We totally get it — the sky is blue and the sun is out, so you want to look your best for beach days and pool parties.
But rather than starving yourself with ridiculous diets that are unsustainable in the long run, opting for low-carb, high protein meal plans are a better alternative to get you shaped into a lean, mean machine.
With that exactly in mind, Chinese actor Yin Zheng came up with a 15-day diet for his role on Goodbye, Mr Trouble that got him losing over 5kg. Needless to say, it completely took off on RED (a.k.a. China’s Instagram).
Inspired by his daily updates on the social platform, fans from all walks of life gave his food regimen a try and produced some impressive results that got us a little less skeptical.
So if you’re down to give this nutritious, protein-packed diet a shot, read on to get in on the deets!
The 15-day meal plan
From scrumptious beef balls to juicy enoki mushrooms, healthy meals have never looked so colourful and finger-licking good. Ahead, we’ve listed out the detailed 15-day meal plan to get you on track towards a healthy weight loss journey. Feel free to tweak the plan towards your dietary pattern accordingly!
Source: RED
Day 1
Breakfast: None
Lunch: Beef balls + Chicken breast + Sweet potato + Lettuce
Extra Meal: Banana
Dinner: Scrambled eggs with cucumber
Day 2 & 3
Breakfast: None
Lunch: Beef balls + Chicken breast + Sweet Potato + Lettuce
Extra Meal: Banana
Dinner: Beef balls + Green vegetables + Enoki mushrooms + Vegetables (cucumber, winter melon, etc.)
Day 4
Breakfast: Apple + Egg + Coffee
Lunch: Shrimp + Chicken Spinach + Cauliflower + Sweet Potato
Dinner: Egg + Green vegetables + Shrimp + Chinese cabbage
Day 5
Breakfast: Egg white + Black coffee
Lunch: Shrimp + Snow peas + Cauliflower + Fungus
Dinner: Shrimp + Snow peas + Lettuce + Cabbage + Fungus
Day 6
Breakfast: None
Lunch: Shrimp + Beef + Lotus root + Cauliflower + Spinach
Dinner: Seafood with less salt
Day 7
Breakfast: None
Lunch: Shrimp + Protein + Sweet Potatoes + Peas + Carrots
Dinner: Beef + Shrimp + Snow Peas + Cauliflower
Day 8
Breakfast: None
Lunch: Shrimp + Egg white + Celery + Vegetables + Lettuce
Dinner: Shrimp + Chicken breast + Mushrooms + Lettuce
Day 9
Breakfast: Egg white + Cucumber + Banana + Black coffee
Lunch: Shrimp + Chicken breast + Cauliflower + Sweet potato + Greens
Dinner: Beef balls + Shrimp + Greens + Lettuce
Day 10
Breakfast: Egg white + Apple
Lunch: Shrimp + Cauliflower + Snow pea + Fungus
Dinner: Egg + Cauliflower + Lettuce
Day 11
Breakfast: None
Lunch: Beef + Cucumer+ Lettuce + Sweet Potato
Dinner: Skinless chicken + Cauliflower + Lettuce
Day 12
Breakfast: Egg white + Black coffee
Lunch: Lettuce + Green vegetables + Carrots + Sweet Potato
Dinner: Chicken drumsticks + Cauliflower + Sweet Potato
Day 13
Breakfast: Protein + Black tea
Lunch: Beef + Broccoli + Celery + Carrot
Dinner: Shrimp + Broccoli + Cucumber + Mushrooms
Day 14
Breakfast: Protein + Black tea
Lunch: Shrimp + Chicken + Snow pea + Carrot
Dinner: Beef + Corn chicken breast
Day 15
Breakfast: Egg + Lettuce
Lunch: Shrimp
Dinner: Seafood with less salt
Tips to take note
Be it drinking celery juice every day or replacing meals with weight loss cookies, we’ve all had our fair share of wacky weight loss advice. However, Yin Zheng actually shared some pretty sound tips that helped him shed those unwanted kilograms.
1. Stay away from processed foods
Source: xframe.io
The quality of the food is just as important as the quantity. As much as we love fries and nuggets, eating these processed foods will set you back on your weight loss journey.
They contain copious portions of poor quality fat, added sugar and salt, as well as negligible amounts of dietary fibre and beneficial nutrients that will elevate the risk of diseases and health problems in the long run.
2. Steam vegetables instead of boiling them
Source: RED
A general cooking rule: keep your cooking time, temperature, and liquids to a minimum. That’s why steaming is touted as one of the best ways to cook your veggies.
According to several scientific studies, boiling causes water-soluble vitamins and nutrients to be lost from the vegetables. And unless you’re going to drink the boiled water along with them — as in the case of soups and stews — then steaming will help to retain the vitamins in those veggies and maximise your nutritional intake.
3. Drink more water and exercise
Source: xframe.io
Of course, no weight loss journey is complete without a little exercise. In order to successfully lose weight, your body has to be in a calorie deficit. On top of a healthy diet, regular exercise helps to increase your metabolic rate and burn more calories. And at the end of the day, all these activities have to be fueled with generous amounts of water.
