I Followed The 30-30-30 Fat Loss Diet Rule for A Month – The Results Were Spectacular!

I’ve been a personal trainer for more than 30 years. During that time, I’ve seen fitness and nutrition fads come and go and I’ve also witnessed the rise of social media and fitness influencers.

In my opinion, both social media and fitness influencers are double-edged swords, with the capacity to help or hurt.  

On one hand, social media provides access to exercise and diet information. Unfortunately, much of this information is uncensored, misleading, inaccurate, dangerous, or just plain wrong. However, it’s usually presented in such a way that many people believe what they read.

Similarly, fitness influencers can be very motivating and inspiring. They provide diet and exercise advice to the masses and the communities they create offer support to like-minded followers.

Sadly, unlike personal trainers, fitness influencers don’t have to be qualified to share their advice, and that means they sometimes get it wrong. There are also plenty of influencers who have been caught lying to their followers, further hurting their credibility.

Related: Fitness Influencers: How to Recognize (And Ignore) Bad Advice

The point of all this is that when I read about a new fitness or diet trend, my first response is usually to roll my eyes and dismiss it. Instead, I prefer to get my information from credible sources – like Fitness Volt.

But, now and then I find a trend that actually makes sense and is supported by research. In this instance, I’m talking about the 30-30-30 Diet Rule for weight loss.

In this article, I explain what the 30-30-30 Diet Rule is and whether it’s worth incorporating into your morning weight loss routine.

What Is The 30-30-30 Diet Rule?

The 30-30-30 Diet Rule is a social media trend that originates in a 2010 book called The Four-Hour Body by Tim Ferris. In this book, Ferris explored and tested numerous diet and workout methods in the hopes of discovering shortcuts to better fitness and health.

Fast forward to today and the 30-30-30 Diet Rule has been revamped and repackaged by nutritionist and wellness podcaster Gary Brecka. With more than two million Instagram followers, Brecka’s weight loss method quickly went viral.

The 30-30-30 Diet Rule is pretty simple and involves consuming 30g of protein during the first 30 minutes of your day before completing 30 minutes of low-intensity exercise.

That’s it – get up, chug down a protein shake, and head out for an easy workout, such as brisk walking, easy jogging, or stationary cycling.

Despite its simplicity, followers of this rule are reporting impressive weight and fat loss results. This is because, unlike many fitness trends, the 30-30-30 Diet Rule makes scientific sense. In short, it’s more than just the usual social media hyperbole.

How does the 30-30-30 Diet Rule work? Check out the next section and discover the answer!

How the 30-30-30 Diet Rule Works

The 30-30-30 Diet Rule has quickly gained traction, and, unlike many other trends, it actually works. Consuming 30 grams of protein during the first 30 minutes of your day and then doing 30 minutes of light exercise really can help you lose weight.  

There are several science-backed reasons for this:

Protein Has a High Thermal Effect

It’s not just exercise that burns kilocalories; eating does, too. We call this the Thermal Effect of Food, or TEF. TEF describes how eating and digesting food uses energy. All food groups (fat, carbs, protein) have a measurable impact on your metabolism, but the TEF for protein is the highest (1).

Consuming 30 grams of protein shortly after waking provides your metabolism with a small but worthwhile bump, potentially increasing your total daily energy expenditure.

Related: A Complete Guide to Understanding Thermic Foods: Eat to Rev Up Your Metabolism

Protein Helps Prevent Overeating

Starting your day with a 30-gram serving of protein can help prevent hunger (2). Protein is very satiating so by consuming, for example, a protein shake on waking, you’ll probably eat less during the rest of the day. Consuming fewer kilocalories than you need, which is called creating a calorie deficit, is a critical part of the weight and fat loss equation.

Protein Helps Preserve Existing Muscle Mass During Weight Loss

There is no escaping the fact that losing weight involves eating less. However, your body usually loses fat AND muscle during a diet. This causes your metabolism to decrease, which means weight loss can plateau, and you won’t look as toned or shapely at the end of your diet as you should. You might even end up being “skinny fat,” where you are slim but soft.

Consuming adequate protein helps to preserve existing muscle mass during a diet (3), ensuring your metabolism keeps buzzing along at a rapid pace. This should ensure that you lose fat as quickly as possible while steering clear of weight loss plateaus. You’ll also look more muscular and athletic at the end of your diet.

Protein Helps to Keep Your Blood Glucose Levels Stable

Most people start their day with a high-carb breakfast like cereal, oatmeal, toast, or a breakfast pastry. While tasty, high-carb breakfasts can cause the start of a blood glucose rollercoaster which is usually accompanied by rising and falling energy levels. That’s why eating carbs for breakfast is usually followed by mid-morning hunger.

Protein helps maintain stable blood glucose levels, preventing undulating energy and hunger (4). This makes any diet easier to stick to, and fewer unplanned diet breaks mean your weight loss journey should be straightforward and successful.

In addition, morning exercise increases your insulin sensitivity. Insulin is the hormone responsible for ferrying nutrients, especially glucose, into your muscles and away from your fat cells. Improved insulin sensitivity helps prevent fat gain while promoting fat burning.

Morning Exercise Boosts Fat-Burning

It’s no secret that exercise burns kilocalories and fat. Starting your day with 30 minutes of brisk walking, jogging, stationary cycling, etc., boosts fat burning while you are exercising and also increases your metabolism for several hours afterward. You’ll also be in a semi-fasted state which, some research suggests, enhances fat burning (5).

So, as you can see, the 30-30-30 Diet Rule is backed by science. This is very reassuring as many diet and fitness are not supported by research and are nothing more than a waste of your time and energy.

The Benefits of the 30-30-30 Diet Rule

Not sure if the 30-30-30 Diet Rule is worth following? Consider these plus points and then decide!

Simple

A lot of weight loss and fat-burning advice is very complicated. While it may work, most people can’t be bothered to follow intricate instructions for more than a few days. In contrast, the 30-30-30 Diet Rule is super-simple – 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of getting up and a brief 30-minute workout.

This simplicity means that there are very few barriers to prevent you from following this rule. It’s the sort of thing you can incorporate into your morning ritual with very little effort.

Related: Morning Protein Shake Ritual: 30-Day Body Transformation Revealed

Convenient

All you need to follow the 30-30-30 Diet Rule is some protein powder and a pair of sneakers. Sure, you can make things more involved by eating a high-protein food like eggs and doing a more complex workout but, really, there is no need.

Get up, chug a shake, and go for a brisk walk – simple!

This convenience means almost everyone can follow this rule, even if they don’t have a gym membership or the time or knowledge to make a different breakfast.

Repeatable

Leading on from the points above, the simpler and more convenient something is, the more likely you are to do it every day. There are plenty of potentially equally effective ways to speed up fat loss, but if they’re so inconvenient or time-costly that you only do them occasionally, any extra benefits are soon lost.

In contrast, most people should be able to follow the 30-30-30 Diet Rule every day. This consistency will pay off!

Safe

Some fitness fads are pointless and won’t do you any good. Some can actually cause harm. Following the 30-30-30 Diet Rule should be safe for most people, and any subsequent weight loss and more stable blood glucose levels may even improve your health.

Of course, if you have any underlying medical issues you should consult your personal physician before starting any new diet or exercise regimen.

A Great Way to Start Your Day

Starting your day with fitness and fat loss at the front of your mind sets the scene for continued success. You are much more likely to eat healthily for the rest of your day and should feel energized, too.

Compare this to eating sugary cereal, feeling hungry all morning, chowing down on junk food for lunch, and then trying to find the energy for an evening workout. Needless to say, such a positive start to your day will soon start to pay off.

Can Be Combined with Other Diets and Exercise Programs 

While following the 30-30-30 Diet Rule can help you lose weight, you’ll undoubtedly get better results if you combine it with a balanced eating plan and additional workouts. For example, alongside the 30-30-30 rule, I also did two upper and two lower body workouts per week while eating according to this sensible eating plan.

In my mind, combining the 30-30-30 Diet Rule with a sustainable diet and exercise program is like adding one plus one to make five!

My Results After Following the 30-30-30 Diet Rule for a Month

After reading about the 30-30-30 Diet Rule and reading the supporting research, I wanted to experience the benefits for myself, so I added it to my morning routine.

As per the instructions, I consumed a 30-gram protein shake shortly after waking and then went out for a brisk 30-minute walk. I made no other changes to my day.

Frankly, I was amazed that such a simple approach could be so effective, and energy-wise, I felt great. Needless to say, I plan on sticking to this rule for the foreseeable future!

	Day 1	Day 30	Difference
Weight	187 pounds	181 pounds	Lost 6 pounds
Body Fat Percentage	14%	12%	Lost 2%
Waist Measurement	32.5 inches	31.5 inches	Lost 1 inch

Conclusion

Many fitness and fat loss fads make big promises but fail to deliver. That’s because they’re either too difficult, complicated, or expensive to maintain for long, or do not affect the myriad systems that make up your body.

However, that’s not to say all fitness trends are a waste of time; some may actually help you achieve your diet and exercise goals.

The 30-30-30 Diet Rule is science-backed and could help you lose weight. It’s not a miracle weight loss solution and will work best if you do it consistently and combine it with a healthy diet and consistent workout program.

But, if you are looking for a new weapon to use in the battle against your unwanted bulges, the 30-30-30 Diet Rule is worth following.

References:

1. Ravn AM, Gregersen NT, Christensen R, Rasmussen LG, Hels O, Belza A, Raben A, Larsen TM, Toubro S, Astrup A. Thermic effect of a meal and appetite in adults: an individual participant data meta-analysis of meal-test trials. Food Nutr Res. 2013 Dec 23;57. doi: 10.3402/fnr.v57i0.19676. PMID: 24376394; PMCID: PMC3873760.
2. Leidy HJ, Tang M, Armstrong CL, Martin CB, Campbell WW. The effects of consuming frequent, higher protein meals on appetite and satiety during weight loss in overweight/obese men. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2011 Apr;19(4):818-24. doi: 10.1038/oby.2010.203. Epub 2010 Sep 16. PMID: 20847729; PMCID: PMC4564867.
3. Cava E, Yeat NC, Mittendorfer B. Preserving Healthy Muscle during Weight Loss. Adv Nutr. 2017 May 15;8(3):511-519. doi: 10.3945/an.116.014506. PMID: 28507015; PMCID: PMC5421125.
4. Xiao K, Furutani A, Sasaki H, Takahashi M, Shibata S. Effect of a High Protein Diet at Breakfast on Postprandial Glucose Level at Dinner Time in Healthy Adults. Nutrients. 2022 Dec 24;15(1):85. doi: 10.3390/nu15010085. PMID: 36615743; PMCID: PMC9824806.
5. Barutcu A, Briasco E, Moon J, Stensel DJ, King JA, Witcomb GL, James LJ. Planned morning aerobic exercise in a fasted state increases energy intake in the preceding 24 h. Eur J Nutr. 2021 Sep;60(6):3387-3396. doi: 10.1007/s00394-021-02501-7. Epub 2021 Feb 23. PMID: 33620552; PMCID: PMC8354893.

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