How To Eat In A Calorie Deficit – Your Complete Calorie Deficit Meal Plan

In this article, I am going to discuss how to eat in a calorie deficit, and specifically, we are going to help you figure out how to build a calorie deficit meal plan you can actually stick to (hint: it doesn’t involve cutting out all the foods you love or only drinking cold-pressed celery juice for 14 days).

You might have been told that if you want to lose weight, then you should be in a “calorie deficit.”

And to get into a calorie deficit, you should just “eat less and move more.”

Just one problem…sounds simple on paper, much harder IRL (in real life).

It’s about just as useful as telling people that if you want to get rich, you just need to make more money than you spend.

To which you look at them like…

Again, sounds simple on paper, much harder IRL.

And if you haven’t heard the term calorie deficit before, don’t worry, we’ll go over that too so that you’re in the loop. 🙂

With that said, here’s what you can expect to read about in this article:

• The (Dirty) Truth About Meal Plans
• What Is A Calorie Deficit?
• How Much Is My Calorie Deficit? – Calorie Deficit Calculator
• What You Should Be Eating In A Calorie Deficit
• What You Should NOT Be Eating In A Calorie Deficit
• How Often Should You Be Eating In A Calorie Deficit – Meal Frequency

So without further ado, let’s dive in.

But First, The (Dirty) Truth About Meal Plans

Okay so to set up expectations right off the bat, I’m going to let you know that I will not be providing any sort of meal plan in this article (or ever).

Why?

Because firstly, it isn’t in my scope of practice as only Registered Dietitians (RDs) are able to prescribe custom meal plans under current policies – yes, the people who aren’t RDs prescribing meal plans are breaking the law, however, because it isn’t something that is heavily enforced, these people are able to get away with it.

Secondly, getting someone else to write you a meal plan is actually doing you a disservice because:

1. No one can tell you exactly what to eat, when to eat, and how to eat it because…get ready for it…they aren’t you. They aren’t in your shoes and living your life. So realistically, how are they going to be able to manage your eating habits?
2. This doesn’t actually teach you anything. A big part of my philosophy with my content and online coaching program is built around educating you. This goes back to the whole “giving someone a fish a day versus teaching them how to fish” analogy. Me telling you what to eat, when to eat, and how to eat won’t help you prepare for the days when your meal plan won’t do jack shit. What if a spontaneous social event comes up? What if you want something not listed in your meal plan? What if you have/don’t have access to specific foods someone else has prescribed to you? These are all very real concerns that can occur every day that a meal plan won’t solve.

So what do I recommend instead?

Building your own meal plan.

And before you say it…

Yes, I know.

It will be harder.

It will take time.

It will take effort.

You will mess up along the way.

There will be times when you feel like you have no idea what you’re doing and want to give up.

However, if you can stick through it, if you can take every slip up as an opportunity to learn and improve, you will be able to build your own meal and learn the habits and skills you need to succeed for a lifetime.

And no single meal plan developed by someone else will come anywhere close to doing that.

So with that said, in this article, we will work together to help you build a meal plan that will work for you.

All you have to do is read every single word from top to bottom and left to right.

Again, it won’t be easy, but it will be worth it because these habits and skills will serve you for the rest of your life.

How To Eat In A Calorie Deficit – Wait, What Is A Calorie Deficit Anyway?

It’s a common misconception that a calorie deficit is a type of “diet” like keto, fasting, carnivore, or eating cabbage soup all day (wow, can’t believe someone actually came up with that one *facepalm*).

When in fact, it isn’t a diet at all.

That’s because you can get into a calorie deficit following any “diet.”

A calorie deficit is simply taking in less energy than your body uses on a consistent basis.

And because your body isn’t getting enough energy from food sources, it still needs that energy from somewhere so it will start pulling energy from your fat stores for example.

So a calorie deficit isn’t a diet. It’s a foundational principle that dictates energy balance.

It also happens to dictate how you lose fat.

In fact, it’s the only way to lose fat.

Having fewer calories coming into your body versus going out via eating less, moving your body more, or both.

However, as I said earlier, even it is that simple, it isn’t easy. Like at all. (You probably realized this)

That’s because, as discussed in my other article, Why You’re Not Losing Weight In A Calorie Deficit, the calories in versus calories out equation is much more complicated than that.

The calories in part is pretty simple and straightforward, but the calories out part is what messes with a lot of people’s progress (and combining that with self-reporting mistakes like tracking errors).

So if you happen to be swearing up and down that you’re in a calorie deficit, but aren’t seeing any progress, then I urge you to read this article (Why You’re Not Losing Weight In A Calorie Deficit) to troubleshoot your problems. And 99% of the time, it’s because you weren’t in a calorie deficit 😉

But if you don’t know where to even start, I got you.

How Much Is My Calorie Deficit? – Free Calorie Deficit Calculator

Here’s my free calorie deficit calculator to figure out exactly how many calories you need to lose fat. 🙂

Click HERE to access it.

Also worth noting, this calculator isn’t the end all be all.

No single calorie calculator out there is going to be perfect.

You’ll likely need to adjust the calories you get down the line.

However, they can all serve as a good starting point.

So now that you know what a calorie deficit is and how many calories you should be eating in your deficit, let’s talk about what you should be eating.

How To Eat In A Calorie Deficit – What You Should Be Eating (Can You Actually Eat Whatever You Want?)

Alright so now that we’ve established that yes, as long as you are in this so-called “calorie deficit” despite what diet you follow, you will lose fat.

And inevitably, this will be a follow-up question I get, “Wait, so does this mean that I can eat whatever I want as long as I am in a calorie deficit?”

Yes, this is true. You can lose fat by exclusively eating pizza, chips, ice cream, and the sort.

But of course, if something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

So there are some pros and cons to this.

Let’s go over the pros first.

For most people, when they realize that they can actually eat whatever they want to lose fat, this removes a lot of fear around labeling foods as “good” or “bad.”

This helps them realize that they can actually incorporate all foods and still see progress without having to try and survive on salads, chicken breast, broccoli, and rice for the rest of their lives.

This also helps them realize that no single food group will make them fat.

Gaining fat is the result of eating more calories than they burn and being in a calorie surplus consistently over time.

This allows them to truly become a flexible dieter and have a healthier relationship with food while crushing their goals.

Alright, now let’s go over the cons.

There’s a saying that goes with this.

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

And like many other things, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

Just because you can go out and party every weekend doesn’t mean you should.

Just because you can stay up all night watching Netflix doesn’t mean you should.

We do things that have benefits and tradeoffs all the time.

And really, it’s just about going after the things that have the benefits and tradeoffs that you’re willing to live with and serve your goals.

With that said, just because you can eat fast food, candy, chips, and pizza in a calorie deficit and still lose fat, does that mean you should?

Now of course, as mentioned above, the benefits are great.

You don’t have to feel excessively restricted from eating all those tasty foods you enjoy.

So what are the tradeoffs?

(You probably already figured this out)

Let’s say your daily calorie goal is 1,500 calories.

A quarter pounder meal from McDonald’s is about 1,000 calories and a large slice of pizza is around 300 calories.

Now, I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t sound like a lot of food.

So because of these food choices, you’re not going to be very full even though you just slammed back all those calories.

And not to mention you’re barely halfway through the day and you’re near your calorie target.

As a result, you’re probably not going to be able to stick to and enjoy your calorie deficit for very long.

And if you can’t stick to your calorie deficit for very long, then you won’t be able to see any lasting results.

Secondly, even though yes, it does boil down to calories in and calories out, your food quality isn’t going to be very good.

Highly processed foods like fast food, pizza, ice cream, chips, etc. don’t contain all the good healthy stuff that our body needs to function properly like vitamins, minerals, and other micronutrients.

So let’s say you do power through your deficit and eat exclusively highly processed foods.

Even if you do manage to lose weight, your overall health will still decline and you won’t feel very good.

And truth be told, in my experience working with my online coaching clients, none of them are seeking weight loss just to lose weight, but they also want to feel better in their bodies.

So how do we find this good balance?

How To Eat In A Calorie Deficit – The 80/20 Principle

The 80/20 Principle is something I use with all of my online coaching clients to help them build flexibility into their plan so that they can sustain the results they get.

Because really, isn’t that the end goal?

What’s the point of losing fat if you just end up gaining it all back?

If you are reading this, chances are you have successfully lost weight before doing unsustainable things like cutting all the sugar from your diet, removing all the carbs from your diet, trying to survive on 1200 calories, or even only trying to eat “clean.”

While yes, you may successfully lost weight, what about actually keeping it off?

Probably not as successful.

How do I know?

Spoiler alert: I’m a mind reader.

Just kidding.

Here’s how I know.

It’s because when the methods are unsustainable then you the results you get are going to be unsustainable.

If you want to keep your results, then must to able to keep doing the process that got you there.

So unless you’re swearing off sugar, never touching fast food ever again, or plan to eat chicken broccoli, and rice for the rest of your life, you’re not going to be able to keep your results.

And this is exactly why this 80/20 principle just works so damn well.

The 80/20 Principle

Here’s how it works.

80% of your calories are going to come from nutritious, whole, minimally processed foods like:

• Chicken
• Beef
• Pork
• Fish
• Potatoes
• Rice
• Eggs
• Fruits
• Veggies

If you are ever unsure of whether something falls into this category, think about how many ingredients does this food contain?

Most of these foods are going to be single-ingredient foods.

Chicken is one ingredient. Strawberries are one ingredient. Rice is one ingredient.

Now, this doesn’t that you should only be eating this one ingredient at a time. That would be boring, tasteless, and unsustainable (remember?).

You can (and certainly should) flavor your food, mix ingredients together, and make your meals as tasty as possible while keeping them nutrient-dense and calorie-controlled.

Another simple way is to think about it like this. If that food used to:

• Grow in the ground
• Roam the earth
• Live in the ocean
• Fly in the sky

Then that food is part of the 80%.

But if it was made in a lab or manufactured somewhere, it’s going to be part of the 20%.

Unfortunately, I do also have to add that if we somehow have pizza trees in the future, it will still not be part of the 80%…sorry…

Which brings me to our next point, what can the other 20% consist of?

All of the other extremely tasty, highly processed stuff like:

• Pizza
• Chips
• Ice cream
• Donuts
• Burgers
• Fries

I don’t need to keep going on with these because you probably have your list. 😉

The reason for this is, again, to build flexibility into your diet so that you can sustain your results.

Not to cut out every single thing you enjoy only to go on an eventual massive binge which leads many down a path of constant binge-restrict cycles that can really mess you up physically and mentally.

With that said, you can incorporate this 80/20 principle in a variety of ways.

You can do it on a daily basis. For example, let’s say you used my calorie calculator and got 2000 calories as your number.

By incorporating this 80/20 principle, you would get 1600 calories from nutritious, minimally processed, whole foods.

And then the other 400 calories can come from treats or other “fun” foods.

Another option would be to incorporate it on a weekly basis.

Because let’s say you do have some days where you really want to dial in and don’t feel like eating treats or you have some days where you really don’t want to cook and prepare food.

Since not every day is going to be the same, you don’t need to treat every day the same.

And with this way, say your daily calories are 2000. 2000 x 7 would mean that your weekly calories are 14000.

That means you could eat 2,800 calories worth of treats and “fun” foods throughout the week.

And of course, you can use that as needed whether that’s one “off” day or a few bigger treats over a couple of days.

Something worth mentioning is that this “off” day is not to be confused with “cheat” days because you’re still paying attention your calories, just not so much your food choices.

But I wouldn’t recommend that you get your entire day’s worth of calories just from donuts.

Protein, Protein, Protein

Another thing you may or may not have heard that is uber important while in a calorie deficit is to eat adequate protein.

Contrary to popular belief, protein isn’t just worshipped by the gym bros who want to build big muscles.

Protein also helps:

• Keep you full (so that we don’t go hunting around for more calories)
• Boost your metabolism
• Build/maintain lean muscle mass which will help increase your metabolism even more

So whether or not you eat mostly of the 80% foods or 20% foods we talked about earlier, you should strive to hit your protein target each day for all of the benefits mentioned above.

If you want some numbers for protein targets, I recommend

Your goal body weight (in lbs) x 0.8-1.2

Anywhere in that range will be fine, but make it something manageable and attainable for you.

It would be extremely difficult if you’re only eating 40g of protein per day right now and tried to ramp it up to 120g overnight.

On the other hand, if you’re someone who easily gets into the upper end range, no need to overdo it.

Excessive protein intake won’t cause kidney issues like a lot of “goo-roos” lead you to believe.

But it may cause some #2 problems in the bathroom (which are probably also just not as fun). Another thing is that protein is typically the most expensive macronutrient so if you’re someone who has a budget to keep, you probably don’t want to end up mortgaging your house to pay for your chicken breast grocery haul.

And before you say it, yes, I know finding good protein sources and increasing your protein can be difficult.

But don’t worry, I’ve got you covered with another article you can read HERE.

How To Eat In A Calorie Deficit – What You Should NOT Be Eating

Okay, so I’m hoping I made myself abundantly clear above, but just in case I didn’t, here’s an entire section dedicated to this.

There are no foods that you should be staying away from. There are no “bad” foods that inherently cause fat gain nor are there “good” foods that automatically lead to fat loss.

Your total calories over a consistent period of time is what leads to fat loss or gain.

But I will say this (which may sound obvious to you).

The only foods you should be staying away from are:

• Foods that you don’t like or your body doesn’t agree with
• Foods that you know will you lose control around (“trigger” foods)

These are the only cases in which I will say “avoid these foods.”

And these foods are going to be different for everyone.

In my case, I hate kale with a passion.

Tastes like grass and legit the worst thing I have ever put into my mouth.

Yet, some people say that is one of the true “superfoods” that everyone needs to be eating.

Even if you told me that it would add 50 years onto my life, but I had to eat it every day? No thanks.

So because I don’t like kale? I’m going to avoid it like the plague.

Another example would be a trigger food like chips (specifically Sour Cream & Onion flavored Lay’s for me).

If you know that even having the smell of chips in your house is going to lead you to end up hunting it out and eating it nonstop, it might be best for you to completely remove that food from the house while you work on your health, fitness, and relationship with food.

And that’s not to say that you can never have chips again, but as you continue to work with your mindset and fitness, you can eventually incorporate it back into your diet. But for now, keep it out of sight or not easily accessible.

These are the only foods you should be avoiding in your calorie deficit.

Not white bread.

Not rice.

Not sugar.

Not fruit (seriously WTF said this?).

Capeesh? Good. Let’s move on.

How Often Should You Be Eating In A Calorie Deficit – Meal Frequency

Now, that we know what to eat and what not to eat, another question that inevitably comes up is “How often should I be eating?”

You’ll have people who say, “You gotta eat 6 small meals a day to stoke the metabolic fire!!”

But you’ll also have people who say, “No, you gotta fast most of the day and only eat 1-2 large meals a day!!”

And look, here’s what I will say on this.

Meal frequency does not matter at all for fat loss.

Think about it like this, if you drove the same 100 miles every day, does it matter whether you fill up in the morning or at night?

No, because you’re going to be using 100 miles worth of gas every single day.

Your body is the same way.

If you’re using the same amount of energy consistently and refueling with the same amount, when you fill up doesn’t matter.

What matters, again, is what method allows you to consistently stay in your calorie deficit.

So if you’re someone who prefers to eat smaller, more frequent meals, have at it.

If you’re someone who prefers to do intermittent fasting and eat larger, less frequent meals, go for it.

If the method you choose to use is sustainable, then your results will be sustainable.

What About Snacks?

(I have an entire podcast episode about this by the way that you can listen to HERE.)

This is another major point that I feel a lot of people struggle with in a calorie deficit.

They’ll say “I don’t eat that much, but I swear I’m in a calorie deficit!”

Meanwhile, they’re constantly grazing and snacking through the day and have at least several hundred calories that go unaccounted for.

Which adds up and eventually puts them out of a calorie deficit…

And lo and behold they’re not actually in a calorie deficit like they say they were.

So #1, make sure you’re actually tracking everything you put into your mouth.

And #2, while I’m not demonizing snacking, here’s why most people (including you) don’t really need to snack.

You aren’t eating full-sized filling meals.

Many people who graze and snack throughout the day (admittedly, I was guilty of this) aren’t eating filling and satiating meals. And what happens as a result?

(This is also the culprit for when people say, “I don’t know why I got fat, I don’t really eat that much.”)

They end up constantly picking at and eating whatever they can get their hands on throughout the day.

And as we’ve seen previously in this article, if you aren’t full, you’re much more likely to overeat calories and put yourself out of a calorie deficit.

So start filling up during your main meals and you’ll find that you naturally won’t need to snack as much.

You’re not prioritizing your meals (and yourself).

This one is especially true if you are a parent or someone who is always busy and on the go.

When you have other commitments and responsibilities like having children or working a demanding job, you can easily go all day being distracted by other problems.

Next thing you know, 8 hours have gone by and you haven’t eaten a single thing then you realize you’re tired and starving and the last thing you want to do is think about is cooking and eating healthy.

So what do we do about this?

I know it’s hard when you’ve used up your last bit of patience and energy dealing with your kid or some sort of fire that came up at work, but trust me when I say this.

If you want to continue giving yourself to others then you need to prioritize yourself.

So spend some time planning and preparing some nutritious meals for yourself ahead of time and take care of yourself first.

Because sometimes in order to be selfless, you must be selfish first.

With that said, here is a tool I use with my online coaching clients that have led to massive success. It’s called “Design Two Perfect Days of Dieting.”

@austinchanfitness

How to meal plan for weight loss #weightlossmealplan #mealprepweightloss #mealplan #mealplanning #howtomealplan #howtomealprep #healthymealplan #mealplans

♬ original sound – Austin Chan | Online Coach

You’re eating when you’re not hungry.

This is another thing that has become a big problem in today’s society.

People eating when they’re not hungry leads to overeating = calorie surplus = weight gain (which sounds obvious when you read this).

This is probably the hardest to solve out of all of the above because you really need to dig deep and ask why you’re overeating.

Is it because you’re bored and just need something to snack on?

Is it because you’re eating to cope with something missing or askew in your life?

Only you can truly answer this question. It won’t be easy, but when you do figure it out, it will literally feel like a light bulb moment.

You’re choosing shit foods.

Lastly, if you’re someone who truly does feel better snacking and grazing (this is a rare exception, I have only had a handful of clients who truly felt this way), then you just simply need to choose better snack options.

If you’re constantly snacking on foods that make you feel “empty” like chips, candy, chocolate, or any other high-calorie and fast-digesting snack, then you’ve got some room to improve.

Again, there are no “good” or “bad” foods here, but there are “better” and “worse” foods for staying full in a calorie deficit and overall health.

So as discussed in my other article How To Know If You’re In A Calorie Deficit Without Counting Calories, when in doubt, snacking on fruits, veggies, and protein is always a win.

How To Eat In A Calorie Deficit – Putting It All Together

Now, I know that was a lot of information, so we’re going to put it all together so that you can optimize your calorie deficit to make it as efficient and simple as possible.

First and foremost, we’ve established that you need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight. There is absolutely no way around this.

However, we also know that yes, this means you can anything you want and as long as you’re in a calorie deficit, you will lose weight.

But, this also means that just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. You should focus mostly (roughly 80%) on whole, minimally processed, nutritious foods.

On the other hand, this also doesn’t mean you can never touch a cookie, pizza, or any of your favorite treats ever again.

You can and should leave room to have those from time to time (roughly 20% of your total intake).

In conjunction, you should focus on getting in adequate protein (0.7 to 1.2g per lb of goal BW), eating a lot of fibrous, high volume, low-calorie foods like fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs, beans, etc.

This will not only ensure you lose weight but also feel full & satiated and keep your health levels up by eating nutrient-dense foods.

Because the truth is, losing weight is already hard.

So why make it harder than it has to be by following stupid, non-sensical rules that only hurt and not help?

If you follow every single thing I’ve laid out in this article, I guarantee your success.

Final Thoughts On How To Eat In A Calorie Deficit

Alright, and that’s about it!

That is literally everything you need to know on how to eat in a calorie deficit.

From what foods to eat, foods to not eat, how much to eat, and when to eat.

The only left for you to do is apply everything you’ve learned.

Which isn’t easy by any means. It will require you to do the hard stuff even when you don’t want to.

But you can do this.

And if you need someone to keep you accountable and support you every step of the way, then check out my online coaching program.

Until next time,

-Aus