Weight loss food: how to choose meals that keep you full and help you lose weight
Key takeaways
- Choose food that keeps daily calories below what you use, with about 25–30 g of protein per meal
- Use a 2:1:1 plate: half vegetables, a quarter lean protein and a quarter rice, without cutting rice out
- A teaspoon of oil has about 45 kcal, like half a ladle of rice, so limit fried food
Good weight loss food is food that keeps your daily calories below what your body uses while still filling you up and covering your nutrients. The simplest method is the 2:1:1 plate promoted by Thailand's Department of Health: half vegetables, a quarter lean protein, a quarter rice or other starch. Aim for about 25–30 g of protein at each meal and cut back on oil and sugar. Below are practical lists of foods to eat often and foods to limit.
In this guide (7 sections)
- What is weight loss food, and why does it work?
- 5 rules for choosing weight loss food that keeps you full
- How do you build a 2:1:1 weight loss plate?
- Which weight loss foods should you eat often?
- Which foods should you limit when losing weight?
- No time to cook? How to order weight loss food
- What should you do in your first week?
What is weight loss food, and why does it work?
No food burns fat on its own. You lose weight when the energy you eat over a day is less than the energy your body uses. So weight loss food simply means food that makes calories easy to control, keeps you full for longer, and still gives you enough protein, vitamins and fiber.
Start by finding out how much energy your body uses each day, your TDEE. You can work it out free with our TDEE calculator (the page is in Thai). A safe rate of loss is about 0.5 kg a week, and no more than 0.75% of your body weight. Women should not eat less than 1,200 kcal a day, and men not less than 1,500 kcal.
If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have diabetes or kidney disease, or take regular medication, talk to a doctor or dietitian before you cut calories or raise your protein a lot.
5 rules for choosing weight loss food that keeps you full
Check these five things at every meal. Getting them right most days is enough. Every plate does not have to be perfect.
- Protein at every meal. A 2015 review in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Leidy and colleagues) concluded that meals with about 25–30 g of protein help with fullness and weight control. For the whole day, our calculator uses 1.6 g per kg of your target weight.
- Half the plate vegetables. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends at least 400 g of fruit and vegetables a day.
- Enough rice or starch, not zero. Count it in Thai rice ladles (thappi), and choose brown rice or other whole grains when you can.
- Less oil. Choose boiled, steamed, grilled, baked or lightly stir-fried food over deep-fried food.
- Less sugar, especially in drinks. Thai iced tea, iced coffee and sweet drinks add calories but do little to fill you up.
How do you build a 2:1:1 weight loss plate?
The 2:1:1 plate from Thailand's Department of Health splits your plate into four parts: 2 parts vegetables, 1 part lean protein and 1 part rice or starch, with fruit as dessert. To put rough numbers on it, dietitians in Thailand use the Thai Food Exchange Lists, which count food in servings, so you do not have to weigh everything.
| Food | 1 serving | Energy | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steamed white or brown rice | 1 rice ladle (about 55 g) | 80 kcal | 2 g |
| Cooked meat or fish | 30 g | 35–100 kcal, depending on fat | 7 g |
| Leafy vegetables, such as lettuce or cucumber | As much as you like | Very little | - |
| Fruit | 1 small Thai banana (kluai nam wa) or half a medium guava | 60 kcal | - |
| Cooking oil | 1 teaspoon | 45 kcal | - |
The table shows that 1 teaspoon of oil has about as many calories as half a ladle of rice, which is why fried food adds up so quickly. A sample weight loss plate: 1–2 ladles of brown rice, about 90–120 g of cooked chicken breast or fish (about 21–28 g of protein), half a plate of vegetables, and 1 serving of fruit.
Which weight loss foods should you eat often?
Eat often the foods that give a lot of protein or fiber without many calories. Almost all of them are easy to find in any Thai market or supermarket.
- Lean protein: skinless chicken breast, fish, shrimp, egg whites, pork tenderloin
- Whole eggs and firm tofu, in sensible amounts
- Vegetables of every color: blanched, raw, or in clear soups (kaeng jued)
- Brown rice, oats, sweet potato and wholewheat bread
- Whole fruit, plain low-fat milk, and unsweetened soy milk or yogurt
| 1 serving of protein (30 g cooked) | Examples | Energy | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very low fat | Steamed mackerel, fish, crab meat, shrimp, egg white | 35 kcal | 7 g |
| Low fat | Chicken breast, pork loin, pork tenderloin | 55 kcal | 7 g |
| Medium fat | Chicken egg, duck egg, firm tofu | 75 kcal | 7 g |
| High fat | Chicken with skin, sausage | 100 kcal | 7 g |
You do not need to cut out all fat. Just let most of the day's protein come from the low-fat groups, and your total calories become much easier to manage. For more options, see high-protein foods.
Which foods should you limit when losing weight?
Limit foods that are high in calories but do not keep you full for long. Most of these calories come from oil, sugar and coconut milk. You do not have to give them up forever. Just do not make them a daily habit.
- Deep-fried and battered food, such as fried chicken, fried pork and pa thong ko (Thai fried dough sticks)
- Fatty and processed meat, such as pork belly, chicken skin and sausages
- Rich coconut-milk curries and coconut-milk desserts
- Thai iced tea, iced coffee, bubble tea, soft drinks and sweetened juice
- Pastries, cakes, cookies and crispy snacks
- Alcohol, which often comes with fried bar snacks
Thailand's Department of Health recommends the 6:6:1 rule: no more than 6 teaspoons of sugar, 6 teaspoons of oil and 1 teaspoon of salt a day. One teaspoon of sugar (about 4 g) has about 16 kcal, according to USDA FoodData Central. The WHO recommends keeping free sugars below 10% of your daily energy.
No time to cook? How to order weight loss food
Check whether the shop shows calories and protein per meal, and whether those numbers include rice. Without numbers, it is hard to manage your day. For a full checklist, see how to choose a meal prep delivery service.
CleanFit has 38 main dishes, and every one shows its calories and protein: 70–330 kcal, with up to 34 g of protein. No dish includes rice, so you add as much rice as your goal allows. Meals are cooked, vacuum-packed and frozen, keep for 120 days in the freezer, and you choose every dish yourself. Every dish is made with no cooking oil, no MSG, no added sugar and no preservatives, is Thai FDA approved, and has lab-tested nutrition.
For dishes sorted by meal with their numbers, read weight loss meals. For a full week already planned, see the 7-day weight loss meal plan. If dinner is your hardest meal, read weight loss dinner.
What should you do in your first week?
- Work out your daily calories with the TDEE calculator (in Thai)
- Split them into 3 meals and 1–2 snacks, with protein at every meal
- Plan the week's meals in advance and keep ready meals at home, so you do not have to decide when you are hungry
- Swap sweet drinks for water, tea or coffee without sugar
- Weigh yourself once a week at the same time, and look at the trend over several weeks
For quick morning ideas, see breakfast for weight loss. For the bigger picture, including sleep and exercise, read how to lose weight. If you want ready-to-heat dishes in your freezer, website packs start at 21 meals. To try the taste first, there is a 9-meal trial pack you can order by chat on LINE @cleanfit or Messenger.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to stop eating rice to lose weight?
No. Adjust the amount instead. One ladle of steamed rice has about 80 kcal. If you cut rice but eat snacks or sweet drinks instead, your total calories do not go down.
How many calories a day should I eat to lose weight?
It depends on your TDEE, which you can work out with our calculator (in Thai). As a floor, women should not go below 1,200 kcal a day and men not below 1,500 kcal.
How many kilos a week will I lose?
No food can promise a number. A safe rate is about 0.5 kg a week. Real results depend on what you eat over the whole day, sleep, how active you are and your health.
Can I eat fruit while losing weight?
Yes. One serving of fruit has about 60 kcal. Whole fruit is better than juice, because the WHO counts the sugar in fruit juice as free sugar.
Will clean food make me lose weight by itself?
It makes oil and sugar easier to control, but if you eat more than your body uses, you will not lose weight. Read more in what is clean food.
Written by the CleanFit teamCalories and protein for each CleanFit dish come from our ordering system. Figures for other foods cite the sources named in the guide.
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