Fat loss with minimal tracking: The 3:1 Method
The 3:1 method.
‘One of the most simple and effective strategies to lose fat in an enjoyable way.’
Here is how it works.
You structure your day like this…
First 3 meals:
Breakfast
Lunch
Snack
These stay pretty consistent and focus on primarily whole foods, protein and nailing your fruit and veg intake. Make these meals as health focused as possible.
I am not going to tell you what to eat for these meals as I want you to pick foods you enjoy but here is an example:
Breakfast: High protein yoghurt & 2x pieces of fruit (mix it up, variety is important)
Lunch: Soup, chicken (or veg alternative) & roast veg
Snack: Fruit & protein bar or shake
This hits 3 servings of protein (try to make sure serving size is 20-30g) plus you’ve already nailed your 5 fruit and veg.
WINNER!
The additional benefits are:
a) You are on on pretty low calories by this point but food choices mean satiety is high.
and b) Eating like this requires low cognitive effort – you make a decision once and stick to it rather than thinking about food choices all day.
c) The best part…**Now you have more flexibility at dinner.**The reason the 3:1 method works so incredibly well is that ****most people have more structure during the day and require more flexibility for social eating in the evenings.
By moulding your diet around how you like to live you’ll find that you can lose fat without feeling restricted or sacrificing things you enjoy like eating with your family or going out for meals.
This also means you can be a little more lenient and you don’t have to be the annoying ‘on a diet’ person. No need know you’re on a diet.
On a practical level for most of the clients I coach, primarily women with families, social lives and careers who want to lose fat and feel better about themselves..
This works especially well. As depending on your exact choices, the above ends up being 900- 1,200 calories which means if you’re the ‘average woman’ dieting on 1600-1800 calories you have 600- 800 calories + to enjoy a sociable meal in the evening.
Another BIG bonus is that the 3:1 method also tends to work well when you are not tracking.My top tip would be to track your 3 structured meals once so you know roughly what you are getting in.
Then you’ll be eating roughly the same so you don’t need to keep tracking.
Guesstimate your evening meal within your calorie bracket and you are sorted.Make sure you also account for any extras like coffees.
People get ridiculously analytical about tracking calories which we know is pretty inaccurate anyway.
You don’t need to stress about the exact numbers – it is more important to be consistent and then make adjustments.
Have a wonderful day!