Terrence Jenkins' Road to Shirtless: Fat-Burning Snacks

For week five of our workout series, here are some healthy foods to munch on

By Brett Malec, Jeanette Jenkins May 30, 2013 5:30 PMTags
Terrence JenkinsCourtesy: Jeanette Jenkins

While Terrence Jenkins is busy shooting his new movie Think Like a Man Too and cohosting E! News, it's important that he snacks on food that increases his body's ability to burn fat.

For week five of our Road to Shirtless workout series, here are a few tips and snack options from his trainer Jeanette Jenkins to help you maximize your body's fat burning throughout the day

1. Limit your sugar intake. Make sure you choose snacks that are low in sugar. To maximize your body's ability to burn fat your snack should never have more than 14 grams of sugar. When you consume high-sugar/high-processed foods, your blood sugar increases and your body has to burn off the sugar before it can burn off your fat, so choose snacks low in sugar.

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2. Research shows that the body responds to artificial sweeteners the same way it does to sugar with an increase in insulin, which will slow down your fat burning process, so it is best to choose snack foods that are naturally low in sugar.

3. Choose snacks that are high in fiber and/or protein because they both slow down the absorption of sugar into the blood stream helping you maximize in fat burning. Aim for at least 5 grams of fiber per snack or meal and 10-25 grams of protein per snack or meal.

4. Citrus fruits like grapefruit and oranges contain a flavonoid called narnigenin that helps stabilize your blood sugar level so you can keep burning fat and reduce cravings.

5. Many times when you have a craving for a snack, you are also dehydrated, so make sure you are drinking enough water. Calculate half your body weight and drink that number in ounces of water a day. So if you weigh 150 pounds, you should be drinking 75 ounces of water. You can also sip on various herbal teas throughout the day to increase your bodies fat-burning ability and immunity.

Here are some healthy snack options:
Grapefruit, Oranges
Greek Yogurt With Berries & Low Fat Granola
Carrot & Celery Stick With Hummus
Low Fat Cottage Cheese With Whole Wheat Crackers
Tomato & Cucumber Salad With Feta Lemon & Olive Oil
Organic Turkey or Beef Jerky
Watermelon or Cantaloupe
Apple & Handful of Almonds or Walnuts
Brown Rice Cake With Organic Peanut Butter & All Fruit Jam
Brown Rice Cake With Low Fat Cottage Cheese, Tomato & Pepper
Fresh Pressed Vegetable Juice With Greens: Apple, Lemon, Ginger & Spinach
Green Tea With Lemon and Honey
Half of a Tuna or Chicken Wrap on a Whole Wheat Pita or Whole Wheat Tortilla
Various Herbal Teas (Hot or on ice): Roseberry, White Tea, Peach Green Tea
Yerba Matte
Kombucha

For more great snack and meal options check out Jeanette's book The Hollywood Trainer Weight-Loss Plan it has over 87 healthy delicious recipes www.TheHollywoodTrainer.com. Terrence also uses a fresh food delivery service called Freshology you can check them out here www.Freshology.com.