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Writer's pictureDarek Kowal

Diet Phase: Exactly What I Eat To Lose Weight!



The healthiest way to lose weight is to create a caloric deficit, meaning that you are burning more calories than you consume on a daily basis.


A good diet phase should last 8-12 weeks and produce 1-2 pounds of weight loss per week.


I provide all of my clients with their calorie plan so they know the 3 crucial data points:


  1. The amount of calories they need to eat per day to maintain their current weight

  2. The amount they need to eat per day to lose approximately 1 pound per week

  3. The amount they need to eat per day to lose approximately 2 pounds per week


I also offer to analyze their plates/food choices to help curate a nutrition plan that they actually enjoy.


Today, I want to share what I eat in a typical day while I’m in a weight loss phase. Let’s go through all 3 meals of the day as well as snacks and hydration to better understand how I stay within my calorie limit while hitting my nutrient needs!


Baseline: My Calorie Plan is limited to 1885 calories per day. I track my food on the MyFitnessPal App FREE Version.




BREAKFAST


This is my favorite meal of the day. Before I eat solid food, I will drink 32oz of water to replace the hydration I lost while sleeping and help stimulant my brain and muscles for the day.


Some days I’ll mix in Low Fat Greek Yogurt or Scrambled Eggs w/ cottage cheese. Today, I went with 2 slices of raisin bread for carbs, and chunky peanut butter for protein/fat. As I wanted to get more protein in my diet, I added a cup of cottage cheese to the meal and some blueberries for flavor.


Cottage cheese is a great source of Casein protein which takes longer to digest, keeping your full longer.



LUNCH


Mid-day. I was pretty hungry and wanted something savory. The night before I baked 12-16 chicken thighs (seasoned w/ salt and pepper) so I had these ready to go. I threw in a steamer bag of broccoli, cooked 4 cups of rice, and assembled my lunch.


A meal like this (chicken, broccoli, brown rice) is body builder 101. It provides a great source of all macros and, since I used sweet and sour sauce, also had a lot of flavor to enjoy.


By this time of day, I’ve consumed at least 60oz of water as well, ,so hydration is on point. I also drank a zero sugar Diet Dr. Pepper. Diet soda is a great weight loss hack that doesn't add to your calorie total.



DINNER


I had roughly 1000 calories left to play with because today was Legs Day. As a rule of thumb, I usually allow a 300 calorie optional increase to my calorie plan on the days I strength train. A typical strength training workout will burn 300-500 calories, but I use the low end to be safe.


These were homemade turkey burgers (no bun) that I made in 5 minutes from a recipe on Skinnytaste.com and frozen fries that I heated in the oven then air fried to make them extra crispy. Super tasty and very filling!



SNACKS


This is where a lot of people fail. They get hungry in between meals and choose options that destroy their plan. Between Lunch and Dinner, I had 2 servings of rice cakes which I love because I can have A LOT of them (26) and it’s only 220 calories.


After dinner, I had a Kit Kat (70 calories) and sugar free Jello w/ whipped cream (40 calories) to satisfy my sweet tooth. I also had a sugar free soda and Gatorade Zero throughout the day. These are great diet hacks to use that don’t add any calories to your total!


CONCLUSION


As you can see, I ate plenty of healthy food AND stayed under my limit! In total, I consumed 172 grams of protein (more than I needed but that’s okay!) 181 grams of carbs (need to increase that), and 58 grams of fat (below my limit!) while drinking over 120 oz of water, taking 5 client sessions, walking the dogs, doing a strength training workout, and getting 8 hours of sleep! 1 day down and we’re on our way to weight loss!


For more tips/advice, book a free consultation call today!




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