What to Eat in a Restaurant for Fat Loss

Keto, Caveman, Mediterranean, Atkins, the list goes on. There are so many diets that people use to lose weight. However, according to one expert, there is one that trumps the rest when it comes to losing body fat. Jeremy Ethier is a kinesiologist fitness influencer with over 6.1 million YouTube followers and one million Instagram followers who uses his science-backed training to help people lose weight and get into great shape. In a viral YouTube video, he reveals that he has found the “number one diet to lose fat.” Ethier explains that “it's tough to lose fat, let alone keep it off. But there's a reason why the old saying abs are revealed in the kitchen is still around because it's true.” Most of “even the popular diets that work tend to have more cons than pros,” he adds. “Today, I'm sharing the size back diet that's simple, easy to stick to, and just works. Here's everything you need to know.”

All Fat Loss Diets Have One Goal: Eat Fewer Calories Than You Burn

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“First off, you must understand that all fat loss diets, regardless of what you call it, have one simple goal: To get you into a calorie deficit where you're eating fewer calories than you burn every day,” he says. “But in the diet, I'll be showing you today, rather than cutting out foods, the first step is actually the opposite: Eat more. Not just any food, though.”

You Need to Eat More Protein

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What do you need to eat more of? Protein, he says. “One study published back in 2005 had participants change nothing else aside from eating twice as much protein as they usually do. You'd expect that since they were eating more, they would gain weight, right? Well, here's what actually happened.”

After Increasing Protein, People Ate Less Calories

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“After bumping up their protein intake, the participants ended up eating 440 fewer calories every day without them even realizing it. And after sticking to their high protein diet for 12 weeks, they lost almost 10 pounds of fat,” he says.

This Is Because Protein Is Filling

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“Now, as for why this happened, part of it is because protein is extremely filling,” he says. “Try to eat 400 calories worth of chicken breasts compared to a bowl of cereal, and you'll be shocked with just how long you stay full.”

When You Eat Protein, Your Body Will Burn Off Fat for Energy

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He says that “the real power of protein is that when you're in a calorie deficit, your body can choose to burn off either fat or muscle for energy.” And, “eating enough protein, ideally at least 0.8 grams per pound of your body weight per day, it sends a powerful signal to your body to keep your muscle and burn off your fat for energy.”

You Are Also More Likely to Keep Fat Off

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And, you won’t just burn fat, but keep it off. “This is why high protein diets not only lead to more fat loss during the diet but have also been shown to be more effective at preventing fat regain after the diet is over,” he says. This doesn’t mean you have to eat chicken breasts for every meal. He recommends choosing sources you actually enjoy.

Cutting Carbs Will Also Help You Lose Weight

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“So we're gonna continue the theme of eating more, but now with carbs,” he says, telling a story about how he once cut all carbs, “bread, rice, candy, even ketchup, anything that contains some form of carbs,” out of his diet. “By day three of this, I felt like complete crap, super low energy, and my gym performance sucked. Now, after about a week, I actually did end up losing about five pounds, but I was confused because I didn't look or feel any better.”

Your Body Will Use Other Sources for Energy

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He said that your body will eventually “adapt to this” and learn to use other sources for energy. “But the research is clear: As long as you're in the calorie deficit and eating enough protein, you'll lose fat regardless of if you're eating a ton of carbs or none at all.”

He Recommends Saving Carbs for Before and After Workouts

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“The calories from carbs add up fast. If you're currently overeating, then you probably will need to cut back on some of your carbs or at least choose less processed carbs that can keep you fuller for fewer calories,” he says. “A good strategy I personally use is saving most of my carbs for before and after my workout for when I need the most energy and then add them into my other meals.”

Limit Fats

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Next up, fats. “Unlike carbs and protein, which only contain four calories per gram, fats are much easier to overeat with because they contain more than double the calories at nine calories per gram,” he says.

Don’t Cut Them, Just Eat in Moderation

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“But just like with carbs, you shouldn't completely cut out your fats,” he says. Instead, “just have them in moderation or try to make swaps like using skim milk instead of full cream spray oil instead of cooking oil, choosing less fatty cuts of meats or using a lower calorie salad dressing.”

You Will Lose Weight on Strict Diets, But You Are Likely to Gain It Back

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He also talks about a 2021 study that had subjects follow a strict meal plan. “The goal was to put them in a calorie deficit, and they weren't allowed to substitute any of the foods they were given. After ten weeks, the results were great. On average, the participants lost about seven pounds of fat. But here's the catch. As soon as the diet was over, most of them quickly regained the fat they lost. This is because sticking to strict meal plans doesn't actually teach you the proper habits of sustaining fat loss in the long run,” he says.

The Number One Diet to Lose Weight: The Balanced Plate Concept

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Enter the top diet for fat loss, the balanced plate concept. “Instead of rigidly planning out your meals, most of your meals should look something like this: First, fill a quarter of your plate with a protein source like the ones I showed earlier. Next, to keep you full, fill half of your plate with vegetables and or fruits. And then lastly, balance out the last quarter of your plate with either carbs and or fats,” he says. You can also apply this concept when eating out.

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Also, Pay Attention to How Often You Eat

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He adds that one factor most people overlook is how often they eat. “I used to think skipping meals was a great idea. If I didn't eat much or just snack lightly throughout the day, I wouldn't be getting many calories in, and that would surely lead to a calorie deficit. But this quickly became a nasty cycle. I'd end up feeling like crap by the end of the day, and as soon as I finally ate something, my stomach would just be a bottomless pit that never got satisfied,” he says. “Generally, you should avoid ever getting to a point where you're feeling dizzy, have low blood sugar, and want to eat everything in sight.”

You Can Also Try Intermittent Fasting

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He also brings up intermittent fasting, “where you don't eat your first meal until usually around 12:00 PM and then don't eat anything past 8:00 PM,” he explains. “I've personally used this in the past, and it worked really well, not because it's magic, but because it can make sticking into a calorie deficit easier by fitting all your meals into a smaller time window.”

He Sticks to a Regular Schedule of 3 to 4 Meals

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“I prefer a more regular scheduled eating with at least three to four main meals per day, spread out by around three to four hours from each other, and then I'll just add in one to two snacks or fruit between my meals when I'm the most hungry,” he continues. “Just keep in mind that your body will need time to adjust if you change your eating schedule. But if done properly, you should feel improved and consistent levels of energy throughout your whole day.”

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Where You Eat Matters Too

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“Speaking about when you eat, did you know that where you eat also matters? This study, published in 2021, analyzed the food environments of over a thousand households. It found that one of the strongest predictors of being overweight was eating meals in front of a TV,” he reveals.

Also, Slow Down Your Eating

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“In addition to this, a few other interesting studies have shown that slowing down your meal by taking more bites, using chopsticks, or eating with small utensils all has a powerful effect on reducing hunger and potentially boosting fat loss,” he notes.

Make Small Changes at a Time

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“Sure, bodybuilders and hardcore fitness guys like myself have no problem losing fat fast if needed, but you'll make way more progress making just small changes at a time and aiming to lose even just half a pound of fat every single week consistently, rather than losing a pound or two on some weeks and then gaining it all back again on other weeks,” he says.

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Create a Diet You Can Enjoy

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“But just keep in mind that you will mess up at some point. Maybe you'll binge eat really bad one night, or maybe you'll have a cheat meal gone wrong, and that's okay. It's happened to me countless times. One meal or even a whole day of eating junk won't ruin your progress, but if you find yourself cheating on your diet too often, then that's often a sign that you need to make it more enjoyable,” he says. “Create a diet you actually enjoy because that's what you'll be more likely to stick to in the long run.” And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these 15 Quick Ways to Lose Body Fat Percentage in a Week.

Do you want to lose weight quickly and keep it off? It may come down to incorporating a few healthy habits into your lifestyle. Louise Corrans is a wellness influencer who regularly shares tips on how to stay in shape past age 40. In a recent viral video, she reveals easy ways to lose weight fast. “In today's video, we will cover ten fat loss principles that I swear by and that you need to follow if you want to lose fat at any age and at any stage. Yes, even over 40,” she says.

Maintain a Caloric Deficit

Principle number one: “You need to be in a calorie deficit to lose fat to lose weight,” says Corrans. “You have to be in a calorie deficit because that will allow your body to turn to its own fat stores for the energy that it needs that day. That is why a calorie deficit always works. It's not about whether you are having special foods or only certain magical foods for fat loss. There are no magical foods for fat loss. It is energy in, energy out,” she explains.

Prioritize Protein

Number two, protein first. “No, this principle is the most important when it comes to maintaining your muscle mass,” she says. “Protein first means that you just want to meet your protein needs for the day so that during your fat loss phase, you are not risking losing your muscle.” She adds that the older you get, protein becomes more important in order to prevent sarcopenia, “which means we are losing muscle mass, we are anabolic resistant, which means it's harder for us to grow muscle and protein with all those amino acids.” She recommends “around one gram of protein per pound of body weight, your ideal body weight, not your overweight body weight.”

Amp Up Fiber Intake

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Number three is fiber. “Fiber is so important for gut health. It feeds our good gut bacteria. If you are getting enough fiber, you don't need prebiotics, and your gut health should be good. It helps with motility. It helps you to feel fuller for longer. It helps slow the digestion of your food down. It helps with blood glucose. Fiber has also been shown to be one of the things that prevents all causes of mortality,” she says. “So make sure you are getting in enough fresh vegetables with most of your meals throughout the day.”

Minimize Fats

“Number four is to keep your fats to a low or moderate amount. The reason is not that fats are bad; there's nothing wrong with fats, but if you are eating a high-fat diet, of course, you've got no room in your calorie budget for much else,” she says, explaining that fats are “so calorie dense” with nine calories per every gram of fat, while a gram of protein or carbs only has 4. “For me personally, it makes sense to fill up on the proteins and the carbs. The carbs give our muscles energy, especially if you're doing some form of resistance training or exercise. Protein, as I've spoken about in number two, is vital for us, especially as we age.”

Reduce Alcohol Intake

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“Fat loss principle number five is very little to no alcohol. I cannot stress this enough. When I stopped drinking alcohol, the weight did come off, but obviously, I had to be in a caloric deficit anyway. But I found that drinking alcohol, even if it's just a few drinks on the weekends with friends, was sabotaging my weight loss goals because I made bad food choices,” she claims. This is because you end up eating unhealthy food and “not remembering what you ate. You are eating the wrong foods,” she says. It ends up negatively impacting your sleep and “depletes your electrolytes, it dehydrates you, it makes you feel like crap,” she says. “Then obviously, the older we get, the more it takes two to three days to recover, and your body is just prioritizing the elimination of that toxin. And yes, alcohol is a toxin. So, this is not a judgment. It's not telling you that you are bad if you have a few glasses of wine, but just remember that it could be sabotaging your weight loss goal.”

Incorporate Resistance Training

Principle number six is resistance training. “I would pick resistance training over cardio any day for fat loss because you're stimulating your muscles, you're telling your body you want to hold onto or even grow a bit of muscle tissue. And muscle does burn more calories at rest than your fat cells,” she says. “So muscle is very metabolically active. Your body is going to use calories to grow muscle tissue. It's going to burn more calories at rest. When you have more muscle tissue, you're going to look sexier, you're going to be stronger, you're going to feel like you are capable, and you wanna do more and move more throughout the day.”

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Track Your Food

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Number seven? “Track, track, track your food. And when I say track your food, weigh your food so that you can track it accurately,” she instructs. “I myself have been very resistant to doing this for many, many years. I would track a bit, then I would stop, and I would get fatigued, and I wouldn't be weighing my food. I would be just eyeballing it and guessing,” she says. “The only way to be accurate when you track your food is to weigh and measure it. So you are tracking 100 grams of that amount, whether it's cooked or raw. Make sure your track is saying cooked or raw, and then you know that what is coming into your mouth is that, and then you can sort of see your progress, your measurements, your weight, and then you can assess if that amount of calories that I'm actually eating having an effect on my weight loss? Or do I need to adjust? So the data and the knowledge, it is power.”

Stick to Whole Foods

She also recommends opting for “whole foods in their most natural form as far as possible.” While you can shy away from them on occasion, “for health and for general weight loss and just to feel good food choices do matter. So fresh whole foods are always going to be your better option,” she says. “For example, sweet potato, and potato with the skin on lots of vegetables, lots of low starch vegetables, starchy vegetables for your carbs, lean meats, fish, nuts and seeds,” she says. “In general, you want to choose foods that you would find in the most natural form for your overall health, and it will help you with your weight loss goals.”

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Cook Your Own Meals at Home

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“Number nine, you must cook your own meals at home because then you know exactly what has gone into the food that you're putting into your mouth,” she says. She uses the example of eating sushi. Even though you think it’s just white rice, it likely has sugar or oil added to it. “There is so much hidden in restaurant food that not to say you can never go out and have restaurant food, but if you do that too often, you could very likely be sabotaging your weight loss goals. So make your food at home, have your food prepared, have lots of healthy food on the go and on the ready so that you make good food choices and you will see your fat loss goals realized and achieved,” she says.

Maintain a Positive Attitude

Principle number 10 is to approach weight loss with a “happy with a positive attitude,” she says. “You cannot go into a fat loss phase or go on a weight loss journey with this negative mindset of, ‘I can't have this. I'm not going to be able to do it. I'm now going to be miserable. This is terrible. Poor me, I can't eat this food. I can't have that.’ Please, please, please go into it with a positive attitude because then you are much more likely to achieve your goal. You're much more likely to have fun along the way. You are much more likely to actually learn the skills that you need to learn in order to tackle this weight loss goal. And remember, this is a beautiful and fun journey that's going to result in better health outcomes. You're going to achieve your dream body, which is so exciting,” she continues. “Just imagine how good it's going to feel to shop for clothes that you've been longing to fit into and to shop for.” And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these 15 Quick Ways to Lose Body Fat Percentage in a Week.