A simple vegan nutrition plan for weight loss

What if weight loss were easy?

What if you could stay lean and strong as you age?

What if you could stay fit even with a demanding career?

What if a simple vegan nutrition plan for weight loss was made for you?

These are the questions I faced almost a decade ago. Back then, there wasn't as much information on how to drop fat, build muscle, or get strong as a science-based lifter. 

There's a lot more these days. But there's also a lot of noise out there. Some of it's good. Some of it's not so great. Some of it's just nonsense. 

So how do you separate the noise from the facts? 

By focusing on what works vs. what doesn't. 

You can test everything in this guide immediately. You can try the action steps below and use them easily in real life. 

As a rule for fat-loss: you can't outwork a 'bad' diet. 

The adage that '80% of results come from your diet, or abs are made in the kitchen' is accurate. 

Nutrition is important, but exercise plays a huge role too. It shouldn’t be limited to only 20% of the results. 

Exercise and nutrition are 50/50. 

What helps you lose weight the quickest—mainly body fat—is how much you eat. How much you eat is defined by your caloric intake. 

Calories are a unit of energy. They measure the energy in each food we eat. 

One pound of raw broccoli has 154 calories. Its macronutrient breakdown is roughly 65% carbohydrates, 8% fat, and 27% protein. 

1 pound of peanut butter has 2,670 calories. Its macro breakdown is roughly 72% fat, 15% carbs, and 13% protein. 

Notice the difference above. It's very easy to gain weight (body fat) when you're unconscious of your eating habits. 

How much you eat (calories) matters when you want to change your body composition. 

The answer is simple: eat fewer calories than you need to maintain your weight. This will help jumpstart fat loss. 

Every successful diet relies on one key principle: eat fewer calories than you burn. 

Most diets eventually fail if you don't prepare for lasting success. 

Let's cover how you can drop your next 10-30 pounds using evidence-based nutrition.

Fat loss begins when you eat less calories (food) than your maintenance calories (how much you need to eat to stay the 'same'). 

We want to focus on fat loss, not just weight loss. Your weight will change a lot during your fitness journey. 

1 pound of body fat contains approximately 3,500 k/cal. To lose 1 pound of body fat, you need to eat 500 fewer calories each day. 

This will help you achieve 1 pound of fat loss in a week. 

How fast can or should you go? 

You can go as fast as you'd like (and most people do, especially in the beginning)... 

This leads to long-term failure, especially if your starting body fat percentage is high. 

The more body fat you have to lose, and the faster you try to lose it, the higher the risk of regaining weight (body fat). 

Another pitfall is losing muscle as your caloric deficit grows. (A caloric deficit means eating fewer calories than your body needs.) 

The faster you try to lose weight, the more calories you cut. This raises your risk of losing valuable muscle tissue. Regaining that muscle takes hours of training. 

(credit to Andy Morgan)

The fatter you are, the closer you can push toward 1% per week. 

The leaner you are, the closer you should be to 0.5% per week. 

How this looks in application: 

• I suggest most clients aim for 1-1.25 pounds of fat loss per week. 

• If a client is obese or highly overweight, aiming for 1.25 to 1.5 pounds per week might help. However, based on Morgan's work and my experience, most clients usually lose about 1 pound each week. 

• For smaller or lighter clients, it may make more sense to aim for 0.5 pounds per week. 

The numbers above may seem fast or slow. 

But you have to build sustainability into your strategy before you start cutting fat and dropping weight. Otherwise, you're setting yourself up for long-term failure.

So let's dive into a simple framework you can use to drop weight (body fat) for life.

Step 1: What's your target weight loss

The gold standard for fat loss (weight loss) is about 1 pound per week (see the percentages above). 

So if you have 20 pounds to drop, give yourself about 20 weeks.

Expect to lose 3-4 pounds of water weight in the first 2-3 weeks. After that, your fat loss should stabilize at about 1 pound per week.

Without clarity and direction, weight loss will be challenging.

Set the right expectations based on evidence-based results.

If anyone promises you can drop 10 pounds in 2 weeks, I can guarantee you that it won't be 10 pounds of body fat.

If you don't know: 

• How much weight you need to lose

• The proper expectations for a sustainable weight loss rate

Things can get funky. 

Most people try to go too hard, too fast. 

But I like to start with the end in mind when framing fitness results. 

What's your end goal? Or better said, what's your vision?

How do you envision your body and health 3-5 years ahead of now? 

What's your weight then? Your body fat percentage? Your muscle mass and strength? How much energy do you have? How confident do you feel in your body?

The more detailed your vision, the easier it is to set yearly milestones. 

This is an important exercise to do before you start your journey. 

Think of this as your roadmap. 

Once you have this in hand, you'll know where you're going and what you want. 

95% of people who exercise and diet don't know what they want. 

Avoid this and create a clear blueprint to help you climb your fitness mountain. 

Step 2: Use negative energy balance (deficit)

To drop body fat (not just lose weight), you need to give your body a reason to use its stored fat.

The reason is simple: eat less.

When you eat less, your body sees this as a signal to start using stored body fat as a new energy source.

Think of it like stopping weekly grocery trips and using the food in your pantry as backup meals.

That's basically what happens to your body.

When you eat less, your body then starts to use ('eat') stored body fat (your 'pantry') as a source of energy.

How many calories should you drop daily?

Around 500 k/cal per day.

This will give you a weekly net loss of around 3,500 k/cal, which is about how much energy is stored in 1 pound of body fat.

I mentioned this before when I compared the calories in broccoli to those in peanut butter. 

A simple way to create a fast deficit is to reduce your fat intake. 

Carbs have, on average, 4 calories per gram. 

Protein is similar. 

However, fats average 9 calories per gram. 

So it's more than twice the energy intake per gram of carbs or protein. 

In our fast-food culture, it's easy to eat too many calories if you don’t plan. 

The better the food quality, the less fat you'll likely eat. 

We need healthy fats for hormones and organ health. But too much fat is what often leads to weight gain for many of us. 

So, slicing back what doesn't need to be there can do wonders for your fat-loss progress. 

Fat loss > weight loss. 

The first aims to cut body fat, while the second drops fat and muscle tissue. 

You don't just want to 'do weight loss diets'. 

You want to drop body fat, stay lean, and retain muscle.

Step 3: Track your progress

For something to be scientific, you need to track your progress.

Throwing darts blindfolded and missing the target is like how many people try to lose weight without tracking their data.

Here's the caveat: data is relevant in the context of your current experiment.

Which means you don't need to track calories forever.

But you do need accurate information for an extended period.

Your current habits are what landed you in this mess in the first place.

Changing habits takes time, but it will reshape who you are.

Tracking builds awareness.

You'll eventually use that awareness in different ways throughout your life.

After working with hundreds of clients worldwide for the past eight years, I’ve seen a clear difference. Clients who take ownership of their data and tracking succeed. 

Those who don’t track consistently struggle.

It's night and day.

My reputation relies on results. Therefore, I only work with clients and students who are coachable and have a beginner's (growth) mindset.

Track your data daily and watch what happens. 

Fitness is simple but not easy. The principles are easy to use. But it gets tough when you juggle 50+ responsibilities. That’s the challenge for anyone focused on their career. 

Step 4: Strategic strength training

Next, focus on primary fat loss. When it comes to weight loss (especially on a plant-based diet), it's easy to lose muscle tissue along with body fat. 

You don't want to do this. Instead, you'll want to focus on losing body fat (not just weight). 

Muscle tissue is hard to rebuild. It takes time. Rebuilding 1 pound of muscle tissue can take dozens of hours. 

To avoid wasting time, aim to prevent muscle loss while losing fat. 

To accomplish this, follow the steps outlined in step 5, focusing on targeted macros, particularly protein. If you don't do either step, you will lose precious muscle tissue. 

Here's how to use strength training during fat loss: 

• Try to lift weights for 3 to 4 days a week. Personally, I prefer 4 days for maintaining muscle, but 3 is the minimum you should do.

• Aim for 80% intensity per set 

• Aim for 8-12 reps per set for hypertrophy. You might not build much muscle during fat loss, but some body recomposition can still happen. So, why not go for those bonus gains?

• Focus on frequency and consistency over perfection and complexity

• Track your workouts and focus on personal bests, even if they're not as frequent 

• Cap your workouts at 6-8 exercises while targeting volume + intensity as your main drivers 

That's a lot to unpack. Let's start from the top. 

3-4 days of lifting weights is a strong base for protecting and preserving muscle tissue. Any more than this, and you're doing overkill or preparing for a bodybuilding show (or you love living in the gym). 

For career-driven folks, 3-4 days a week is ideal. 

There's nothing wrong with any of those options, as I did all the above. For most clients, I'd recommend 4 days. This plan allows for two upper and two lower lifting days. 

It helps to balance your exercise volume across muscle groups. 

But that's my personal preference. I've worked with CEOs who could only get by with three 30-minute strength workouts. 

I’ve also worked with small business owners and consultants. They wanted to fit in four 45-to 60-minute strength workouts, despite limited time. 

It all comes down to the season of life you're in. 

As for intensity, most people undertrain their muscles and bodies. They aren't training hard enough to give their bodies a real reason to keep or build muscle. 

Resistance training is called training for a reason. You need to work hard to achieve a specific result. 

It's not exercising. That's just working out without a clear goal or targeted adaptation. 

When you train, you're aiming for a specific result. 

It makes sense to go after that result each time you train. 80% intensity per set will typically leave you with 1-2 reps left in your tank. That's usually the sweet spot for muscle retention during fat loss. 

For muscle building, aim for 6-12 reps. Science backs this range for the best results. You won’t build muscle while losing fat, but you might see some slight body recomposition. 

Body recomposition is the holy grail of fitness—building muscle while dropping fat. Unfortunately, it doesn't last long. 

It often happens to new trainees or when you start lifting again after a break. 

In some cases, you can see body recomposition. This happens when your program is well structured, and you stick to it consistently. 

But it's not to be expected when your main goal is fat loss. 

Exercise science is cool because everyone responds to exercise differently. Some people respond better to specific exercise dosages and schedules. For others, it may be harder. 

The key to your fitness success is consistency. It matters more than anything else on your journey. 

The tortoise really wins the fitness race. This is true, especially since 95% of people lose their results after a few years. It's about staying in the game. You need to outlast your limiting beliefs and fixed mindset. 

This leads to frequency and consistency. 

To win your fitness for life—and everything else—consistency is key. Health and fitness are the x-factor for all good things. 

Not perfect, but consistent. The ideal frequency is 3-4x a week (I prefer 4 for the reasons mentioned above). That doesn't mean you have to hit four perfect strength workouts.

You don’t need every set and rep to be perfect.  

Let me explain. 

I used to think that if I missed any exercise, rep, or set, there was no point in doing the workout. 

Yes, you should hit your exercise prescription each time you train. You can set up a controlled experiment with the same variables. This helps you see what works and what doesn’t. 

That would be ideal (and optimal). 

But optimal isn't always real. 

Some days, you’ll have your 1-year-old with you. You’ll aim for a quick 5-minute strength workout. Focus on 2 sets of 2 exercises, performing 6-12 reps per set. Push each set to failure. 

Being perfect in your health or fitness is a fallacy. It's a myth. It will never happen every day for the rest of your life. But you can create consistent, imperfect workouts that are stacked one on top of the other. 

Stick with it, and you'll see changes in muscle, strength, and body composition that work for you. But you'll need to take imperfect action. 

I stress this because I’ve heard it hundreds of times from clients and in conversations over the years. Your biggest challenge might be overcoming perfectionism if you're like me and always feel the need to cross your t's and dot your i's. 

Focus on frequency and consistency over perfection and complexity. 

A workout log helps you track your workouts. It lets you collect exercise data and chart your progress over time. 

During fat-loss phases, you’ll likely see a boost in strength and muscle definition. Many people don’t lift weights regularly. This affects strength since it’s linked to your central nervous system. 

In long-term fat loss phases, you’ll likely maintain your strength. You may see only a few personal bests. But that doesn't mean you can't try. 

Personal bests or new records in the gym or at home can boost motivation. This is especially helpful at the start, when building new habits can be tough. 

James Clear calls this the "positive feedback loop." When you complete a new habit, you get a "reward/feedback" that recognizes your effort. Personal bests can be part of the loop, even if the personal best is just a new best of how many workouts you got in a row. 

Cap your exercises at 6-8 per workout. This keeps your sessions efficient. Avoid stacking 10-15 exercises in one workout. 

Your main drivers for fat loss are a caloric deficit and enough training. The training helps preserve both existing and new muscle tissue. 

Again, we want to aim for primary fat loss, not primary muscle loss. 

Volume is how much work you do per workout (mainly how many sets per exercise). Intensity is how hard you push yourself or how hard the workout is overall. 

A simple way to visualize is using the following equation: 

3 x 8-12 x RIR: 2

3 = 3 sets

8-12 = 8-12 reps

RIR: reps in reserve (leave 2 in the tank; 80% intensity)

Current research suggests doing 10-20 sets per muscle group for muscle growth. However, during fat loss, our goal is different. We want to preserve muscle tissue. Workouts will get harder over time because of diet fatigue and reduced motivation to train. 

To preserve muscle, aim for 3-4 sets per exercise each workout. If you train four times a week, stick to 8-12 reps per set. Keep intensity high, leaving 1-2 reps in the tank (around 80-90% effort). 

This is a general framework. You can adjust it for your specific goals and needs. But it can also help you achieve great results on its own. 

Use it and focus on consistency over perfection. 

Step 5: Create targeted macros

Macronutrients are the individual components of each meal. They're how you divide calories among sources. 

The 3 main 'macro' groups are:

• Protein (4 k/cal per 1 gram)

• Carbohydrates (4 k/cal per 1 gram)

• Fats (lipids) (9 k/cal per 1 gram)

Alcohol also has its own group:

• Alcohol (4 k/cal per 1 gram)

Once you know where most of your calories come from, you can make changes to improve your fat-loss success. 

But first, some quick context: 

Macro manipulation is an important part of vegan weight loss. 

But it's not the be-all. 

I've competed in men's physique bodybuilding, so I know the benefits of targeted macro tracking. 

But as a busy father, husband, writer, and world explorer, my schedule stays full every day. 

Macro tracking is a useful tool for me on most days. However, I also know food quality greatly impacts fat-loss progress. 

We'll cover this more in-depth later in this guide. 

To get the best results with macros while losing fat, current research highlights a few key points to keep in mind:

1. Protein is key for muscle preservation 

2. Carbs are necessary for energy production

3. Fats can be kept to a minimum to support the first 2 macros (but still enough for hormonal balance)

Let's start with protein. 

We live in a protein-crazed world. Every fitness influencer says you need protein at every meal. In fact, every fitness coach's nutrition recommendations put more emphasis on protein. 

While protein matters during fat loss, it isn't as essential for health goals. 

This is why the fitness and health worlds often clash and create confusion. 

Fitness often focuses more on fat loss than health does. The health world usually emphasizes weight loss. This can create more confusion. 

Here's why protein is important during fat loss:

• Your body will drop muscle tissue and fat tissue (both) without a reason to keep muscle during fat loss.

• You can't build something from nothing.

Protein consists of amino acids, the body's building blocks. Think of them as Lego pieces for rebuilding muscle tissue.

A good rule of thumb for preserving muscle during fat loss is to aim for 1.0 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass.

If you weigh 300 pounds, you don't need to eat 300 grams of protein. 

The more overweight you are, the less likely you are to lose muscle. Regaining muscle takes a lot of training. 

If you’re on the leaner side or slightly overweight (around 10-30 pounds), be aware of your protein intake. 

Context matters here. Social media often takes a scientific principle and twists it. 

If you're primarily eating a plant-based diet, keep a few extra things in mind. 

Plants can provide complete proteins, but they often lack one or more of the nine essential amino acids. So, it's helpful to mix foods, like rice and green peas, to improve the amino acid profile. 

That's why I suggest aiming for a bit higher than the 1 gram per ideal bodyweight rule if you're plant-fueled. 

I thought a lot about this during my 30-pound weight loss journey (aka fat-loss). As I got leaner, my body had less fat in store. This made it even more critical to save muscle. 

As a final note: a simple way to get perfect aminos (protein) using plants is to use the 'Whey' method. 

Combining 70% pea protein with 30% rice protein gives you a protein source similar to whey. This gives you similar benefits of whey without the dairy.  

I found that using the 'Whey' Method with a higher protein intake helped me retain more muscle during my last big cut.

But as a caveat: don’t major in the minors.

Focus on your total calorie intake first, then on workouts, and finally on dialing in your protein. Once you’ve got all 3 of these consistently, then work on optimizing your amino acids. Don’t put the cart before the horse.

So macros are important. 

The way that you can leverage your progress using macros for the best results is by prioritizing: 

1. Calories first

2. Protein next

3. Carbs after

4. Fats last 

Focusing on your calories and macros in this order leads to fitness success. 

Remember, calories drive fat loss first. 

Protein preserves muscle tissue. Carbs give you energy and performance. Fats protect hormonal health. 

With this knowledge, you can craft a reliable vegan fat-loss plan. This will boost your confidence in your nutrition choices. 

This leads us to the next question: then... what do you eat while dropping body fat and weight? 

Let's head over to step 6. 

Step 6: Create your own vegan nutrition plan for weight loss

What to eat during weight loss is a great question. It's also where most people get tripped up when trying to drop weight on plants. 

That's why it's important to know your caloric goals and macro needs before choosing foods. 

After you do this, you’ll see how important it is to pick the right foods for your goals. 

Here's what I mean: 

Let's say you're a man who weighs 180 pounds and wants to lose 20 pounds over the next 4 months. 

It's February, and you want to get lean and strong before the summer hits. 

But the winter of eating and overeating off your kid's plates has you heavier than you want to be. 

No worries. That's what you're here to solve, and I'm happy to help. 

Let's reverse engineer this:

Let's pretend your maintenance calories are 2,800 k/cal per day. If you want to lose 1 pound of body fat per week, a calorie calculator can help. Aim to cut about 500 calories from your daily diet. 

This puts you at around a 2,300 kcal daily deficit. Armed with this, you can set up your macros (or let the calculator do the heavy lifting for you). 

I made a bonus video that shows how to calculate your macros with a simple macro calculator. This video is from a lesson I shared in our 30 Day Reset Challenge last year.

You can also use our free calculator here.

Since your ideal body weight is about 160 pounds, keep this in mind when planning your macro split. 

This puts you close to a 35% protein, 45% carbs, 20% fats split (usually works out to something like this). 

Using this, you can take each macro category and start to choose foods to 'fill in the blanks,' so to speak. 

This can be fun when you approach this with a beginner's mindset. 

So what are the best plant protein sources you can use? 

Here's a short list of 7 high-protein plant sources:

1. Tofu 

2. Tempeh

3. Seitan 

4. Minimally processed mocks

5. Edadame 

6. Plant protein powders

7. High-protein carb combos

This is especially helpful when choosing mocks. I personally prefer mocks made with ingredients I understand and that are non-GMO. But that's my preference. 

High-protein carb combos include lentils, beans, and grains. They are mostly carbs but also contain some protein. This can help you reach your protein goals. 

Remember, our main goal with protein during fat loss is muscle preservation —nothing more. You can gain some muscle while losing fat with a mini body recomposition. 

Yet, this change is usually small and not very dramatic, especially if you have training experience. 

So protein keeps muscle. That's the main idea here.

For carbohydrate choices, stock up on as many whole foods as possible. The best thing about whole foods from the soil is that they’re usually low in calories. They also fill you up quickly. 

So foods like: 

1. Fruits

2. Vegetables 

3. Potatoes

4. Grains

5. Beans

6. Lentils

7. Herbs

And other whole-food, plant-based sources can fit here too. Watch out, though: some fruits, like bananas and dates, are higher in calories. 

If you’re trying to lose weight, watch your portions. They can quickly fill up your calorie count. 

Once you hit your fat-loss goal, re-add and boost your higher-carb sources. It's only temporary during this fat-loss phase. 

For the last group of healthy fats, you'll see that by now, your fats will mostly manage themselves. 

But for reference, here are a few food groups you can source fats from: 

1. Nuts

2. Seeds 

3. Avocado

4. Hummus

5. Healthy oils (coconut, olive oil)

Again, fats will take care of themselves during fat loss phases. Check your macros. You might be surprised at how quickly fats can fill up. 

Tofu and tempeh are plant-based proteins that contain extra fats. These fats can increase your fat intake with little effort. 

Using a tracker like Cronometer or MyFitnessPal will help you see this quickly, too. 

It's eye-opening, but most of us end up with weight-loss problems mainly due to this one macronutrient (fats), which ultimately leads to higher calorie intake (remember: 9 calories per 1 gram). 

As you take charge of your weight loss and health, you'll notice patterns in your eating and habits. The following two steps in this guide will cover both topics.

Let's move on to step #7 and cover how to eat. 

Step 7: How to eat for vegan weight loss

How to eat is a problem most people never solve. We adopt our eating habits early in life from the people closest to us. 

For most of us, our parents didn't do a great job modeling healthy habits. Families often repeat the same food mistakes across generations. 

Here's a simple framework to create positive eating habits. 

Action Step: Use a slower eating speed.

30-40% of digestion happens when you chew your food slowly. Digestive enzymes need time to activate. Then they signal your body that food is on the way. However, if you're anything like me, you've probably struggled with this. 

Eating with your phone in your hand or watching TV will NOT help your nutrition goals either. 

I know it's not easy. But this habit alone can rewire your health for life. 

Eating slowly and mindfully helps you reconnect with your body. It boosts your awareness and makes a big difference in how you feel. 

Most of us are heavily disconnected from how our bodies feel in the moment. There are many reasons for this, but I’ll focus on the most important one for quick weight loss: you can’t change what you don’t know. 

If you're overeating, bingeing, or can't stop eating, there's a reason. Getting clear on that reason is the first step to permanent fitness success. 

When you don't know what's going on, how can you change the result you're seeing? 

As a caveat, eat with others. It's also a great way to model new habits for your family (and kids if you have any). 

A simple action step is to slow your eating by 2 minutes each week. 

Focus on being present and slowing down. What will also happen here is you'll start to notice faster when you're getting full. Pair this with filling foods like whole, natural options, and you'll feel full quicker while losing body fat. 

Eating protein helps you feel fuller, especially when paired with low-calorie veggies. Use both as a powerful combo to drop body fat while staying full. 

Dieting does come with hunger, but you can minimize it. 

Step 8: When to eat for plant based weight loss 

Doctors like Dr. Michael Greger have studied chronobiology for years. Other health experts also discuss this topic. 

Chronobiology is a fancy way of saying reverse fasting. Reverse fasting is a fancy way of saying you stop eating by a specific time each day. Research shows that finishing meals earlier in the day can boost longevity and long-term health. 

Reverse fasting and weight loss can go hand in hand. 

Finishing your eating window earlier in the day can help your body use daytime calories for energy. It may also help build new muscle if you’re training. 

Eating late in the evening or at night increases the chance of storing food as fat. So the simple solution is to finish your last meal earlier. 

Greger shares an excellent system for doing this even more effectively. 

He calls it: 

'Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper'. 

So you have a big breakfast, medium lunch, and smallish dinner. Ending your last meal earlier can be good for you, even if you can't follow it perfectly. 

For example, one thing I’ve been working on recently has been a new rule: no calorie intake after 7 PM each night (Eastern Time). 

So far, what I've noticed has been: 

• Less evening bloat

• Feeling lighter in the evening/morning times

• Surprisingly, not feeling overly hungry

• Feeling more energized before bed and when I wake up

Again, it's still early days with my experiment. But these have been some of my initial observations. Reverse fasting can be a powerful tool in your fat-loss strategy, as outlined in the guide. To maximize benefits, maintain a negative energy balance (caloric deficit) for ongoing fat loss. 

I'll stress this again: nothing works for fat loss without a consistent caloric deficit (negative energy balance, aka eating below your maintenance calories). 

This matters because of the 10,000 shiny-object syndrome in the weight-loss world. 

Every successful diet in human history has used this one scientific principle. It's what every diet that works is based on. 

So yes, reverse fasting is helpful, but remember the priority order for these steps. 

I've found reverse fasting is particularly helpful, especially for clients who overeat in the evening or eat late at night. 

A simple standard to aim for is to stop eating 3 hours before bedtime. 

If that's too hard, start with 1 hour. Then, work towards 2 hours. Then, aim for 3 hours before. 

Focus on progress over perfection, and aim for 1% daily improvements in habits, practice, and skills. 

Let's wrap up with our next fat-loss puzzle piece:

Step 9: The 3 S's for plant-based and vegan weight loss 

This next step can be its own article. But it's relevant to our weight-loss discussion, so it needs to be part of your fat-loss roadmap. 

If anything can disrupt your fitness progress, it’s one of these three areas (besides nutrition and training). 

Let's start by defining the 3 S's. 

S - stress 

S - sleep 

S - steps 

Each S works as an individual unit but also in tandem with the others. 

If you're very stressed, it will likely affect your sleep and other areas of your health. So everything in your health is interconnected. What you do in one area of your health will affect other areas. 

It's one gigantic health spiderweb which we're a part of. 

It's neat when you reflect on this. 

Here are the minimum standards you'll want to hit in each S:

Stress:

Being in a caloric deficit adds extra stress to your body. This is due to dieting and being in a controlled starvation mode. Lifting weights is the second stressor. Each workout temporarily breaks down muscle fibers. 

Just these two stressors alone are enough to keep your body busy for a while. 

Add career stress, family stress, relationship stress, and financial stress. Together, they create a recipe for fitness disaster. Chronic stress can slow or stop fat loss, even if you're in a caloric deficit and training regularly. 

I've seen this happen enough times, so don’t ignore it. 

Stress is just a form of energy. It's the simplest way you can view it. 

The law of thermodynamics states that energy can't be made or destroyed. It can only be transferred. 

So contrary to popular myth, you don't get rid of stress (or relieve it). You convert it. 

Remember, you can't create or destroy energy (stress). You can only transfer it. You'll want a stress-conversion practice. This helps you turn stress into relaxation in a healthy way. 

The two best ways I've discovered: 

• Deep breathing 

• Qi Gong 

Deep belly breathing is an easy way to reconnect with your breath and your Center. The more we breathe into our stomachs rather than our chests, the easier it is to let go of stress. 

It's a simple practice but not easy (since our addicted minds like to hold onto stress). 

But 1 minute of deep breathing can be powerful. I've used this with many clients, and not one has said that deep breathing made things worse. 

With deep breathing, you’ll notice a stronger connection to your body. You’ll also become more aware of how you feel right now. Many of us feel disconnected from our bodies and emotions. 

It’s ironic: we often exercise and work out, yet still miss that connection. 

This leads to the second Qi Gong practice. 

Qi Gong is an ancient Chinese practice. It was created as a health and healing system. 

This article won't explore Qi Gong in detail. Still, Qi Gong includes activities like shaking your body and pounding your feet on the ground. These techniques effectively transform stress into relaxation. 

Again, stress is just energy. It just needs to be converted and released into relaxation. 

Sleep: 

Getting 7-9 hours of sleep is the ideal standard for optimal body composition. This has been studied for years. In fact, they found that if you get less than 6 hours of sleep daily, your results can and will suffer. 

Sleep is when you recover and rejuvenate. It's also when your body repairs itself after each day. You need quality sleep every night to recover well after workouts and dieting. 

The way you win with sleep is simple: optimize your evening routine. 

Here's what I suggest: 

• Cut out all blue light from phones, laptops, and other electronics at least 1 hour before bed. Two hours is even better, but I’m being realistic.

• To create the perfect sleep environment, use blackout curtains, keep the room cool, and eliminate all noise. Avoid TVs and phones in the bedroom.

• Turn off Wi-Fi and 5G/4G on all devices before sleeping to reduce the EMF radiation they emit.

• Stop eating and drinking at least 2 hours before bedtime.

• Stop drinking at least 45 minutes before bed to avoid waking up to pee throughout the night.

• Read before bed and/or journal, if needed, to let go of thoughts from the day (the reading will make you sleepy, too).

• Perform 1 minute of deep belly breathing and/or Qi Gong a few minutes before bed. This will put you in an ideal, relaxed state to sleep.

It'll take time to put each part of this sleep checklist into action. But it can change your life if you do this consistently each night. It takes about 60 days to create a new habit. 

Aim to focus on just 1-3 new habits at a time. Be patient with your sleep and evening routines. You're building a foundation for your life. 

Let's move on to the third S. 

Steps: 

The longer you're in a dieting phase (aka fat-loss), the more likely your body will start to move less. This may not be noticeable at first. But the body has natural built-in systems to protect itself from starvation (which is what a diet is). 

It's a big reason why your initial caloric adjustments may start to fail after a few weeks, especially if your initial calculation was off. 

Some people move more when eating more food (during bulking phases), which reduces a caloric surplus. 

Some people move less when eating less (during fat loss phases), which negates the caloric deficit. 

The body has built-in systems to help protect the status quo. 

That doesn't mean you can't lose body fat or build muscle; it just means you'll need to be strategic, or you'll end up frustrated with your progress. 

To fight back against this, create a minimum step standard. 

Aim for at least 7,000 steps each day. Just as the sleep standard of 7-9 hours often peaks around 8 hours, your step goal can vary. If you’re training hard, you might need more steps. 

That's the bare minimum you'll hit each day. 

That may need to increase as your body adjusts and you get deeper into your fat-loss phase. So a general range could be 7-10k steps per day instead. 

Either way, you'll want to monitor your steps during fat loss. 

You can use a standard fitness watch. If you prefer not to wear a watch, consider getting a pedometer. You can often find one on Amazon for under $20. 

Track your steps and daily movement. When you focus on the other two S's, you boost your fitness. This puts you in a great spot to lose body fat for good. 

As a final bonus step to support your weight-loss success, let's talk about hydration and wrap up. 

Step 10: Hydration

It's easy to confuse hunger for dehydration. Most of us do this each day. Most of us are dehydrated each day, too. 

Here's the standard you can use to make sure you're hydrated without eating more. 

Aim for 1/2 to 2/3 of your bodyweight in ounces per day. 

So if you're 150 pounds, that would be 75-100 ounces of water per day. 

Here are a few bonus notes to upgrade your hydration: 

• Drink filtered water (avoid tap) 

• Start your morning with lemon water. It helps flush toxins out at night and can slightly boost weight loss.

• Aim to drink at least 1/2 your body weight in ounces; hydration needs will increase the more you train

• Avoid drinking late at night since you'll most likely wake up to pee and interrupt your sleep 

• Drink your liquids—mainly water—separately from meals. Try to wait about 30 minutes. This is important because liquids can dilute the hydrochloric acid in your stomach, which helps break down food.

• Use a water bottle to track your progress (let's say a 32-ounce bottle) and drink 3 times daily. For most people, this will get the job done

Water is the foundation for all life. 

Without it, we don't have much. Weight loss depends on feeling full and reducing hunger pangs, which will happen. Staying hydrated will keep you one step ahead of your fat-loss progress. 

Don't skip out on it. 

We covered a lot of ground in this guide. 

Let's do a quick recap and finish off with a simple checklist you can follow to put this all together. 

Final Recap: 

Here's a typical example of a busy career-driven mom over 40 who wants to drop 20 pounds. She wants to feel confident and lean in her body. 

She works over 40 hours a week running her small business and raising her two kids. 

Here's her fitness blueprint: 

1. Confirm her fat-loss goal (she mentioned 20 pounds so we have a target to aim). I’d suggest she develop a clear, exciting fitness vision for herself. It should also be emotionally powerful. The more descriptive and inspiring, the better. This will become her deep why that she'll need and rely on later when motivation dips. 

2. Time to shred fat. Aiming for a daily deficit of -500 k/cal will give us a net weekly loss of about 1 pound of fat. We'll start by cutting 500 calories from her maintenance. If her maintenance is 2,000 calories, that leaves a sustainable deficit of 1,500 calories. 

3. Track her progress. To track her daily food and drinks, I recommend using a nutrition tracker. I like our private coaching app, but Cronometer works well too. Aim for at least 80% accuracy, but not more than 90%. This way, she can avoid stressing over perfection and have some flexibility for mistakes, life, and family time. 

4. After this, we'd layer on strategic strength training. This goes with step #2. We want to drop body fat while mainly preserving muscle tissue. Aim for 3 to 4 workouts a week. This will help her retain muscle and build a lean, sculpted body, boosting her confidence. 

5. We'd then focus on her targeted macros. With the 35%, 45%, 20% split (protein, carbs, fats), we’ll start with her protein. Next, we’ll tackle her carbs. By the time we get to fats, they should mostly take care of themselves. 

6. Next, we'll cover food quality and choices. We'll review her food choices again, focusing on ensuring 70-80% come from whole-food plant sources. We’ll also set aside a small budget for her to enjoy some of her favorite treats. We’re focused on fat loss so that we won’t indulge in snacks and high-calorie foods. These are often what got us into this situation. 

7. The following action is dialing in her eating speed. Slowing down her eating is the next priority. This way, she can be more present with her family, improve her digestion, and enjoy her meals more. 

8. Next, we'd turn towards her eating times and chronobiology. A cutoff time of 7 PM or earlier is best. We'll start with her current situation and then improve each week. 

9. We wouldn't ignore the 3 S's either: sleep, stress, and steps. All 3 of these are key components of a successful fat-loss diet that works for life. We'd meet her minimum standards in all 3 areas for her highest return on health. 

10. Finally, establish a daily hydration target for her. Try to reach it at least 6 days a week. Remember, it’s about progress, not perfection. 

This is the weight-loss guide you can use to drop your next 10 pounds and beyond. It's the culmination of 8 years of eating plants, 10 years of coaching, and 15 years of lifting. 

Use this as your blueprint for fitness success and avoid reinventing the wheel. 

If you’ve been looking for a simple vegan nutrition plan for weight loss, bookmark this guide and feel free to share it with a friend or family member, too.

Keep fat loss simple by focusing on the big rocks.

Ignore weight-loss distractions and make consistent progress.

To your best health.