Fat Blasting Diets

To lose one pound of fat you need to burn an additional 3,500 calories. You can achieve a one-pound weight loss in one week by cutting your calories by 500 a day, but what you eat can be just as important as how much, according to Tosca Reno, author of "The Eat Clean Diet." Many diets that focus on losing fat and not just overall body weight suggest eating foods that are high in nutrient value and lower in calories to keep you metabolism and energy level high.

Clean Eating

Diets that promote eating clean, unprocessed foods claim that this fresh-food approach will keep your body functioning properly to help ensure proper fat-burning. Diets like "The Eat Clean Diet" suggest eating unprocessed lean meats such as lean beef, fish, turkey and chicken, complex carbohydrates such as wild or brown rice, steel cut oatmeal, whole-grain bread, pasta and cereal, and fresh fruit and vegetables. These types of diets also recommend consuming essential fatty acids daily such as olives, olive or flaxseed oil, avocados, nuts and seeds. The typical clean-eating diet consists of eating four to five small balanced meals throughout the day to help curb your appetite and keep your energy level high.

MUFA Diet

Diets that suggest eating a higher percentage of monounsaturated fatty acids, often referred to as MUFAs, claim that eating MUFAs throughout the day can decrease body fat. According to a study by Spanish researchers published in the "Journal of Diabetes Care," eating monounsaturated fatty acids throughout the day can actually help prevent and get rid of central body fat. Liz Vaccariello, author of the "Flat Belly Diet," suggests eating one small serving of a MUFA-rich food with every meal to shrink belly fat. Keeping serving sizes small is key since these foods are high in calories. Opt for 1 tbsp. of MUFA-rich oil such as olive, sunflower or flaxseed, 10 olives, 10 nuts such as almonds, walnuts or pecans, or 1/4 cup of seeds, dark chocolate or avocado.

Small Portion Frequent Meals

Diets that encourage eating five or six small meals a day claim that this type of diet keeps your metabolism revved, your energy high and your stomach full for optimal fat-burning, notes Melissa Clark author of "The Skinny: How to Fit Into Your Little Black Dress Forever." This type of diet promotes controlling your portion sizes for basic meals and having nutrient-dense, low-calorie snacks in between your main meals to help you drop the fat.