(Before reading this, I highly recommend reading my article on bulking, cutting, and maintaining on a high fat, high protein diet first. It explains the reasoning behind a lot of what I write here.)
Losing weight with a high fat, high protein diet is relatively easy, but takes lots of determination and will power. If you really want to lose weight fast, you can’t giggle about “accidentally” pigging out on a box of Honey Nut Cheerios or a few donuts. If you show self restraint and follow a basic diet very, very low in carbs, you can shed the majority of your unwanted fat in about a month or less.
An Anabolic Diet-style diet, high in fat and protein but VERY low in carbs, is, in my opinion, the absolute best way to lose weight, and surprisingly this is also the opinion of much of the fitness industry.
Avoid any and all carbs you can and you will lose weight even faster. This means no fruit, no “low-carb” wraps (that secretly are full of carbs), no nothing like that. Just meats, veggies, and fats.
Some diets recommend “re-feed” days, where you eat junk in moderation. For your sanity, I think this is a good idea, but I don’t think it’s entirely necessary for your body to have an ENTIRE day dedicated to eating bad foods. I usually just have one day every week and a half or two weeks where I eat some fruits and maybe have one “cheat” meal, and that’s it. I’d rather get my weight loss over with ASAP than delay it with a big, gluttonous “cheat” day.
To calculate calories for a weight loss diet, I usually start by multiplying my body weight by 15 and slowly move my calories down from there if I’m not seeing results within the first week or two. I’ll go as low as my body weight multiplied by 12, but I like to start with a higher amount of calories first. This is because, if you choose your foods intelligently and do your regular workouts along with daily uphill walks for 20 to 30 minutes, then you’ll have no problem losing fat with a little extra food.
If you want the fat to almost melt off in front of you, combine this style of diet with heavy uphill walking every day. You can perform it any time — in the morning, after a workout, or on its own any time during the day. I personally prefer after workouts or sometime in the afternoon if I don’t have a workout that day.
Finally, the diet is usually more protein than fat — I aim for about 60% protein, 40% fat.
And On To The Sample Diet
Here’s a sample diet that I would follow if I wanted to lose some weight right now. Take note of the size of the breakfast — it’s almost the same size as my breakfast in weight gain and maintenance diets. Breakfast, to me, is absolutely the most important meal of the day, and my body can handle eating up to 33% of my daily calories during breakfast every day. Try it out — the energy and feeling I get from eating giant breakfasts is amazing.
Meal 1
Six eggs scrambled
Three tablespoons heavy raw cream
Chopped up veggies
Salt and pepper to tasteMeal 2
Giant salad — as many vegetables as I can handle eating at once, with spinach instead of lettuce
Two hard boiled eggs
Small amount bleu cheese dressing
Quarter pound chicken breastMeal 3
Quarter pound Chicken breast
Hummus
Tomato sauce made from whole tomatoes
12g fish oilThroughout workout, I drink BCAAs. If BCAAs are not available, I just drink water.
Post-workout
Two eggs, raw
Two tablespoons heavy cream
Half scoop protein powder to taste
Handful of spinach
Frozen broccoli
(All ground together in a shake)Meal 4
Same as meal 2Meal 5
Half cup full fat cottage cheese
One tablespoon peanut butter