Meal plan to lose weight – Steaks and eggs

In a previous article of mine, I said I would write about one of the easiest ways to lose fat. Its a very simple yet effective meal plan to lose weight. Steaks and eggs. That’s it. That’s the only thing you eat, steaks and eggs cooked in as much or as little butter you want.

For your first meal of the day you eat 3/4 lb to 1 1/2 pounds of steak and 4-8 eggs. For your second meal you eat the same thing. Nothing else, you season it with salt and pepper and that’s it.

Every sixth day you do a carb load. You can do a “clean” carb load with oats and veggies, or you can go to town with pizza and ice cream. Its your call both work, just that one is healthier, but that’s it. Both get you the results you want.

THE INVENTOR VINCE GIRONDA

Gironda made a name for himself in Hollywood as “The Iron Guru.” He trained a countless number of stars and famous bodybuilders, such as Larry Scott and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Gironda believed that a diet high in fat and protein, especially beef and eggs due to cholesterol, was the way to increase testosterone and lose weight. He is the father of the low-carb diets.

Gironda has been quoted to say bodybuilding is 90% nutrition. His belief was the way in which someone eats is the key to success or failure.

MEAL PLAN TO LOSE WEIGHT – RECAP WHY IT WORKS

• IT’S HIGH PROTEIN 

I mentioned the benefits of protein and high protein diets on muscle mass and retaining muscle mass during diets.

And as far as quality, you can’t get a better source of protein than eggs and beef. On top of it you will get it also in high quantities (Maki et al., 2007).

Despite being a meal plan to lose weight its a very nutritious diet.

Beef has a lot of B vitamins, while eggs are a nutrient powerhouse. It has everything life needs. From vitamins to minerals, everything a chick needs to hatch, or we need to be healthy.

• ITS KETOGENIC (cyclical ketogenic to be exact)

Cutting carbs and going keto is arguably the easiest and fastest way to lose body fat and get shredded.

1. Reduction in appetite due to higher satiety effect of proteins (Westerterp-Plantenga et al., 2009), effects on appetite control hormones (Sumithran et al., 2013) and to a possible direct appetite suppressant action of the ketone bodies (Johnstone et al., 2008).
2. Reduction in lipogenesis and increased lipolysis. As in you burn more fat, and store less of it (Veldhorst et al., 2009).
3. Greater metabolic efficiency in consuming fats highlighted by the reduction in the resting respiratory quotient (Tagliabue et al., 2012).
4. Increased metabolic costs of gluconeogenesis and the thermic effect of proteins

• IT’S STUPID SIMPLE

You don’t count calories, you don’t count protein, you don’t count fat or carbs. You just eat a slab of meat and a couple of eggs for each meal and that’s that.

And yes you can prepare your eggs anyway you like. Be it fried, scrambled, sunny side up, poached, or hard boiled or even raw, but I don’t recommend that. Cooking increases the bioavailability of protein in eggs and also lowers the chance of salmonella poisoning.

Also no vegetables, fruit, juices and sugary drink. The only thing you are allowed to drink is water, black coffee, unsweetened tea, and diet drinks – zero sugar.

And every six day you can go to town. You can gorge on your favorite carbs. Be it pasta, pastries, pizza, hamburgers, ice cream, whatever floats your boat.

INTERMITTENT FASTING

Intermittent fasting enhances hormone function to facilitate weight loss.

You end up with lower insulin levels, higher growth hormone levels and increased amounts of norepinephrine (noradrenaline). All of this increases the breakdown of body fat and facilitate its use for energy.

For this reason, short-term fasting actually increases your metabolic rate by 3.6-14%, helping you burn even more calories.

In other words, intermittent fasting works on both sides of the calorie equation. It boosts your metabolic rate (increases calories out) and reduces the amount of food you eat (reduces calories in).

One review study also showed that intermittent fasting caused less muscle loss than continuous calorie restriction.

Our results suggest that an intermittent fasting program in which all calories are consumed in an 8-h window each day, in conjunction with resistance training, could improve some health-related biomarkers, decrease fat mass, and maintain muscle mass in resistance-trained males (Moro et al., 2016)

IT IS AN EASY MEAL PLAN TO LOSE WEIGHT

If you want a  simple yet VERY effective meal plan to lose weight, it doesnt get better than steaks and eggs. How long should you follow it? Until you reach your desired results, then you switch to something with more of a long term goal or maintenance in mind.

Some people will struggle with eating steaks and eggs every day, but for me it beats eating an apple or an orange with an egg, and calling that a meal.

Steaks and eggs will leave you satisfied and energized, something that you wont get with most diets. So try it out for yourself and report back!

 

REFERENCES

1. Maki, K. C., Rains, T. M., Kaden, V. N., Raneri, K. R., & Davidson, M. H. (2007). Effects of a reduced-glycemic-load diet on body weight, body composition, and cardiovascular disease risk markers in overweight and obese adults. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 85(3), 724-734. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17344493
2. Westerterp-Plantenga, M. S., Nieuwenhuizen, A., Tome, D., Soenen, S., & Westerterp, K. R. (2009). Dietary protein, weight loss, and weight maintenance. Annual review of nutrition, 29, 21-41. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19400750
3. Sumithran, P., Prendergast, L. A., Delbridge, E., Purcell, K., Shulkes, A., Kriketos, A., & Proietto, J. (2013). Ketosis and appetite-mediating nutrients and hormones after weight loss. European journal of clinical nutrition, 67(7), 759-764. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23632752
4. Johnstone, A. M., Horgan, G. W., Murison, S. D., Bremner, D. M., & Lobley, G. E. (2008). Effects of a high-protein ketogenic diet on hunger, appetite, and weight loss in obese men feeding ad libitum. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 87(1), 44-55. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18175736
5. Veldhorst, M. A., Westerterp-Plantenga, M. S., & Westerterp, K. R. (2009). Gluconeogenesis and energy expenditure after a high-protein, carbohydrate-free diet. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 90(3), 519-526., https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19640952
6. Tagliabue, A., Bertoli, S., Trentani, C., Borrelli, P., & Veggiotti, P. (2012). Effects of the ketogenic diet on nutritional status, resting energy expenditure, and substrate oxidation in patients with medically refractory epilepsy: A 6-month prospective observational study. Clinical nutrition, 31(2), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22019282
7. Moro, T., Tinsley, G., Bianco, A., Marcolin, G., Pacelli, Q. F., Battaglia, G., … & Paoli, A. (2016). Effects of eight weeks of time-restricted feeding (16/8) on basal metabolism, maximal strength, body composition, inflammation, and cardiovascular risk factors in resistance-trained males. Journal of Translational Medicine, 14(1), 290 http://translational-medicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12967-016-1044-0