Following a high protein diet plan for weight loss is considered to be the most effective and sustainable way to decrease your overall body fat percentage.
It also lets you keep a check on your muscle mass.
The goal of having low calorie high protein meals during weight loss is to ensure that the required RDA of protein per day is getting fulfilled while simultaneously being in a calorie deficit.
We have got for you an easy-to-follow high protein diet plan to help you lose weight.
Check out first how protein helps in reducing the weight of the body.
How a High Protein Diet Plan Helps in Weight Loss?
Before delving into discussing recipes for a high protein diet plan for weight loss, let’s have a quick look at how adding more protein to your diet will help you lose weight.
1. High Protein Diet Reduces Hunger
Studies have cited that while following a high protein diet for weight loss, your hunger cravings get reduced.
This is primarily because high protein intake reduces the level of ghrelin (hunger hormone) and simultaneously releases peptide YY and GLP-1, which are basically considered as satiety hormones.
Moreover, the protein molecules take comparatively more time to get digested in the stomach and stay for a longer time in the gut.
It is also ideal for gut support.
This phenomenon naturally curb the appetite and maintains an optimum level of stomach fullness that let you feel satiated even while relying upon low calorie high protein meals for weight loss.
2. Low Calorie High Protein Meals Improve Metabolism
Yet another reason to have high protein meals for weight loss is because of the high TEF (thermic effect of food) of protein foods.
TEF is simply the energy expenditure or the calories burnt by the body required to break down, digest and absorb nutrients from the food that you eat. The more the TEF of a food, the higher would be the count of calories burnt during its digestion.
As compared to carbs and fats, the TEF of protein is around 15-30%.
Therefore, more calories are burnt by the body while digesting protein.
This also improves the metabolism of the stomach and aids in weight loss.
3. High Protein Diet Helps in Preserving Lean Muscles
Even after being in a state of caloric deficit while following a high protein diet for weight loss, your body would be able to preserve the muscles.
This is primarily because the muscle tissues would be continuously supplied with all the nine essential amino acids that the body would derive from the high protein meals you would feed yourself during weight loss.
So, if your goal is to get shredded after losing those excess pounds from your body, this high protein diet plan for weight loss is going to be your best companion.
4. Protein Brings Down the Fat Storage Levels in the Body
Including high protein meals for weight loss will also assist the body in burning the fat stored in the adipose tissue instead of just storing it and causing excess fat gain.
This happens primarily when the blood sugar levels in the body drop down, thereby triggering a fall in insulin level also (higher insulin levels in the body cause fat storage that disturbs overall weight management).
High protein meals lead to better stabilisation of blood sugar levels in the body.
In this way, having those protein enriched meals during a weight loss tenure will help your body burn more fat tissues instead of just storing them.
What is a High Protein Diet Plan?
The RDA (recommended dietary allowance) of protein for an average adult is around 0.8 grams per kg of body weight, as cited by Harvard.
For instance, if you are 70 kg, you would need to have around 55-60 grams of protein per day to meet your basic nutritional requirement.
This means that an average adult consumes around 16% of his total caloric intake as protein.
However, when it comes to following a high protein diet plan for weight loss or for gaining muscle mass, one can’t rely upon the average RDA of protein.
For such individuals, the recommended RDA for protein is around 1.6-2.4 grams of protein per kilogram of the overall body weight.
How much protein do you need per day to lose weight?
“How much protein should you eat to lose weight?”
Most people think that while following a high protein diet plan for fat loss, you must stick to the upper limit of protein RDA of a high protein diet plan – i.e., around 2.4 grams per kilogram of body weight.
However, there is a slight catch here.
For weight loss particularly, you need to follow a high protein low calorie diet.
If your protein diet plan compels you to go beyond your caloric intake (as a caloric deficit is mandatory for losing weight), then it won’t lend any benefit as far as fat loss is concerned.
Following a high protein meal plan for weight loss is as important as following a caloric deficit.
Therefore, for those who want to incorporate a high protein diet plan for weight loss, they must consume around 1.6-1.8g of protein per kg of their overall body weight, a 2015 study cited.
For instance, if your body weight is 75 kg and your aim is to shed weight without losing muscles, then your daily protein goal to lose weight must be 120 grams (75 * 1.6).
In a nutshell, you must have a high protein diet for weight loss and slightly cut on carb and fat intake.
With this approach, you would be able to maintain high protein intake during weight loss even while being on a caloric deficit.
High Protein Foods for Weight Loss
Here are the best high protein low calorie foods that can be effectively used for weight loss:
| S.NO | Food | Calories (per 100g) | Protein (per 100g) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicken breast | 165 | 31 g |
| 2 | Egg whites | 52 | 11 g |
| 3 | Greek yogurt (Non-fat) | 59 | 10 g |
| 4 | Low fat Cottage cheese | 98 | 12 g |
| 5 | Tofu | 76 | 10 g |
| 6 | Lentils (Cooked) | 116 | 9 g |
| 7 | Salmon (Cooked) | 206 | 25 g |
| 8 | Shrimp | 99 | 24 g |
| 9 | Spinach (Cooked) | 23 | 2.9 g |
| 10 | Edamame (Cooked) | 122 | 11 g |
Although there are various alternatives available in the market, using these high protein low calorie foods for weight loss will accelerate your transformation to give quick & sustainable results.
7-Day High Protein Diet Plan for Weight Loss
Stick to this high protein meal plan for 6-8 weeks, and you would be surprised to see how effectively it will transform you from fat to fit (with regular high-intensity workout sessions).
Day 1
- Breakfast
3 egg whites & 2 whole eggs with 2 slices of whole wheat bread with 1 tsp of peanut butter and an apple
- Total Calories – 498 (approx.)
- Total Protein – 35.5g (approx.)
- Total Carbs – 50g (approx.)
- Total Fats – 15-20g (approx.)
- Lunch
¼ cup brown rice cooked with 100g of chicken breast and sauteed with broccoli and veggies like onion, bell peppers, and zucchini
- Total Calories – 250(approx.)
- Total Protein – 35g (approx.)
- Total Carbs – 25g (approx.)
- Total Fats – 4.5g (approx.)
- Dinner
150 g of tofu stir-fried with veggies and seasoned with black salt and pepper served with 1 cup of fresh greek yogurt. Add fresh cucumber-lettuce salad diced with 1 tbsp chia seeds and squeeze lemon for additional fibre and vitamin C.
- Total Calories – 250(approx.)
- Total Protein – 35g (approx.)
- Total Carbs – 25g (approx.)
- Total Fats – 4.5g (approx.)
Day 2
- Breakfast
Boil 40 g of rolled oats in ½ cup of unsweetened almond milk. Add 1 scoop of protein powder and 1 small banana. Also have around ½ cup of fresh Greek yoghurt with 1 tsp of chia seeds mixed in it.
- Total Calories – 450(approx.)
- Total Protein – 30g (approx.)
- Total Carbs – 45g (approx.)
- Total Fats – 12g (approx.)
- Lunch
100 g of grilled salmon (use olive oil) served with 2 scrambled whole eggs and a freshly prepared green salad with spinach, lettuce, cucumber, lemon juice, etc.
Total Calories – 485(approx.)
Total Protein – 35g (approx.)
Total Carbs – 12g (approx.)
Total Fats – 30g (approx.)
- Dinner
Cook around 100g of boneless chicken breast with ½ cup of white rice and serve with ½ cup of cooked lentils. Use olive oil and season the chicken with broccoli, bell pepper and some spinach. For taste, use some garlic herbs and cumin seeds along with pink salt and pepper.
Total Calories – 465(approx.)
Total Protein – 36g (approx.)
Total Carbs – 50g (approx.)
Total Fats – 10g (approx.)
Day 3
- Breakfast
Take around 1 cup (250 g approx.) of low fat cottage cheese and mix 1 tsp of chia seeds and 1 medium apple with 1 banana. Drizzle some honey for a slight sweetness. You can also top it up with strawberries.
Total Calories – 350(approx.)
Total Protein – 35g (approx.)
Total Carbs – 35g (approx.)
Total Fats – 8g (approx.)
- Lunch
100 g of chicken breast and 2 whole eggs (scrambled) cooked with white rice and seasoned with fresh veggies (onions, bell peppers, carrot, etc.) and seasoned with garlic herbs, pink salt, turmeric, and pepper.
Total Calories – 490(approx.)
Total Protein – 35-38g (approx.)
Total Carbs – 50g (approx.)
Total Fats – 15g (approx.)
- Dinner
100 g of salmon and 1 cup of fresh veggies (like broccoli, asparagus, bell pepper, onions) grilled in 1 tsp of olive oil and seasoned with pink salt and herbal spices as per your taste. Squeeze a lemon on the top of salmon while serving
Total Calories – 330(approx.)
Total Protein – 30g (approx.)
Total Carbs – 20g (approx.)
Total Fats – 12g (approx.)
Day 4
- Breakfast
Freshly prepared protein pancakes made using 25g of protein powder, ½ cup fresh greek yogurt and ¼ cup of almond milk and 1 large egg to add that extra fluffiness in the pancakes. Garnish them with some flax seeds and a drizzle of honey
Total Calories – 280(approx.)
Total Protein – 37g (approx.)
Total Carbs – 20g (approx.)
Total Fats – 10g (approx.)
- Lunch
100 g of peeled and cleaned shrimp cooked with 2 whole eggs (scrambled0 and diced with veggies (onions, broccoli, bell peppers and green peas) in 1 tsp of olive oil
For seasoning, use fresh herbal spices, some soya sauce and black salt.
Total Calories – 300(approx.)
Total Protein – 37g (approx.)
Total Carbs – 8g (approx.)
Total Fats – 17.5g (approx.)
- Dinner
200 g of diced tofu cooked with 1 cup of broccoli and veggies (onions, bell pepper etc.) Season it with olive oil and fresh herbal spices (like pink salt, garlic paste and pepper). You can also add 1 tsp of soya sauce for that beautiful aroma. Have 3 boiled egg whites to meet.
Total Calories – 380(approx.)
Total Protein – 36g (approx.)
Total Carbs – 35g (approx.)
Total Fats – 16g (approx.)
Day 5
Repeat the diet plan of Day 1
Day 6
Repeat the diet plan of Day 3
Day 7
Repeat the diet plan of Day 4
Conclusion
If your fitness goal is to get shredded and cut fat, then you have to consume high protein packed meals for weight loss.
Low calorie high protein meals will let you meet your daily required protein RDA of 1.6 grams of protein per kg of your body weight.
Since protein satiates hunger and leads to stomach fullness, you would be able to get over those hunger cravings too. Thereby sustaining energy levels even during a caloric deficit diet.
All you need to do is ensure that you are using protein-packed foods to prepare your high protein low calorie meals for weight loss.
Follow this high protein diet plan for weight loss for at least 6-8 weeks, and you would be amazed to see how miraculously it lends results.
All the best!
