direct, clickable, and visible link to www.LoseFatNotFaith.com. Redirects whereby the actual link does not point directly to the losefatnotfaith.com domain are expressly prohibited with the exception of affiliate links generated through the Lose Fat, Not Faith Affiliate Program; improper links will result in termination of rights to republish this content.