In this 10‑minute monologue, fitness coach Eric Roberts claims that only five food‑based strategies are needed to lose 20 lb quickly. He begins by emphasizing the importance of a calorie deficit and the hunger it creates, then introduces four low‑calorie, high‑volume, high‑fiber fruits (raspberries, blackberries, watermelon, strawberries) that fill the stomach while providing few calories. Next, he argues that potatoes (regular and sweet) are an essential carbohydrate for lifters, supplying energy, potassium, and satiety, and dispels the myth that carbs are inherently fat‑tening. He then discusses protein’s high thermic effect and satiety, stressing that pairing protein with dietary fat (e.g., salmon, eggs, steak, ground beef, chicken thighs) further prolongs fullness. The fourth “food” is actually a non‑food: zero‑calorie carbonated caffeinated drinks (diet soda), which he describes as a “balloon” that fills the stomach without calories, helping to delay meals. Finally, he offers three practical rules for eating out – the 1‑of‑3 rule (choose only one of appetizer, alcohol, or dessert), request light oil/butter to avoid hidden calories, and pre‑meal snacking (hard‑boiled eggs, protein shake, fruit, or diet soda) to prevent starvation‑driven overeating. Throughout, he plugs a free calorie‑deficit calculator, an 8‑week fat‑loss coaching program, and a follow‑up video on simultaneous fat loss and muscle gain.
Chapters
There's only 5 foods you need to eat to lose 20 pounds incredibly fast. I've coached over 25,000 clients with their fat loss, and every single one of them ate these foods day in and day out. The first one is what some people think is healthy, or some people think is the devil because of the sugar, and that is fruit. But not just any fruit. There are certain ones that are better for fat loss Than others. And that's because what is the biggest problem when you're trying to lose weight? You have to eat in a calorie deficit, which means you're eating less calories, which means you're hungry. But what if I told you there are specific fruits that can turn off the hunger and make your calorie deficit so easy it feels like cheating? Well, there are. Think of your stomach like a big bowl and think of the food you eat going into Your stomach. If you eat certain fruits, they go into your stomach. They don't take up that much room. They digest quickly, and they're gone. You're still hungry. But there are certain fruits that will go into your stomach, take up a lot of room, and even expand in your stomach to fill you up even more. And we call these low-calorie, high-volume, high-fiber fruits. And there's four main ones that you should eat. First, raspberries. For a hundred grams of raspberries, it only has fifty calories and up to seven grams of fiber. Second is blackberries. For a hundred grams, it only is forty-five calories and over five grams of fiber. Third is watermelon. For a whole pound of watermelon, that is a lot of food. It's less than a hundred and fifty calories. And the fourth is strawberries. Like watermelon, for a whole pound of strawberries, it's only 150 calories. So this means those 4 fruits go into your stomach, you can eat a ton of them for not a lot of calories, and they keep you full for a very long period of time, making it so easy to stick to that calorie deficit. Start eating these today. And if you need to know exactly what your personalized calorie deficit goal should be, click the link in the description of the video below, I have a totally free calorie deficit calculator that you can use. Now, the second food I know for a fact you have heard is bad for you, and I will for sure get somebody named Mike in the comment section telling me I'm an idiot for recommending this, but trust me, it will work. And before I tell you the exact food, there is a misconception that carbs are bad If you're trying to lose weight. I want to dispel this myth, especially if you're somebody who's lifting weights. Your body needs carbs. When you lift weights, your body burns carbs for energy. So if your body is depleted of those carbs, it wants to replenish it so it can keep lifting weights. But if you don't replenish it properly on your own, what happens? Your body craves it. And how does it do that? By craving sugar. Because the quickest way to refill your carbs is by eating sugar. So if you're trying to lose fat and you're lifting weights and you don't eat enough carbs, your sugar cravings go through the roof, making it 10 times harder to stick to your calorie deficit. But if you eat the correct carbs, not only will you replenish those carbs in your muscles, but you can also keep yourself very full and provide critical and key nutrients To keep you hydrated, and you do that by eating potatoes. On the satiety scale, potatoes scored as one of the highest foods, and this just means how full do you get after eating a certain food. Plus, both regular potatoes and sweet potatoes provide a high amount of potassium, which is a critical electrolyte to keep you hydrated. Why is it important to stay hydrated? Well, if you're dehydrated, that often shows up in your as hunger. People get hungry, they think, because they're dehydrated. So think about that. You have depleted all of your carbs. Now you have a lot of sugar cravings. And if you're not hydrated because you're not getting enough potassium, now your body thinks it's extra hungry. And this is what leads to a lot of overeating. So start eating more potatoes. Your fat loss becomes 10 times easier. But no matter if you start just slamming some french fries, which are my favorite, If you don't eat this next food, it's still going to be hard to stick to a calorie deficit. And no doubt you have heard eat more protein before. And while this is true, I would like to give some more explanation as to why eating high protein is great. Because for every 100 calories of protein you eat, your body has to burn up to 30 of those calories to digest and process the protein, which is great if you're trying to be in a calorie deficit because it's almost like you're only eating 70 calories. Protein is also one of the most satiating foods, which just means it keeps you full for the longest period of time. But there's one more thing that if you combine protein with this other nutrient, you won't be hungry all day long. And before I tell you exactly what it is, I want you to visualize this. Imagine you're going to the beach and you do not bring an umbrella. You can lay out in the sun for a while, but eventually you'll be like, okay, this is great, But I need some shade. You can only sit out there for so long. But if you brought an umbrella, realistically, you could sit out there under that umbrella all day long. Or at least I could, because I love the beach. That's what eating protein is like on its own. No umbrella. Versus if you eat protein with healthy dietary fat along with it, that's how you get the umbrella to stay out there all day long. So for example, something like a protein shake. That's great, it's high in protein. But something like salmon, eggs, steak, ground beef, chicken thighs, these foods not only have protein, but they have dietary fat. Why is that important? Dietary fat is the slowest digesting macronutrient. That means when you eat it, it keeps you full for a very long period of time. This reduces cravings, stabilizes blood sugar, and makes sticking to a calorie deficit so easy. It almost feels illegal. And you do need to be mindful of the overall calories. But remember, if you're more full and you're not snacking all day or eating as much, you'll likely save calories during your day by eating these proteins that have a bit higher of dietary fat. And speaking of saving calories, this next food will save you calories, but it's not really a food. If you're anything like me, you have a big appetite. I can eat a ton of food for no other reason. I just love eating food. I'm the guy who will go to the Mexican restaurant. I will have the entire basket of chips and salsa, then I'll have my fajitas, then I'll have my rice and my beans and everything else that comes along with it. So what can we do to suppress our appetite and make sure it's easier to stick to our calorie deficit? Well, I want you to think of this like filling up a balloon with air. Technically, the balloon is full, but there's nothing actually in it. It's just air. That's what drinking zero-calorie carbonated caffeinated drinks will do to your stomach. You're technically putting stuff into your stomach, and the carbonation will make your stomach feel like it's full, and The caffeine will suppress your appetite a bit, but you're not actually consuming any calories. This can be great for suppressing your appetite or delaying a meal. For me, I use these drinks in the morning to delay my breakfast a bit, and this makes it so I'm not eating as many calories throughout the day, and instead I'm just drinking some bubbly elixir. Oh, and yes, this means drinking diet soda is in fact a cheat code for losing fat, and anybody in the comments who freaks out and says otherwise, they were dropped on their head as a baby. Don't pay them any mind. But the crazy part is, even if you eat all 4 of these foods I've just listed, you can still completely ruin your calorie deficit and lose no weight if you don't get this next one right. And it's what happens when you don't eat on your perfect diet plan. And let's be honest, all this stuff I said is great and all, but what happens when you go out to eat with your friend? What happens if you go to a birthday party? What happens if you want to have a couple of drinks with your friend? Unlike most of the twats on YouTube, I'm not gonna tell you just bring your Tupperware to the restaurant because first, you'll look like a douchebag, and second, that's not realistic or sustainable long-term. But we do also need to keep your fat loss goals in mind, and you can't just go eat like an asshole. So instead of telling you an exact food to eat when you go out, I'm gonna give you 3 quick rules you can follow and So you can enjoy yourself but still stick to your diet. And the first is going to be the 1-of-3 rule. You usually don't ruin your progress just by going out to eat. You ruin progress by going way overboard. And that's why out of the appetizer, alcohol, or dessert, you are going to pick one of those 3 to indulge in, not all 3. And this is great because it allows you to enjoy yourself and indulge a bit, but you're not gonna completely blow your calories out of the water. And the second is the oil and butter dilemma. Most restaurants, when they cook their food or prepare their food, will douse their food in oil or butter. Why? Because it makes it taste 10 times better. But what is the problem with this? That adds hundreds of extra calories. For example, you might order a side of broccoli or asparagus, and then you get it, you bite into it, and you're like, Oh my God, this is completely doused with butter. You think you're being healthy, but really you're eating a 250-calorie bomb of veggies. So when you order, ask them to please cook in light oil or butter, or if you're ordering a side of veggies, ask them to not put butter or oil or put it on the side. This alone, I promise you, will save you 200 to 300 calories every time you go out to eat. And the 3rd rule is not actually what you do when you're out to eat, but what you do before you go out to eat. And what do most people do— maybe you— before they go out to eat? They starve themselves all day. Why? So they can save calories and have room for their meal out. But what does this do? By the time you get to your meal out, you're starving, you way overeat, You have the appetizer, dessert, entree, and then you go out later and you have some extra drinks and you have some extra ice cream and you've just completely blown your calorie deficit. So let's not do that. An hour before you go out, have some sort of hard-boiled eggs, protein shake, watermelon, raspberries, zero-calorie carbonated caffeinated drink. Have something to fill you up so you're not going into the dinner starving, which means you'll be able to practice more moderation and self-control and actually be able to stick to your calorie deficit even when you go out to eat. And if you're like, Eric, this was really freaking helpful. First, I'm glad. But if you're like, I'll be honest, I just want someone to make me a plan, tell me exactly what to do, and actually hold me accountable so I can just stick with it. Well, that's exactly what we do for our clients in my 8-week fat loss challenge. You can click the link below to learn more. We build you a custom workout and nutrition plan and get you paired up with a real human dedicated coach who checks in all throughout the day to hold you accountable and make sure you stay on track, especially on the weekend. And if you're like, Eric, this is awesome, now I kind of know what to eat, but I want to lose fat and build muscle at the same time, how do I set up a plan to do all of that? Well, don't worry, I made an entire in-depth video covering exactly how you can lose fat, build muscle at the same time depending on where your body is currently at. You can click this video here to watch that coming up next.
