This is my weight loss food tier list, where we will rank foods based on how good they are for getting lean and mean. Because once you know exactly what foods are the best, losing weight will become 1,000 times easier. For this tier list, we have four different tiers, and I will do my best to make sure that you understand the reasoning behind each decision.
So, let's get it underway. First, let's move the most obvious thing out of the way. Lean meat like chicken breast, turkey breast, or some kind of lean fish are obviously incredible for losing weight because they pack a ton of protein while being super low calorie, which as you will start to notice is something that you should be looking for when losing weight.
So, lean meat goes into the incredible tier, which then makes you think, "What about those fattier cuts of meat? " Here, it really kind of depends. You are still getting a good amount of protein, which is really important on a diet, but the calorie amount for some of those fattier cuts of meat might be so high that you might find it really difficult to fit into your diet.
So, the conclusion is this: If you can fit your preferred cut of meat into your diet, then more power to you. Go right ahead. But if you are really battling with hunger and you wish you could eat more food, then going for fattier cuts of meat instead of leaner cuts is just a pure self-sabotage.
You can consume fattier cuts of meat on a diet, but only in moderation. Next up, we have something that you should not be consuming at all when you are trying to lose weight, and that is trail mix. While the food companies try their best to market it as a healthy snack, this will just blow up your diet before you are even able to realize what happened.
You take one handful, two handfuls, and before you know it, you consumed a 1,000 calories. This is an absolute diet killer because it's super easy to eat, and even if you are trying your hardest to cope and say, "But it has healthy fats. " And I mean, sure, it has some nuts, but it's also mixed with a ton of candy.
And if we are being honest, you don't give a damn about the nuts. You just want to eat the candy. And this whole healthy fat angle is just an excuse for you.
Healthy fats are of course really important, and we'll get to that later, but there is absolutely no world in which you should be getting your healthy fats on a diet from trail mix. So, you already know you should completely avoid trail mix. Now, let's talk about something super great, and that is egg whites.
Egg whites have one of the best calorie to protein ratios. So, if you find yourself in a situation where your diet needs some more protein, but you don't really have many calories to spare, egg whites should be your go-to. So, egg whites go into the incredible tier.
But, while we are still on this topic, let's talk about eggs right away. And not just eggs, but healthy fats as a whole. Healthy fats are super important to keep yourself healthy.
If you avoid all healthy fats, your hormones will just go into the bin. But, the problem on a diet is that healthy fats can take up a super big portion of your daily calorie intake. So, it puts you in this weird spot where you need healthy fats, but it's very difficult to fit them all into your diet.
My best recommendation to resolve this issue would be to consume healthy fat sources that are more voluminous and more filling. For example, on one of your days, you replace the lean chicken breast for lunch with some fatty fish. Or, when you are making the before-mentioned egg whites for breakfast, mix in a couple of eggs.
Doing things like that doesn't really feel like you are sacrificing a lot of your daily calories to get your healthy fats in, because you still get to eat a good-sized meal. This option is so much better than, for example, putting a spoon of olive oil into your food, because you quite literally don't even feel like you got something in return. There is no extra volume, and it just feels like you threw 120 calories out of the window for nothing.
So, while healthy fats are absolutely crucial, they should just be consumed in moderation. What is also absolutely crucial is the new beginner bundle. It's a complete package of a training, nutrition, and a cardio plan.
It will teach you the basics of each category and set up your future success. To learn more about the beginner bundle, click the first link below. All right, next up we have veggies.
And I know what you're thinking. Yeah, yeah, eat your veggies, blah, blah. But, almost everyone thinks about veggies in the incorrect way.
You already learned that in the kindergarten. Eat your veggies because they're healthy. And while this is certainly true, this fact doesn't really motivate anyone to eat them.
When your mom told you to eat carrots so that you have better eyesight, you didn't really care, did you? But what if I, as your father right now, told you to eat carrots so that you are not so brutally hungry all the time? That starts to pique your interest at least a little bit, right?
What you have to realize is that everyone is hungry on a diet. You are not special, but the difference is that some people know how to stay satiated and some don't. And that's where the two paths divide.
One group succeeds and the other one fails miserably. And I, as your newly appointed father, have to tell you this because no one else will. Because if you are on a diet and you are constantly hungry, it's only your fault.
Because most veggies have basically negligible calories, so you can eat as much as you want and you will never be hungry again. You just need a little bit of that knowledge to succeed. Imagine this.
You take zucchini, grate it into noodle shapes, and then mix it in with your spaghetti. Just like that, you can more than double the portion of food really increasing the calorie amount in any significant way. The food portion might in fact be so big that you might not even be able to finish it.
And if anything says I'm not hungry anymore, then it's definitely an unfinished plate of food. I, for example, make a gigantic bowl of salad each day and just eat as much as I want, and I am quite literally never hungry. It's just all about finding the veggies you enjoy.
If you don't like eating like a rabbit, then you don't have to. I also wouldn't want to eat only leaves. My go-to is tomatoes and cucumbers with a tiny pinch of seasoning.
Find your go-to veggies and never be hungry again. So, as you already know, veggies go into the incredible tier. Now [clears throat] that you have heard about what you should do on a diet, let me show you what you absolutely should not.
And that is consume liquid calories. I can't even describe how wrong that is. Doesn't matter if it's sugary soda, energy drinks, or a 2,000-calorie coffee from Starbucks.
Drnking your calories on a diet should be considered a crime. In fact, I will lock you up myself if I see any of that going on. There is plenty of sugar-free options if you want to enjoy a fun drink.
Plus, once you realize that caffeine is an appetite suppressant, having a zero sugar caffeinated beverage is a pretty good idea. So, avoid all sugary drinks at all costs, but the zero calorie beverages are absolutely incredible. Now, let's take a look at dairy.
Here, it is really simple. On a diet, you want to go exclusively for the low-fat variations of the product. Full-fat dairy is just a stupid idea when you are trying to lose weight because that once again just wastes calories for no reason, which just means that you will be able to eat less food overall and that you will be hungrier faster.
Dairy is a good source of protein. Just be careful about what version you are buying. So, low-fat dairy goes into the incredible tier and full-fat dairy goes into the avoid tier.
Now, let's take a look at the most common carb sources. I'm talking like rice, oats, potatoes, and pasta. To really understand based on what I want to rank these foods, you first need to understand the role the carbs play in your diet.
To absolutely simplify it, carbohydrates on a diet are basically a filler macronutrient that is just used for fuel. You know, you have certain amount of calories you can eat per day. So, first you calculate your protein intake and then you eat that amount.
That takes away a certain amount of calories. Then you also factor in some healthy fat sources. That will also take away some calories.
These two things are absolutely necessary in any diet and after you assign these two things, you will be left with some calories with which you can do pretty much whatever you want to, which most commonly is just filling the leftover calorie amount with carbs. So, you just pick your favorite carb source and put it into your diet. Apart from the different volumes of these foods, they are basically just the same thing that looks a little different from each other.
So, just go with the one you like the most. These carb sources are completely fine to finish off your diet. Now, let's talk about fruit.
You already heard my rant about veggies and fruits are in a similar position. I feel like once you realize how tasty fruit is, you don't even have a reason to buy some candy in the store anymore. The main problem here is just laziness and not being prepared enough.
I think that most of you would rather eat a juicy strawberry instead of a candy bar or something. But the problem is that the candy bar is much easier to just grab and go. Fruit can be an awesome healthy treat, but the key to actually making it effective is preparation.
So that when you crave something sweet, you can just instantly grab it and eat it like if you took a candy bar from your secret stash. You already know that if the strawberries are rock solid in your freezer, you are not going to wait until they are ready to eat. You will just eat some garbage instead.
So make the fruit easily accessible and always ready to go, the same way a candy bar would be. That way you not only stay healthy, but you also prevent any binge eating. So fruit is most definitely incredible.
Now let's take a look at plant-based protein sources. You already know that meat and dairy are incredible protein sources because they are complete proteins, meaning they contain all the essential amino acids in high quantities so that your body can take them all and build as much muscle as possible, which is not always the case for the plant-based protein sources. That's why I bundle these foods into one category because they are very similar.
I'm talking about foods like soy, beans, lentils, etc. These foods are definitely healthy. There is no question about that.
But if your main goal is building the maximum amount of muscle, you need to know this one crucial thing. Most plant-based sources are incomplete, meaning that they are either missing some of the essential amino acids or they are present in a lower amount than you would need, which means that you could be missing out on some muscle. But this only happens if you would eat the plant-based protein source as a standalone meal.
Once you combine multiple plant-based sources together, they help each other to basically fix [snorts] the amino acid profile. And once that happens, they are a complete protein that will help you build as much muscle as you can. So, when combined, these plant-based sources are completely fine.
Now, let's rapid-fire some of the things you should completely avoid on a diet. First, fast food. For obvious reasons, this goes to the bottom tier.
Same with any type of candy. There is no need for that. Just make yourself a nice fruit snack instead.
And lastly, cereal or granola. This often gets marketed as a healthy option. You know how it is.
Green packaging with all natural in big letters. Unfortunately, saying that it's all natural doesn't mean anything. And it probably still has like 400 calories per 100 g.
And with numbers like that, you can just eat a chocolate bar instead at this point. And that's the deal list. I hope you learned something.
Don't forget to check out the beginner bundle by clicking the first link below. Good luck with your diet, and I will see you next time. If you like this video, then you will surely like this one, too.
