How to customize a scientific fat-loss meal? Fat-loss meals are not simply about making you eat less and feel hungry, nor about eating only vegetables and fruits every day. We need to eat smart, eat reasonably, eat healthily, and control calorie intake at the same time to effectively manage weight, reduce body fat percentage, and achieve a slim figure.
Here is a scientific fat-loss meal plan based on 5 principles:
Principle 1: Reasonably control calorie intake. The core of weight loss lies in having the body expend more calories than it consumes daily to create a calorie deficit. However, you need to ensure you consume enough to meet your basal metabolic rate. Typically, reducing this rate by no more than 30% can prevent the body from entering a starvation mode and maintain normal metabolic function.
Therefore, it’s important to understand the calorie content of foods, stay away from high-calorie, heavily processed, and high-fat/salt foods. Opt for low-calorie, high-fiber, lightly processed foods to control your daily calorie intake.
Principle 2: Diversified diet for balanced nutrition. A fat-loss meal shouldn’t just reduce food quantity but should also provide the body with various essential nutrients like carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals.
Dietary fiber and vitamins can be obtained from various vegetables with low calories, which should make up more than half of each meal. Choose slow-digesting complex carbohydrates like whole wheat bread, potatoes, beans, brown rice, etc., in a fist-sized portion per meal to avoid excessive intake. Protein sources can include low-fat eggs, chicken breast, fish, shrimp, beans, etc.
Principle 3: Drink water or soup before meals. Learn to drink water proactively daily and ensure a sufficient intake to promote body metabolism and waste elimination.
Before each meal, have a cup of warm water or a bowl of clear soup to hydrate, nourish the intestine, and control the main meal portion size, aiding in weight loss. Avoid drinking soup or water after meals to prevent expanding stomach capacity, which is not conducive to weight loss.
Principle 4: Adjust meal order, slow down eating pace. When eating, start with various vegetables, and leave high-calorie foods and staple foods for last to effectively control calorie intake.
Avoid rushing through meals; chew slowly and stop at 80% fullness. This aids digestion, gives the body enough time to receive satiety signals, and prevents overeating.
Principle 5: Control food portions and eating schedule. Using smaller plates and utensils can help control food portions. Also, maintain fixed meal times for all three meals to develop a regular eating routine. Eat dinner earlier in the evening, avoid late-night snacking, go to bed slightly hungry to improve weight loss effectiveness.
