A Fat Burning Meal Plan

Fat Burning Meal Plan for Men


By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

This is the fat burning meal plan I would follow to burn fat.

(This is almost identical to the meal plan I eat now to gain muscle and strength, except my lunch is higher in carbohydrates and calories and so is my after dinner snack...so to burn fat I'd just cut a few things out.)...


Here are the guidelines for a fat burning meal plan for men.

- 6 meals per day. If you can't do that, combine a couple of meals to get down to 4 meals per day. Even most busy people can do 4 meals/snacks per day.

- Remove all sugar from diet.

- Have at least 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight (to a maximum of 250g per day)

- Have 3 servings of fruit per day (sticking to high-fiber fruits such as apples or grapefruit and high-antioxidant fruits such as berries)

- Drink at least 4 cups of Green Tea

- Follow Dr. John Berardi's 90% rule -> if you eat according to the guidelines 90% of the time, you can go off track 10% of the time and still make incredible body changes.

This is the exact meal plan & training plan I follow to get ultra-lean.

I'd probably only need 3 weeks before I would be ripped - this approach is super fast and effective. Plus, I'm already very lean because I avoid the Western Lifestyle and live the Turbulence Training Lifestyle everyday.


Meal 1:

3 Omega-3 eggs

1oz cheese

1 cup raw broccoli

1/2 raw pepper

4g fish oil

2 cups Green Tea


Meal 2:

1/2 cup pecans

1/2 cup blueberries

1 apple

1 cup Green Tea


Meal 3:

1 chicken breast

2 cups mixed green salad or spinach

1 cup raw peppers & broccoli

2 cups Green Tea


Meal 4:

Post-workout chocolate milk (2 cups)


Meal 5:

2 oz almonds

1 apple

1 cup Green Tea


Meal 6:

6oz steak

1/2 avocado

1 cup asparagus

1 cup swiss chard

1/2 cup strawberries

4g Fish Oil

* Bonus snack late: *

1 apple

1 tbsn peanut butter

Now, if you are chained to a desk with a taskmaster of a boss, here's what you do...

Cut back from 6 meals to 4 meals. Everyone can do breakfast, lunch, after work, and dinner. Add in a post-workout meal if you need it and you're up to 5 meals.

The reason why I like multi-meals for fat loss is that it keeps people from going berserk at lunch or dinner b/c they are starving. You know how it is, when you're too hungry to stay disciplined and you rationalize grabbing take out (or take away for our european readers) after work rather than preparing your chicken and vegetables.

For guys that need to gain muscle, the more meals the better, and the reason is obvious (more calories).


Follow up questions about the Fat Burning Meal Plan

1 - Why so many green teas?

Answer:

Green tea is just healthy. Nothing more, nothing less. Most of the time I drink naturally decaffeinated green tea since I am not a real big caffeine fan.

But if you are worried about losing your caffeine kick when switching from coffee to Green Tea, I think you might be pleasantly surprised that Green Tea still has a fair bit of caffeine...then again what do i know, since I've never, ever had a coffee.

PS - I have nothing against people drinking 1-2 coffees per day. Just not 3-4 super-mega-whatever you call those big ones from Starbucks.


2 - Are raw vegetables better than cooked?

Answer:

You will get more nutrients from raw vegetables. Its not the end of the world if you cook them, but obviously steaming is much better than boiling.

Raw vegetables are also much easier to transport/prepare and eat when busy.

Bottom line: Just get some vegetables first of all, then worry about the details.

PS - Deep fried vegetables do not count. Ever.

3 - Why no starchy carbs?

Answer:

Getting rid of starchy carbs is a guaranteed way to lose more fat. Low-carb diets (they don't have to be dramatically low, but still lower than normal) are proven to work.

I've written in the past about how when clients (and myself) have eliminated all carb sources except for fruits and vegetables that the fat burning results were remarkable. Fast and effective.

I also feel much more mentally alert without them in my diet.

Nutrition is the MOST important component of fat loss,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

About the Author

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit  Turbulence Training for my review.