If you’re reading this, it means your primary goal is losing fat.
I don’t care if you want to lose 10lbs of fat or 100lbs. I don’t care if you’re male or female, young or old.
If you want to know how to lose fat as effectively as possible, and put together the absolute best diet plan to make it happen… then this is for you.
The Guidelines Of The Best Fat Loss Diet Plan
Throughout the course of my guide to creating The Best Diet Plan, we’ve covered every single aspect of how to create the diet that will be most ideal for you and your specific goal.
Here now is a recap of every major component that goes into creating the best fat loss diet plan possible…
Calories
- A caloric deficit is the #1 requirement for losing fat. In fact, it’s the ONLY real requirement for losing fat.
- Specifically, the ideal daily caloric deficit for both men and women is 20% below maintenance level per day.
- The ideal caloric deficit will cause you to lose weight at the ideal rate. For most people, that ideal weight loss rate is between 0.5-2 pounds per week. People with an above average amount of fat to lose can lose it at a rate of 2lbs (or more) per week. People with an average amount of fat to lose should it lose at a rate of 1-2lbs per week. People with a below average amount of fat to lose should lose it at a rate of 0.5-1lb per week.
- Weigh yourself at least once per week first thing in the morning on an empty stomach and keep track of your weight (or, weigh in every morning and take the weekly average). If it’s decreasing at the ideal rate, you’re perfect. If it isn’t, adjust your daily calorie intake up or down until it is.
Protein
- The ideal daily protein intake for men with the primary goal of losing fat (and getting the various benefits protein brings to the overall fat loss process) is 0.8-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight. For women with the primary goal of losing fat (and getting the various benefits protein brings to the overall fat loss process), it’s 0.8-1.2 grams of protein per pound of body weight.
- This protein intake should typically come mostly from high quality whole food sources (chicken, meat, fish, etc.) and if needed or preferred, protein powder.
Fat
- The ideal daily fat intake is between 20-30% of your total calorie intake, with an even 25% probably being pretty perfect in most cases.
- This fat intake should primarily come from monounsaturated and polyunsaturated sources (nuts, olive oil, fish/fish oil, etc.). Saturated fat should account for no more than 1/3 of your total fat intake, and trans fat should be avoided completely.
- A definite emphasis should be placed on getting a sufficient amount of your essential fatty acids, specifically the omega-3 (which is easiest to get by taking a fish oil supplement).
Carbs
- The ideal carb intake is simply whatever is left after an ideal protein and fat intake have been factored in.
- The majority of this carb intake should typically come from unprocessed nutrient-rich sources (rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, oats, whole grains, etc.). Highly refined junk should be limited to some extent.
Enjoyability And Sustainability
- Once you’ve set your total calorie and nutrient intake to their ideal levels, the key is putting your entire diet together in whatever way will make you most likely to stick to it consistently.
- Meal frequency and timing doesn’t matter (PRE/POST workout meals are the only exception). So if you’d rather eat 3 meals per day, go for it. If you’d rather eat 6 meals per day, go for it. If you’d rather eat early instead of late or late instead of early, do it. In the end, all that matters is what you eat and how much you eat… not when and how you eat it. Do whatever is most enjoyable, convenient and sustainable for you.
- Choose foods and adjust your diet based on your own personal preferences and needs. As long as you get your calorie and nutrient totals right for the day (and get them from mostly high quality sources as opposed to processed useless junk), everything else is just a minor detail that should be put together based on what’s best and most all around preferable for you.
- If you are the type of person who would benefit from using cheat meals and feel they will help you stick to your diet in the long term, then you should definitely make cheat meals a regularly scheduled part of your diet. Ideal use would be a maximum of 1-2 cheat meals (properly done) per week.
PRE & POST Workout Nutrition
- Surround your weight training workouts with meals that contain a good amount of protein and carbs.
- For your PRE workout meal, either consume a normal solid food meal 1-2 hours before your workout, or consume a fast, easily digested liquid meal/shake 0-30 minutes before your workout (and/or sipped throughout it).
- For your POST workout meal, either consume a normal solid food meal or a liquid meal/shake as soon after your workout as possible (ideally within the first 30 minutes).
Supplements
- NO supplement is required for losing fat. However, there are some that could definitely be beneficial and help improve some aspect of the fat loss process (and your overall health) to some degree.
- In no specific order, the main ones are: whey protein powder (and/or casein), fish oil, and a multivitamin.
Weight Training, Cardio and Exercise In General
As much as I hate to mention it, the honest truth is that exercise (weight training or cardio) is NOT required for fat loss to take place.
Really, it’s true.
The one and only thing you need to do to lose fat is get your diet plan right (specifically: create a caloric deficit). That’s it.
Of course, if your goal is to build muscle, get stronger or improve performance, then working out correctly is most definitely a requirement. But for fat loss alone, it’s completely optional.
The reason I hate bringing this up is because, despite how true it is, I absolutely positively recommend that you ignore it and work out anyway.
I know, I know. That probably sounds crazy.
I mean, if working out truly is optional for fat loss (as long as your diet plan is what it needs to be), then why the hell would you ever bother working out?
Well, there’s 4 really good reasons…
It will help with fat loss.
As you are probably aware, both cardio and weight training burn calories, and burning calories is another way of creating (or just adding to) your required caloric deficit.
So, some form of exercise (weight training is always my first recommendation) on top of The Best Fat Loss Diet Plan will serve to help your results come a little faster and easier.
It’s good for your overall health.
Fat loss aside, exercise of any form is quite beneficial for your overall health and function in general.
I know we’re all mostly concerned with losing fat and looking great naked, but the health benefits of both cardio and weight training shouldn’t be ignored.
It will improve the way your body looks and performs.
Besides losing fat, the single most effective way to improve the way your body looks is by building some muscle. Even just a small amount in the right places can completely transform your body for the better.
And honestly, there is a very big difference between losing fat and looking skinny, and losing fat and looking fit and lean. That difference maker is weight training.
Not to mention, if you want to be stronger, faster, more athletic and just in better overall shape, exercise is the best (and only) way to make that happen.
It’s an absolute requirement for maintaining muscle and strength.
I know fat loss might be everyone’s primary goal, but there is a secondary goal that you must keep in mind… maintaining your lean muscle while losing that fat.
Remember back when I was explaining why creating a caloric deficit was the key to fat loss? Well, it’s technically the key to weight loss in general, and that “weight” can actually be two things: body fat OR muscle tissue.
As it turns out, the single most effective way to get your body to burn your ugly fat and preserve your pretty muscle is by weight training properly.
Whereas weight training is what signals the body to build muscle when that’s your goal, weight training is also what signals your body to maintain muscle when fat loss is your goal.
So, you might not need it to actually cause fat loss to happen, but you DEFINITELY need it if you’d like to (at least) maintain your current levels of muscle and strength during that fat loss process.
Convinced yet?
Good. You certainly should be… especially about weight training.
Now, the bad news is that fully explaining all of the workout information you need to know would require a whole separate guide of its own.
But the good news is… I already wrote that guide. And the great news is… it’s FREE!
Check it out here: The Ultimate Weight Training Workout Routine
That guide will explain every single thing you will ever need to know about creating the best weight training workout routine possible.
NEW: Superior Fat Loss Has Arrived
Since writing this guide a few years ago, thousands of people have asked me for something more. More workouts, answers, details, specifics, examples, and one entire program that puts everything (diet, nutrition, weight training, cardio, supplements, lifestyle, etc.) together for you in the way that will produce the best fat loss results possible.
You asked, and now I answered. I call it: Superior Fat Loss
Basically, if you want to lose body fat as quickly and effectively as realistically possible, and you want to do it WITHOUT losing muscle, without giving up the foods you love, without feeling hungry all the time, without doing tons of cardio, without metabolic slowdown, without annoying diet rules and restrictions, and without the countless problems and mistakes that cause most people to fail, this is the program for you. Learn all about it right here: Superior Fat Loss
What’s Next?
Well, if you’ve ended up here as a result of following my guide to creating The Best Diet Plan, then the only remaining step is to bring this guide to its conclusion and pass along some final important information. Let’s do that…
(This article is part of a completely free and amazingly awesome guide to creating the absolute best diet plan possible for your exact goal and preferences. Check out the entire guide here: The Best Diet Plan)