Someone on X asked me what I ate to get into a deep deficit and I thought it was worth publishing.
I crafted this diet a while ago when I read Lyle McDonald’s modified PSMF diet (which is a crash diet that I don’t recommend unless you really need to lose as much weight as possible before some sort of deadline).
The diet here is much more sustainable and doesn’t require extreme willpower or extreme patience. In other words, this is the happy medium between a crash diet and “re-comping”. I just ran the diet over the last 6 weeks (lost about 5kg of fat that I gained overeating during the last few months of the wife’s pregnancy).
My maintenance calories are ~2800 per day including the 500 calories I get from the 10,000 steps I do per day. To get a 1000 calorie deficit, I need to eat around 1800 calories.
This is quite low so the diet has to be filling i.e. lots of protein and fiber. At the same time we need some carbs otherwise we will lose strength in the gym, and we need some fat to try to maintain our hormone levels the best we can (hormones will eventually crash – this is why we take diet breaks).
The diet
Breakfast: Black coffee right after waking up followed by EITHER a protein bar with 30g protein OR two cups of Greek Yogurt with some protein oats.
I prefer the Ritebite Ultimate Choco Almond. It tastes good and has 30g protein for ~350 calories. It’s got some soy but soy protein (up to 50-100 mg isoflavones per day) causes zero negative effects no matter what you hear on X.
For the Greek Yogurt, I have two packs of the Epigamia 15g Protein Turbo Fruit Berry Yogurt with 40g Alpino’s protein oats (adds some crunch and carbs to the thing).
5 grams of fish oil (5 pills of the regular non-concentrated version).
During workout (if training): 1 packet of ORS electrolyte powder (should have some dextrose) or coconut water (don’t eat the meat/malai). The sugars are important during your workout because without them you will feel too fatigued to train properly.
Post-workout or brunch: 2 scoops of whey protein. Can have casein protein on non-training days but doesn’t make a big difference.
Lunch: 150g cooked rice with dal and a bowl (~200g) of sauteed fibrous vegetables.
5 grams of fish oil (5 pills of the regular non-concentrated version), 1 high quality multivitamin, and a vitamin D3 supplement.
Evening: 1 whole egg and 5 egg whites cooked into an omelette with some ghee and a bowl of sauteed fibrous vegetables.
Dinner: 300g chicken breast. Low calorie sauce of choice. Some vegetables and 120g mashed potatoes (or 120g rice). Vegetarians can eat Amul’s high protein paneer instead.
The heavier meal comes at night because I have a lot of trouble sleeping on an empty stomach.
Some Notes
1. You’re getting about 1800 calories and about 200g protein on this diet.
2. You can keep the same meal structure or combine some meals and eat them together or whatever else you prefer. Don’t overthink the specifics. The deficit is so large that you will drop fat hand over fist on this diet even if you mess it up a bit here and there (there is no need to try to eat even less to “catch up” the next day).
3. Just make sure that you don’t cheat the diet. If you’re secretly eating pizza and chips and drinking sugar at night, the diet won’t work.
4. You need to train. If you don’t train, you’ll lose muscle. For training modifications while cutting, read this article. Cardio is optional (depending on your energy levels) but I’d try to get in at least two 45 minute sessions of moderate intensity cardio if you can (it should be strenuous enough that you should not be able to speak more than a few words at a time).
5. If you’re going to run this diet for long periods, take two weeks off every 6 weeks. Eat maintenance for 2 weeks and then get back to dieting. This is REALLY important unless you want to tank your hormones (you have been warned).
6. Don’t skip the fish oil and the multivitamins otherwise you can easily create a deficiency of something. We’re not eating a lot of food remember. Note: If you’re on some kind of blood thinner, skip the fish oil or consult your doctor first.
7. Get plenty of sleep. If you are sleep deprived, you will feel hungrier. It makes the whole thing much harder than it needs to be. You gotta make the hard work as easy as possible.
8. You are allowed zero calorie drinks but don’t develop an addiction. Use them to kill cravings.
9. Make sure you salt your food a lot (sodium and potassium) otherwise you WILL get an electrolyte imbalance and feel really tired. If your muscles are starting to twitch and cramp up, you need to add electrolytes.
10. The first few days can be hard but in a week your leptin and ghrelin levels will adjust. You will not feel as hungry and the diet becomes much easier.
If you need specific advice regarding your situation (eg. you’ve been lifting for a while but don’t look like you lift or can’t seem to lose weight), get a consultation with me. If you send me a lengthy email asking for help with no payment, it will be ignored.
