These are the nutritional components of an ideal daily diet, meal or snack, for purposes of weight loss as well as just healthy lifetime eating (weight maintenance).

Magic Meals help you lose weight or maintain weight without obsessing over calories and food types.

The more you stick with ONLY these nutrients and foods, the more weight you'll lose.

The Power Trio: Protein, Fiber, Water

You create Magic Meals using The Power Trio. Protein-rich, fiber-rich and/or water-rich foods are the most filling for the lowest calories. For more details see Weight Loss Food Strategy and Weight Loss Foods Chart.

"Power Duo": Among the three, protein + fiber is a particularly powerful combination. Most successful weight loss diets are either high protein or high fiber or both. Together, they are a winning combination. Including both fiber and protein in a single meal works best to keep both short and long term hunger at bay while minimizing calories -- but if you can't do that, at least aim to obtain them on a daily basis in some way.

Some diets emphasize fiber over protein -- such as with plant-based or vegetable/fruit-based diets -- and that can work out quite well. Greens, vegetables and fruits are a critical component to any diet including a weight loss diet -- and high-fiber foods also contain protein. But most studies show that a diet specifically focused on high protein and aiming for high protein sources of food are more successful for weight loss than diets that are lower in protein.

When it comes down to it, getting both high-protein and high-fiber is the ideal combination.

Water content can dramatically lower the calorie density of foods. Oppositely, the lack of water raises calorie density. Even though the protein content may be lower in some high water foods such foods can qualify as Magic Meals or "magic foods" all by themselves. Smoothies and soups are high-water foods and are very effective for weight loss. Vegetables and fruits are high water foods, and some of them are unlimited!

Here's what you should aim for in each meal and/or each day:

1) Adequate protein:

Use our calculator to figure out your recommended protein level.
See Protein for important considerations.

2) Lots of fiber or "roughage".

See Fiber
Pile your plate with Vegetables and fruits
Especially eat lots of leafy greens and fibrous veggies

3) Water ... and water based foods.

Drink a lot of water in general. See Water.
"Fiber loves water" - as you increase fiber foods, drink more water.
Water helps reduce appetite.
Water-rich foods like Soup and smoothies make good weight loss meals.
Water is a good Pre-Fill item.

Note: You can get both fiber and protein in the certain foods, such as with legumes... which is why legumes are a great weight loss food.

Control Fat and Carbs

Overconsuming fat or carbohydrates can counteract the weight loss benefits of the Power Trio. A proper fat and carb strategy is a very individualized aspect of a meal that you'll have to decide for yourself.

1) Moderate Fat

Minimize fat but don't eliminate it (a small amount of fat helps keep you full between meals).
See Control Fat Intake.

2) Personalized Carbohydrates

Limit carbs depending on your activity level, your insulin sensitivity, your weight, your metabolism type and personal preferences.
See Carb Smart Plan

Important: Avoid eating a lot of fat and a lot of carbs at the same time - that's the easiest way to blow your calorie budget and gain weight.

Ultimate Magic Meal

An "ultimate magic meal" is one that gives you the lowest possible calories while still getting essential nutrients and keeping hunger at bay. In other words, it can be used for fast weight loss.

The guidelines for an Ultimate Magic Meal are rather strict, but very effective:

Eat only Lean Proteins (see chart on the Protein page)
Eat only Fibrous Vegetables (see chart on the Vegetables page)
No fat except for Essential Fatty Acid (fish oil) supplement
No carbohydrates

You may notice how similar it is to the meals in the Fast Fat Loss Blueprint and Accelerated Weight Loss Protocol programs. In fact, a very effective Magic Meal is to simply follow one of those two programs for a single meal (including total calories, protein levels, etc).

The closer you get to that ideal meal, the more "ultimate" the meal. If that's too restrictive you could expand your vegetable options or add a small piece of fruit to the meal, and/or allow yourself a bit more fat. But then it's getting closer to a regular Magic Meal.

You wouldn't want to try to eat that way forever because it's pretty limited and strict, and there are other guidelines for implementing a complete rapid weight loss plan. But it does give you a "go to" meal concept for a Weight Loss Day or a limited series of days.

"Modular" Meals

It's often easiest to consider each of the main nutrients (protein, fiber, fat and carbs) separately rather than bundled into complex recipes where it's hard to know exactly how much of each nutrient you are getting.

This is especially important when it comes to controlling fat and carb content. You may find many recipes that appear to be based on the Power Trio, but the calorie density is sky high due to high fat content, or there may be a lot of hidden carbs.

In a Modular Meal, each component is more or less separate on your plate. For example:
· A fish fillet, mixed vegetables, beans, with a piece of fruit.
· A sandwich with turkey, lettuce, tomato, and a piece of fruit.

To do this you simply need to create a list of Magic Meal components you like. You can then create a wide variety of meal combinations with little fuss, while having the confidence that they are a Magic Meal.

Standardized Meals

Standardized Meals is another tactic that goes along perfectly with the Magic Meals concept.

Recipes

Of course Magic Meals still work even when the components are mixed into a single recipe. The trick is to know exactly what goes into the recipe so you know the components and how closely it matches a Magic Meal.

You'll need to know:

Total calorie density: the lower the better (see Fat Burning Foods to learn how to calculate)
Fat content (to keep within limits)
Carb content (to keep within limits)

As for the Power Trio, of course more is better. Lots of vegetables, plenty of lean protein, and/or water (like soup).

Simple Snack or Meal Ideas

Often the most difficult part is trying to get both protein and fiber into a meal. The list below shows you some of the simple ways it can be done. Notice most of these are Modular.

Fat-free or low-fat milk and a piece of fruit
Apple with mozzarella string cheese
Thin-sliced lean meat (e.g., 6 slices of turkey might be only 50 calories)
Low-fat cottage cheese and baby carrots
Raw veggies with dressing (e.g., 1 tablespoon regular dressing or 2 Tbls low-fat)
Broccoli with a yogurt dip
Low-fat Greek yogurt and sliced peaches
Celery stalk stuffed with low-fat cottage cheese
Lettuce leaves rolled with thin turkey slices, flavored with mustard
Whole wheat quesadilla with cheese, tomato, and salsa on the side (e.g., using 2 Tbls low-fat cheese, diced tomato, 1/4 cup salsa)
Sandwich with whole-grain bread, a lean meat, cheese and mustard
Smoothie containing plain yogurt, banana, strawberries (e.g., 1/2 cup yogurt, 1/2 banana, 1/2 strawberries, ice)