What is the best diet for men to lose weight?
I’ll tell you straight up. The best diet for men to lose weight is… drum roll… there isn’t one.
Perhaps you’re here because you’ve been researching the best diet for men to lose weight, and that’s fantastic because it shows you’re interested in bettering for yourself.
And while you may be seeking information on ‘the best diet for men’, the answer will vary depending on the man.
My clients are busy professional men with little time for exercise. They work hard and are desk bound, car bound or flight bound perhaps 50+ hours per week. They have careers or business demands, family demands and of course a social life. They feel selfish and guilty if they put their health and wellbeing first.
Even within the context of this man’s life, and taking into account his unique situation, the ‘best diet for men to lose weight’ still isn’t clear cut. Before you can answer this you need to consider these questions before deciding the best diet for you:
Q. Have you got lots of time for meal prep?
- No, my life is hectic, I work hard, leave the house early and return late.
Q. If you have time, can you cook and prepare food?
- Yes I can cook but I need time saving and simplicity – no complicated diets.
Q. Have you got a helpful kitchen set up?
- Yes I own at least the basics.
Q. Are the people in your life supportive of your goals?
- No, I eat the kids leftovers, or my spouse and co-workers keep making cakes.
Q. What are you willing, ready and able to change to your diet?
- On reflection I ‘want’ to follow the perfect diet, but if I’m honest this is not sustainable for me. There’s no way I can eat chicken and broccoli with no treats. I am able to make a small change at this time. Maybe I can start by having breakfast daily, because I think that’ll stop me making poor snack choices at 10am.
So, now we’re closer to the best diet for men to lose weight. You might have noticed we’ve flipped the question. It’s not about ‘men’ at all. It is about ‘you’.
So, what’s the best diet for me to lose weight?
Yep, you guessed it, more questions to answer:
Q. What food do you like to eat?
- Most foods. I enjoy fast foods and sweet foods. I enjoy crisps and gin after a long day.
Q. What food do you dislike?
- I don’t dislike many foods but am not thrilled eating vegetables. Sprouts.
Q. What foods do you currently eat that support your weight loss goal?
- I eat frozen veg with my evening meal most days – you know, those microwave steam bags. I also eat fruit most days.
Q. What foods do you currently eat that hinder your weight loss goal?
- Mid morning pastry. After work drink and late night bag of crisps.
Q. What is the easiest change you can make that will move you towards your goal?
- I could boil a bunch of eggs and keep them in the fridge, ready to take them to work for a snack instead of my sweet treat. I hear the protein in eggs is a good choice.
Q. On a scale of 1-10, how willing, ready and able to make this change for the next 2 weeks?
- Yes, I’ve been meaning to swap the mid morning pastry. I know it’s adding a lot of calories to my daily intake. It’s hard when my coworkers do a daily cake run though. Actually, thinking about it, I have a friend who also wants to change this habit. I’ll ask her if she’s up for making a switch. I know they’ll support me and if I can get the eggs pre boiled, or perhaps leave a bowl of fruit in the office, I can make a good choice. I think I’m an 8, and if my friend gets on board with me, it’ll be a 10!
The best diet for this busy professional man to lose weight could be one that requires little meal prep and no complicated diets. Simple time saving recipes to follow.
Leverage the great habits he already has in place such as perhaps focusing on quick and easy vegetables. Making great snack choices easy such as pre-boiling and egg for work, and having fruit available. And making a small change that is easy initially.
Hold on, this isn’t a diet at all!
I hear you.
It isn’t a ‘diet’ and you’re right, it isn’t a ‘meal plan’ to follow, which is something clients might expect to be provided with when seeking out the a weight loss diet plan.
And that’s not unreasonable at all. We’ve become conditioned to expect ‘the perfect meal plan for weight loss’, and to follow it if we’re to expect results.
In reality. In the real world. In the context of your real world, hectic, demanding life. How likely are you to stick to a meal plan?
This isn’t a sign of weakness or failure, you’re a super successful person in so many areas of your life, and it’s not my place to tell you that s diet plan will come to an end.
In my experience though, the perfect diet plan for weight loss will come to an end eventually because:
- It involves too much change too soon.
- It is too uncomfortable to do forever – think restriction and elimination.
- It takes more effort than you’re willing to do forever.
In the end the diet will be broken as soon as work piles up, when a holiday arrives, when invited to a social occasion, or when life throws a curveball at you.
This has a tendency to lead to feeling guilt for breaking the diet rules, and going further off track if not quitting your weight loss diet until a wake up call in a few weeks or months time.
You know, seeing the reflection of yourself in the mirror and thinking ‘slob’. Or being beaten up the sand dune by the kids. Or not getting up it at all!
Or, the doc telling you that you’re pre-diabetic. Or, wondering ‘who’s that fat guy’ in that social media picture, then realising your mate has tagged a picture of you at that barbeque and it’s you.
So, what is the best diet for men to lose weight?
Well, there is no best diet.
To lose weight you need to create a calorie deficit, or ‘negative energy balance’. This means you need to use more energy than you consume.
The great news is you can do this without complicated diets. You can do it without crazy workouts. AND you don’t have to live on just chicken and broccoli.
Here’s how.
Ask yourself the questions above. Then go through the process of finding one easy change you can make that will bring home the biggest results.
The next step is to track that change with a habit tracking sheet like this one, and hold yourself accountable to it every day for the next couple of weeks. Track your adherence on paper. Once this becomes easy, make the next change and so on until you reach your goal.
It is simple.
You have to be humble to take this approach.
But as they say, slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.
You’ll benefit greatly by consistently focusing on the basics. No complicated diets. In 12 weeks you’ll have snuck in so many habits without realising and you’ll notice that you just lost weight without focusing on it either, and without the discomfort and restriction that most men expect when trying to lose weight.
I hope this helps you make some progress towards your goal.
And just so you know, I specialise in helping busy men like you to lose weight without complicated diets or crazy workouts.
If you would appreciate some support and accountability, and a clear system to follow that is ‘light touch’ and requires little time to implement, you’re welcome to learn more about my men’s weight loss programme here where you can apply for coaching with me.
Have a great day!
Nico.