What Are The Best Meals For Getting Ripped? (5 Keys For Easy Fat Loss)

Learning how to cook great meals is something everyone should do if they want to achieve a ripped physique. At least everyone should learn a few go to recipes that they truly love.

Knowing how to cook tasty, satiating and satisfying meals will make reaching your fitness goals a walk in the park.

So with that said, what makes up the best meals for getting ripped? The best meals for getting ripped are composed of 5 key things, which are:

1. Balanced macronutrients
2. Good taste
3. Satiating
4. Health promoting
5. Simple to make

In this post I’ll uncover why having each of these 5 keys in place as you cook your meals will help you achieve easy and enjoyable fat loss.

Why You Should Avoid Generic Meal Plans & Cookbooks

There’s no shortage of generic meal plans and cookbooks out there. They all promise that you’ll build a lean and muscular physique in record time if you follow the meals outlined. But unfortunately, most of these resources don’t get the job done.

The fact is that achieving a ripped physique (building muscle and dropping fat) is all about the numbers. It’s about hitting the proper amount of calories, protein, fats and carbs.

Way too many meal plans and cookbooks has you focused on eating only “clean foods” and completely leave the numbers out of it. This way of dieting is like trying to throw a dart in a pitch black room.

Even the meal plans and books that actually focuses on calories and macros, usually fall into one extreme or another. They either promote a low carb diet or a low fat diet. It’s as the authors believe that humans were meant to eat only two out of the three macronutrients granted on this earth… Hell no!

So, do your best to avoid generic meal plans and cookbooks. These resources will in most cases only work in the short-term, while also stripping away much of what makes up an enjoyable diet and lifestyle.

So, with that said, what follows are the five keys to making the best meals possible that will support a downright ripped physique:

The 5 Keys to Cooking The Best Meals For a Ripped Physique

Key #1 – Balanced Macronutrients

The most important factor to get right when cooking a great fat loss and muscle building meal is to aim for a balanced macronutrient profile. Forget low fat, forget low carb and forget insanely high protein!

The truth is that all of these macronutrients are extremely important.

For one, research has shown that low carb diets are bad for testosterone levels. Low carb diets also reduces well-being by having the body produce less serotonin, which is a neurotransmitter that contributes to feelings of well-being and happiness. And lastly low carb diets impair training performance and recovery.

On the other end, a low fat diet has also been shown to suppresses testosterone, it typically tastes awful and causes insatiable hunger.

And lastly, even though protein is important for muscle growth and fat loss, the common held fitness belief that you need to eat a ton of protein, is simply wrong! This is because eating unnecessarily high protein will reduce your carb and fat intake.

Enjoy Your Life!

But beyond these physiological factors, do you really want to cut out either fat or carbs from your diet just to reach your fitness goal? The fact is that, once you learn how to cook and enjoy meals that are balanced in fat and carbs, then you can truly enjoy life!

This is because the best meals, and the ones that we enjoy eating, includes both carbs and fat. No one wants to eat a piece of steak without carbs or potatoes without butter.

Pizza, steak & fries, hamburgers and Subway sandwiches all contains a decently balanced ratio between protein, fats and carbs.

Again, when you learn how to balance out your macros when making your meals, then you can truly start enjoying your diet! And a diet that’s enjoyable, is a diet that will lead to the best results, as long as you control the amount you eat.

Key #2 – Aim For Good Taste

One of the biggest fitness myths every created is this one; “fitness meals” shouldn’t taste good.

In the fitness industry, dull and boring meals are the way to go. The premise behind this reasoning is that the less tasty the meal is, the less you’ll end up eating.

But, I couldn’t disagree more! The truth is that building a lean, muscular and aesthetic looking physique is only as hard as you make it out to be.

If you want to endure eating tasteless and boring meals day in and day out, then by all means go ahead. But know this, you’ll have to battle cravings consistently. And it’ll just be a matter of time until you give in to those cravings and end up binge eating away days of progress.

If you truly want to reach your fitness goals, you need to learn how to love your dieting plan. This is what leads to long-term, sustainable success.

When you make meals that are extremely tasty, you won’t sulk about how boring your food is all day. Instead you’ll feel completely satisfied and won’t have to battle cravings.

By aiming for tasty foods you’ll actually stick to the program, which is the real key to success!

Key #3 – The Importance of Fullness

If you want to build an incredibly fit and chiseled physique, then you need to learn how to stay full on lower calories.

In order to drop body fat, and then be able to stay at a low body fat level, you need to eat low calories. With that said, eating low calories is no problem as long as you’re not getting hungry on your diet.

Once hunger kicks in, it’s just a matter of time until you’ll give in. But screw hunger! I’m always full during my cuts.

Part of this is because I’m using the incredible power of intermittent fasting. Since I’m eating only 2-3 times per day, I can enjoy huge meals that are extremely satiating.

But above using intermittent fasting, I also focus on eating foods that keep me full. Since I’m vegan I eat meat substitutes like quorn, soy patty and pea protein (like the impossible burger!) which are all very satiating. For meat eaters, satiating protein sources could be chicken breast, flank steak and egg whites etc.

When it comes to satiating carb sources I definitely recommend potatoes. In fact, if you want to make getting ripped as easy as possible, then consider incorporating potatoes into your diet. They are great, they taste well and they are one of the most filling and satisfying food known to man.

Most friends and clients that I’ve helped burn fat and build muscle actually complain that they’re too full, despite dropping body fat. What a nice problem to have, right?

Key #4 – Health Promoting

Your meals must also promote health in order to be sustainable.

First of all, if you’re using intermittent fasting and you either work towards or are maintaining a lean body weight, you’re supporting a very healthy body according to research.

Furthermore, it’s been shown that drinking coffee during your fast comes with a ton of health benefits.

But most importantly, basing you meals on lean protein sources, veggies, starches, potatoes and healthy fats such as avocado and nuts is the best thing you can do for promoting a healthy and fit body.

But remember, you should also relax and enjoy life! Don’t try to be perfect. I enjoy some chocolate or chips nearly every night while staying healthy in the process. In fact, my health markers has never been as good as they are nowadays.

Trying to be perfect will undoubtedly lead to overeating or even binge eating. This is because you’ll stick to this “perfect” diet for a few weeks, get tired of being so strict and eventually fall of the waggon. I did this in the beginning of my fitness journey, I followed the advice of eating six small “clean” meals per day, and I felt like shit constantly.

To ensure that you’re not eating to much junk, which can happen if you get the taste of it, try to remind yourself of the 80/20 rule of dieting. This is where 80% of your meals are wholesome and nutrient dense and the remaining 20% can be junk foods that you enjoy eating.

In other words, if you’re having 20 meals in a week, then 4 of them can be junk without causing any negative effects on your physique or health development. In fact, it will provide you with better health because you’ll be able to enjoy yourself more while also experience less stress.

Key #5 – Simple to Make

Simplicity is incredibly important if you want to see good results long-term. Being able to whip up meals effortlessly will allow you to keep fitness and nutrition in the background of your life.

Having to follow headache inducing recipes where you must work through a list of 50 ingredients is just too much of a hassle. Simplicity is the key to brilliance.

Cooking awesome meals certainly don’t have to be hard. In fact, most of my favourite meals are very simple to make.

I’m busy, I’m doing my best to get things done, so I don’t have time to spend hours in the kitchen. If a meal isn’t simple to make, I’m not interested in making it.

I cook for an entire week by taking my time to do so once per week. By following easy recipes I only need to spend one hour tops per week cooking.

My Favourite Meals

What follows are a list of a few of my absolute favourite meals that I’ve eaten over the last 4 years to get ripped effortlessly.

I will outline the quantity of food that I usually cook as an example. You will have to change up your quantity to fit your own calories and macros.

1. Lean Protein With Rice, Satay Sauce & Veggies

This is one of my “trademark” meals, my family and friends always comment “oh you’re eating that again” when they see me eat this meal.

What’s funny is that I don’t usually like eating the same thing too often, but this meal is another story. I can eat it for days!

To make this meal you need:

• Lean protein source (chicken breast, lean beef, quorn, soy or Tofu) – 250 g per portion.
• Rice (or pasta) – 1 dl (80 g) uncooked per portion
• Satay sauce (I buy canned ready from store) – 100 g per portion
• Frozen veggies – 250 g per portion

Total calories and macros per portion:

• Calories: 750
• Macros: 75 g protein, 80 g carbs and 15 g fat

How to prepare this meal:

Cook the rice (or pasta). Put the lean protein, satay sauce and frozen veggies in a big pot and let it cook under low to medium heat for 20-25 min. Done!

2. Lasagna With Side Sallad

Another one of my favourites. I don’t cook this meal to often though, perhaps once every two to three weeks. The reason for this is that it needs to stay in the over for 35 to 40 minutes. But it’s worth it sometimes.

To make this meal you need:

• Low fat minced meat or vegan/vegetarian alternative– 250 g per portion.
• Lasagna pasta plates – 10 plates (~70 g) uncooked per portion
• Canned tomatoe – 100 g per portion
• Canned Bechamel sauce – 100 g per portion
• Sallad + tomatoes as a side – 100-150 g per portion

Total calories and macros per portion:

• Calories: 715
• Macros: 60 g protein, 60 g carbs and 26 g fat

How to prepare this meal:

Fry the minced meat in a pan until it has some color. Add the canned tomatoes to the meat and stir it up.

Grab an owen pan and add spread out some bechamel sauce to the bottom, add a layer of pasta plates on the bechamel sauce, add minced meat on top of the pasta plates, then repeat this process until you’ve used up all ingredients.

Let it cook in the over for 30-40 minutes (until it looks done).

3. Minced Meat or Soy With Rice, Tikka Masala Sauce & Veggies

Okay, I admit it, I love my sauces! Seriously though, they lift the taste of the food so much that I’m not sure I would be able to diet without them.

To make this meal you need:

• Low fat minced meat or vegan/vegetarian alternative– 250 g per portion.
• Rice (or pasta) – 1 dl (80 g) uncooked per portion
• Tikka Masala Sauce (I buy canned ready from store) – 100 g per portion
• Frozen veggies – 250 g per portion

Total calories and macros per portion:

• Calories: 810
• Macros: 60 g protein, 75 g carbs and 28 g fat

How to prepare this meal:

Cook the rice (or pasta). Fry the minced meat in a big pot until it has some color. Then add the Tikka masala sauce and frozen veggies and let it cook under low to medium heat for 20-25 min. Done!

4. Low Fat Cottage Cheese With Fruits And Chocolate

This is my absolute favourite snack meal. It’s satiating and highly nutritious. Sometimes I eat this for lunch, but most often as an evening snack.

To make this meal you need:

• Low fat cottage cheese – 500 g per portion.
• An apple – 70-80 g per portion
• A banana – 100 g per portion
• Chocolate (milk or dark) – 25 g per portion
• Cinnamon (optional) – 1tbs

Total calories and macros per portion:

• Calories: 720
• Macros: 62 g protein, 75 g carbs and 16 g fat

How to prepare this meal:

Put the cottage cheese in a large bowl. Cut the fruit and chocolate into small pieces and add it to the bowl of cottage cheese. Add some cinnamon for extra taste!

5. Banana Pancakes With Homemade Protein Fluff

Another all time favourite of mine. Banana pancakes with homemade protein fluff are tasty yet highly satiating and nutritious.

To make this meal you need:

• Eggs – 3 eggs per portion.
• Two ripe bananas – 200 g per portion
• Vanilla sugar – 1 tbs
• Protein fluff – 50 g per portion
• Blueberries – 50 g per portion
• Cinnamon (optional) – 1tbs

Total calories and macros per portion:

• Calories: 580
• Macros: 40 g protein, 65 g carbs and 15 g fat

How to prepare this meal:

Mix eggs, bananas, vanilla sugar and cinnamon into a batter. Start frying pancakes in prefered size.

Learn how to create protein fluff by checking out this video:

What My Feeding Schedule Looks Like

Okay, so there you have 5 of my absolute favourite meals. Since I’m eating only three meals per day I have room for three of these meals per day if I want too.

While we’re on that note, here’s what my current feeding schedule looks like:

• Morning (8 am – 1 pm) – Sparkling water and coffee
• Lunch (1 pm – 2 pm) – Usually one of the meals above
• Dinner (6 pm – 8 pm) – Usually another one of the meals above
• Late night snack (10-11 pm) – Usually ~400 calories of chocolate or chips + a protein shake or protein fluff.

What’s Next?

Now, I have a lot more foods that I like to cycle in every now and then, these mentioned above are just my personal favourites.

If you want to find more satiating and fulfilling recipes that are entirely based on the principles layed out in this post, then I definitely recommend Radu’s ShredSmart Program.

It’s from his program that I found a few of my favourites and I can’t recommend it enough. On top of that, from the program you will also get the knowledge you need to set up your training and diet optimally to get the best results possible. You can learn more about the program here.