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Meal Plan To Lose Belly Fat 2024: 7 Days Healthy Meal Plan To Follow
Updated on
- Written by Lisandra Fields, Health Writer
Medically reviewed by
Kathy Shattler, MS, RDN
The extra weight around your midsection, otherwise known as excess visceral belly fat, is a gateway to serious conditions such as cancer, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. Losing this kind of fat makes you feel more comfortable and less bloated, thereby boosting your self-esteem.
There’s no shortcut to a flatter tummy. You need to put in the work at the gym and make serious lifestyle changes including switching up your meal plan to incorporate healthier food options. You can supplement your efforts by taking one of these fat-burning pills.
In this post, we’re going to explore some of the best nutrient-dense delicacies to support your vision of a flatter tummy. Keep reading to find out the healthiest foods to have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
7 Days Diet Plan To Reduce Belly Fat
This easy-to-follow plan is set at approximately 1,200 calories per day in a bid to promote a weight loss goal of about 1-2 pounds each week. This 7-day diet mostly focuses on fresh produce, with the addition of foods that are known to burn extra calories from the midsection (artichokes, chickpeas, avocado, etc.).
By following this belly fat meal plan, you also get to strengthen your gut bacteria. This helps to lessen bloating, thereby making you feel better both mentally and physically. You can improve your gut bacteria by incorporating quantities of probiotic foods like kombucha, kefir, and yogurt. You also need to ramp up your fiber intake.
Aside from improving gut bacteria, fiber also helps greatly in weight loss and maintaining that slim figure over time. Foods such as legumes, whole grains, vegetables, and fruits contain a healthy amount of fiber that keeps you feeling satisfied for extended periods.
7-Day Meal Plan To Lose Belly Fat
The following is a one-week well-planned-out meal plan to get you started on your excess abdominal fat loss journey:
Day 1
Breakfast: Whip up an omelet without the egg yokes. Add a handful of spinach and approximately 75g of diced mixed peppers.
Mid-morning treat: 100 grams of grilled chicken mixed with ½-sliced red pepper.
Lunch: One chicken breast, grilled in ¼ tablespoon of olive oil. Add some green beans, red peppers, and mixed salad leaves on the side.
Afternoon treat: 100 grams of grilled turkey breast with a ¼ – sliced cucumber
Dinner: Steamed broccoli with grilled chicken (100 grams).
Day 2
Breakfast: Stir-fry a handful of kale and serve with baked chicken breast.
Mid-morning treat: ½-sliced green pepper with a 100-gram turkey breast.
Lunch: ½ tablespoon of olive oil with a mixed green salad and baked haddock fillet.
Afternoon treat: 75g of steamed broccoli with 100 grams of grilled turkey breast.
Dinner: Green beans (steamed) with a salmon steak and chopped dill.
Day 3
Breakfast: A handful of spinach with smoked salmon (100 grams).
Mid-morning treat: ½-sliced yellow pepper and 100 grams of chicken breast.
Lunch: Yellow pepper (½) marinated on 100 grams of chicken breast with ½- tablespoon of olive oil.
Afternoon treat: all slices of ¼ of an avocado spread on 100 grams of grilled turkey slices.
Dinner: Steamed spinach and broccoli with two cutlets (or one lamb steak, grilled).
Day 4
Breakfast: Tomatoes, two scrambled eggs (two whites, one whole), and a handful of green beans.
Mid-morning treat: ¼-sliced cucumber with 100 grams of turkey slices.
Lunch: Cod fillet (baked) with spinach, tomato, salad, and olive oil (½ tablespoon).
Afternoon treat: Grilled courgette – ½, 100 grams of chicken breast.
Dinner: Stir-fried chicken breast (100 grams) with green veggies and half a tablespoon of olive oil.
Day 5
Breakfast: Grilled turkey breast (200g) with ¼-sliced cucumber and ¼ avocado.
Mid-morning treat: ½-sliced red pepper marinated on two eggs, hard-boiled.
Lunch: Grilled prawns (150g), with tomatoes, green salad, and olive oil (½ a tablespoon)
Afternoon treat: Five almonds with turkey breast (100 grams)
Dinner: Steamed broccoli with chicken breast (100 grams)
Day 6
Breakfast: Roasted peppers with one haddock fillet (grilled) with a handful of zucchini.
Mid-morning treat: One sliced tomato with 100 grams of chicken.
Lunch: Steamed broccoli with ½ a tablespoon of olive oil and turkey (150g) topped with a green salad.
Afternoon treat: 5 pecan nuts with 100 grams of chicken.
Dinner:150-200g of steak with broccoli and green beans (steamed).
Day 7
Breakfast: Steamed spinach with grilled tomatoes and three omelets (egg whites only).
Mid-morning treat: Five Brazil nuts with 100 grams of turkey.
Lunch: Steamed asparagus with a green salad and 150g of chicken breast.
Afternoon treat: ¼-sliced cucumber with 100 grams of turkey.
Dinner: Broccoli (or steamed oriental greens) with skinless duck breast (grilled).
Rules Pertaining To Lose Weight And Burn Belly Fat
As you follow the meal plan above, ensure you adhere to the following golden rules and nutrition tips:
- Keep your meals fiber-rich
- Maintain a low-carb diet
- Incorporate healthy fats
- Consume gut-friendly meals
Keep Your Meals Fiber-Rich
Adding soluble fiber to your diet is a sure way to keep shredding that annoying belly fat. A recent study[1] revealed that consuming at least 10 grams of fiber each day was associated with a 3.7% fat reduction around the abdominal section. There was also a 10% reduction in calorie consumption as well as a 2kg weight loss over a four-month period.
Good sources of fiber to include in your flat-belly diet include fruits, vegetables, chia seeds, psyllium husk, oats, and legumes.
Maintain A Low Carb Diet
Studies[2] show that women who adhered to a strict low-carb diet over five years had a significantly smaller abdominal circumference than those who didn’t.
Sticking to a low-carb diet also translates to more protein consumption. A protein-rich diet with meat, nuts, legumes, dairy, seafood, fatty fish, eggs, etc., often leads to losing belly fat. It also boosts your metabolic function and gives you more satiety.
Protein-rich diets also help maintain muscle mass and give you that much-needed fuel to power to keep you energized throughout your belly fat exercises.
Incorporate Healthy Fats
Increasing your fat intake is an important rule you need to adhere to if you want a slimmer tummy. Eating healthy fats such as avocado regularly may help lower your BMI (Body Mass Index) and reduce your waist circumference.
A study[3] revealed that omega-three fatty foods such as fatty fish help in reducing visceral and liver fat. Make it a point to increase your weekly servings of anchovies, mackerel, sardines, herrings, and salmon.
Consume Gut-Friendly Meals
Studies[4] reveal that traces of the Lactobacillus family may also help in belly fat reduction. The research also showed that consuming yogurt with traces of this gut-friendly bacteria lowered overall body fat by up to 3 to 4 percent over six weeks.
Intake of probiotic supplements may also help in your excess belly fat loss goals. In this three-month study, women who took probiotics shed approximately 50 percent of their weight compared to those who took placebo pills.
Foods To Avoid In Your Abdominal Fat Loss Journey
Before we list the kind of foods you need to have in your flat-belly diet, let’s have a quick look at whose you need to do away with. This step is crucial if you want to less abdominal fat. These are the silent culprits behind that bulging belly that you’re trying so hard to get rid of:
Processed Carbs
Hot chips, croissants, and white bread are notorious for spiking your blood sugar. Also, the fact that they lack fiber makes you even hungrier, making you want to consume more than usual. One more thing about refined carbs: they’re energy-dense. That means that they’re not the best foods to be snacking on every day.
As you seek to reduce belly fat, make it a point to do away with any processed carbs.
Alcohol
Regular consumption of alcohol adds a couple of extra inches to your waistline. For your information, a single gram of alcohol contains at least seven calories. Therefore, a standard alcoholic drink contains seven calories.
Because the average drink contains ten grams of alcohol, you basically consume 70 calories per drink you take. Of course, this is subject to change depending on your drink’s alcoholic content.
Sugary Treats
You don’t need rocket science to understand that treats such as Coca-Cola, ice cream, and chocolate aren’t the best to consume regularly. These foods are nutrient-poor and energy-dense. This means that they contain more calories than micronutrients.
Sweet treats are easy to eat in excess, thereby contributing to increased visceral fat when consumed regularly.
Best Foods To Help You Lose Excess Belly Fat
Legumes
Lentils, beans, chickpeas, and other tinned legumes are the best meals to include in your menu every day. They’re considered the underdogs of the superfood realm for a reason. They’re economical, easy to use, affordable, and basically, everything that most modern foods are not.
Not only do they make for a worthy addition to your meals, but they’re also high in protein and fiber. These are necessary for keeping you satisfied and less likely to give in to your urges for a sugary treat or a refined carb.
Whole Grain Bread
Speaking of carbs, it’s time you sunk your teeth into a healthy kind of carb: a loaf of whole-grain bread. They’re full of a wide range of minerals and vitamins, along with gut-friendly fiber that provides long-lasting energy.
Look for dark and dense bread with seeds and grains visible from the top. Say goodbye to the long and fluffy white rolls!
Fish
Looking to round out your meal the right way? Well, look no further than a fresh piece of fish fillet. Not only is fish low in calories, but it also has its fair share of benefits[5]. Its high nutritional content makes it perfect for a weight-loss diet.
Yogurt
Yogurt (mostly low-fat) makes for a splendid protein treat. They’re also high in vitamins, calcium, and probiotics, essential enhancements for stomach microbiota. The calcium in the yogurt also strengthens your bones and teeth for a better, healthier lifestyle. The probiotic content also boosts your immune system.
We recommend you go for a plain, low-fat option and add one or two fresh fruits for added sweetness.
Roasted Chickpeas
Roasted chickpeas offer an endless list of health benefits that manifest in every bite. They’re rich in fiber, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus, antioxidants, folate, and B-group vitamins. Chickpeas play a crucial role in boosting your immunity, enhancing digestion, managing your weight, and so on.
Also, if you’re vegan, you might want to include a cup of chickpeas in your next meal. They’re a splendid replacement for meaty foods and offer an equal serving of protein.
Eggs
Eggs are a protein-rich food perfect for any meal of the day – be it breakfast, lunch, or supper. You can prepare them in any way you like and still get the same measure of nutrients with each serving.
An egg’s amino acid profile is considered ‘perfect’ since they occur in the proper ratios. As a matter of fact, eggs have a whopping score of 100 due to their unique biological value[6], making them one of the richest protein sources.
Final Thoughts
Suppose you want to complement your meals with a beverage. In that case, we strongly recommend any of these five fat-burning herbal teas: cinnamon tea, chamomile tea (also known as sleepy tea), peppermint tea, rooibos tea, and Pu-erh tea.
Each of these is helpful in your belly fat loss journey. They also prepare your mind and body for rest, satisfy sugar/carb cravings, and keep you satisfied for extended periods.
+ 6 sources
Health Canal avoids using tertiary references. We have strict sourcing guidelines and rely on peer-reviewed studies, academic researches from medical associations and institutions. To ensure the accuracy of articles in Health Canal, you can read more about the editorial process here
- Hairston, K.G., Vitolins, M.Z., Norris, J.M., Anderson, A.M., Hanley, A.J. and Wagenknecht, L.E. (2012). Lifestyle Factors and 5-Year Abdominal Fat Accumulation in a Minority Cohort: The IRAS Family Study. Obesity, [online] 20(2), pp.421–427. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3856431/
- Halkjær, J., Tjønneland, A., Thomsen, B.L., Overvad, K. and Sørensen, T.I. (2006). Intake of macronutrients as predictors of 5-y changes in waist circumference. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, [online] 84(4), pp.789–797. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17023705/
- Pacifico, L., Bonci, E., Di Martino, M., Versacci, P., Andreoli, G., Silvestri, L.M. and Chiesa, C. (2015). A double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial to evaluate the efficacy of docosahexaenoic acid supplementation on hepatic fat and associated cardiovascular risk factors in overweight children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, [online] 25(8), pp.734–741. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26026214/
- Omar, J.M., Chan, Y.-M., Jones, M.L., Prakash, S. and Jones, P.J.H. (2013). Lactobacillus fermentum and Lactobacillus amylovorus as probiotics alter body adiposity and gut microflora in healthy persons. Journal of Functional Foods, [online] 5(1), pp.116–123. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1756464612001399
- Chen, J., Muthukumaran Jayachandran, Bai, W. and Xu, B. (2022). A critical review on the health benefits of fish consumption and its bioactive constituents. [online] 369, pp.130874–130874. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.130874.
- Wikipedia Contributors (2021). Biological value. [online] Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_value
Written by:
Lisandra Fields, Health Writer
Medically reviewed by:
Medically reviewed by:
