Allowed foods in the weight-loss plan: moderation, not deprivation

In principle, almost everything is allowed in Michael’s plan

In Michael’s meal plan, all foods are allowed in principle, except for the restrictions discussed further down. This applies to normal amounts, meaning without strict deprivation, as long as you practice moderation. The allowed foods include:

• Vegetables
• Fruit
• Milk and dairy products like cheese, cream, sour cream, and yogurt
• Meat, fish, sausage and cold cuts, and eggs, including high-fat dishes
• Oils and fats, both animal and plant-based
• Sauces like mayonnaise, ketchup, or mustard
• Spices and salt
• Sugar
• Water, coffee, tea, and juices
• Soft drinks and sodas
• Alcoholic beverages like beer, wine, or spirits

All of these foods can be combined with one another.

And what about bread, pasta, rice, and the like?

This is exactly where the restrictions come in. During his diet, Michael avoided these foods as much as possible:

• all the classic types of flour, for example from wheat, rye, barley, and also from rice
• everything made from flour, for example pasta, bread, cake, pizza dough, cookies, breading on meat, and sauce thickeners
• other foods high in gluten
• foods made from rice or potatoes, for example rice noodles, mashed potatoes, or dumplings

The reason: Flour products usually contain a lot of gluten, meaning sticky protein. Gluten “gums up” the body and slows down many metabolic processes. And starch, as found in flour, rice, and potatoes, itself acts like glue beyond a certain amount, hindering various body functions and, above all, the metabolism.

It doesn’t have to be totally strict, though. Two to three meals a week can be completely normal, for example with pizza, döner, pasta, rice, or bread rolls. The important thing is to spread them out over different days so the gut has time to recover in between.

→ Why gluten and starch slow down the metabolism: The pepper effect and the role of gluten and starch

What “moderation” means in concrete terms for sweets and the like

In Michael’s plan, things like chocolate, chips, cola, or desserts were allowed too, but not as a daily staple. There were phases with more of it and phases with less. What was crucial was the overall framework: The bulk of his diet came from the meals in his plan, with lots of vegetables, protein, and suitable fats.

For Michael, it looked like this in concrete terms: In the two and a half months of his diet, it was around 1.5 liters of cola a week and now and then candy, chips, or chocolate, but usually just a handful or two from the bag of chips or a piece of chocolate.

What became clear about the extras

With this structure, weight loss would theoretically have been possible even if you had treated yourself to high-calorie extras more often, just more slowly. That’s because the more extra calories come in from sweets, soft drinks, or fatty snacks, the more energy the body takes from them first, and the less room is left for breaking down body fat. If you go totally overboard, you won’t lose weight but can even gain weight despite the method.

For Michael, the fast 25 kilos in two and a half months only worked because exceptions like these stayed small in proportion. That’s his personal experience and not a guarantee, but it helps to better understand the difference between “allowed” and “constantly overdoing it.”

Want to see what the plan looks like in everyday life?

→ Losing weight quickly and easily: Michael’s meal plan

Want to know in more detail how pepper works in the metabolism and how to promote this effect?

→ Warmth in the Body: why it makes the body burn more calories