The Most Effective Diet for Getting Shredded (3 Must Follow Rules)

The Most Effective Diet for Getting Shredded & 3 Rules for Fat Loss

Want to know the best Meal Plan for losing weight before the summer arrives? Consider your diet to be a savings account at the bank. You only have a certain number of calories to spend each day if you're in a calorie deficit (a calorie deficit refers to burning more calories than you are consuming). So you want to put your fat-loss calories into foods that will give you the most bang for your buck in terms of keeping you full and feeling satisfied, while consuming less calories, since this will help you stick to your calorie deficit long enough to reach your goal weight. 

For the ideal fat-burning diet, there are three "rules" you should follow every day when it comes to a fat-loss Meal Plan that will help you get the most out of your reduced calorie intake. 

This chart will give you a sense of the calorie density of various foods in pounds. 

Since most of us don’t consume food by the pound, here is what 200 calories looks like across a bunch of common food types. 

The first rule of a fat-loss diet is to eat foods with a low calorie density.

How does this help you lose weight? First, you'll be eating more food volume for less calories, which will stimulate the stretch receptors in your gut, enhancing your fullness response. Put another way, it’s about filling up your stomach with a larger volume of food, but the food has less calories, so you are ‘gaming’ your stomach a little bit by making it feel full without the caloric load that will make you gain weight. Balanced Meal Plans will be full of grocery lists that support easy prep recipes that accomplish just this - you will feel full and satisfied while taking in less calories. 

Second, a larger physical food volume requires greater chewing and longer meal durations, both of which contribute to the fullness effect. Finally, low-calorie-density foods are generally abundant in fibre (for example, fruits and vegetables), which helps make you feel fuller, longer because fibre takes longer to digest. The ideal low-calorie density foods are those that are abundant in water and fibre. Again, a solid Meal Plan designed to support fat loss will have all of this figured out for you.  

The second rule of fat loss - keep on eye on your fats intake.

It’s important to monitor your fats consumption in order for to optimally burn excess body fat. When compared to carbs and protein, fats have the least impact on satiety because high fat diets are frequently smaller in food volume yet contain over double the number of calories per gramme as carbs or protein. Put another way, high fat foods typically take up a lot less physical space in your stomach, and yet contain 2-3X the amount of calories. Meal Plans that have been specifically designed to help you lose weight, will prioritize healthy fats and limit fats that lead to weight gain, ensuring that the right type of foods are going into your shopping cart. 

The best advice is to start by experimenting with a reduced fat consumption that meets the minimum recommended fat intake every day (0.25g per pound of bodyweight), and then devote the balance of your calories to carbs and protein.

If you are winging it without a Meal Plan, remember, for the fats you are consuming on a daily basis, keep an eye on them and measure them as much as possible (even if it’s just keeping a rough tally in your head), because these high fat, calorie-dense foods can quickly pull you out of a calorie deficit, which is what matters to your weight loss most. High fat foods can be hard to spot, and can be hiding in plain site - especially when you eat out. 

The third rule of fat loss - keep liquid calories to a minimum.

Liquid calories have been shown to be less satiating than solid calories in numerous studies. Even when the liquid calorie meal stretches the stomach out more than the solid meal, the liquid meal elicits a lesser fullness response than solid foods in tests. In other words, limiting your consumption of liquid calories during a dieting phase would be a good idea from a hunger management standpoint. This means skipping the fruit juices, and shakes in favour of  whole-food alternatives. Bottom line - liquid calories will never keep you feeling full as effectively as solid food calories.  

If you are concerned about the impact of alcoholic calories on your diet, check out this article for more information on how alcohol increases belly fat. 

The Most Effective Diet for Getting Shredded

Here are the essential points you'll want to put into practise for the ideal weight-loss diet:

1) Replace high-calorie, low density foods with low-calorie, high density foods, which provide more volume and fibre for fewer calories. This will help you stay full and satisfied while consuming fewer calories.

2) Be conscious of your fat intake and aim to keep it low/moderate. A good Meal Plan that has been designed to help you shed excess weight and body fat will help by substituting these fat calories for carbs/protein that will make you feel full and satisfied longer.

3) When dieting, limit liquid calories (shakes, juices, alcohol etc.). Solid foods have a larger effect on satiety and keep hunger at bay for longer.

Overall, it's critical that you follow a fat loss Meal Plan and a methodology that not only maximises fat loss, but also one that you will actually stick to and enjoy every day. Feeling full and satisfied (and not strung out and starving) is one of the biggest predictors of long term success. 

Best,

Freddy