First and foremost, realize that you must start putting high quality fuel in your body. You wouldn't put low-grade gas in a luxury car, and you shouldn't give it to your body, either. Your taste buds may be satisfied with the Barn Blaster burger you get at the drive-thru, but your muscles won't. If you want to perform in the gym, you better get the right fuel.

Since your goal is fat loss, we want to get you eating small meals often. This keeps your body burning fat and makes sure you use more calories for energy, rather than storage. The mission is to keep your metabolic rate as high as possible, which is the rate at which your body burns off calories. The faster it's running, the closer to ripped you'll be.

Make sure you eat every 2-3 hours, consuming 5-6 high quality meals throughout the day. To accomplish this goal, be sure you do some advanced planning. Don't try and wing it. You may be able to do that at the bar and still show decent results with the ladies, but you aren't going to here. Plan your meals ahead of time so you know exactly what and when you'll eat. Strategy is key.

To eat this often, you'll need the right tools. Get a cooler, ice packs, shaker bottles, plastic containers, and plastic bags. Your results are on the line here, so get these essentials covered. Make your meals a day or a few days in advance so you never have to rely on fast-food fixes. If you fail to plan, then plan on failing. Now that you know you'll be eating every few hours, let's talk about calories. In order to lose fat, you need to burn off more calories than you take in. To establish your calorie requirements, we'll first determine your maintenance calories. This is the amount of calories you would eat to stay the same weight.

To calculate your maintenance level, take your current weight and multiply it by 15. (Ex. 150 X 15 = 2250 calories). To lose fat, cut out 250-500 calories per day. You should only lose 2-3 pounds per week maximum. Anything more than that, and you'd be burning through hard-earned muscle tissue. Calories come from food, and getting the right foods is incredibly important. The ripped ratio we recommend is 40% protein, 40% carbohydrates, and 20% fat. This keeps your energy levels constant, provides enough amino acids to the muscles, and makes sure you stay satisfied with the food choices.

Lean protein should be eaten with each and every meal you consume, as it's responsible for tissue growth and repair. Every meal should include a palm-size portion of protein. Good choices include grilled chicken or turkey, lean beef, egg whites, tuna fish or salmon, and protein shakes. For best results, shoot for one gram of protein per pound of body weight each and every day. Carbohydrates are also important, but the type is critical. You want to have a palm-sized serving of carbohydrates with each meal, which should come from complex sources like whole grains, wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, oats, vegetables, and sweet potatoes. Stop listening to all that no-carb talk you might hear. Carbohydrates are important to fuel your muscles and shouldn't be cut out entirely. Carefully chosen, yes. Removed completely, never.

Stay away from refined sources like white bread, vending machine treats, or candy bars that will only give you a quick-me-up, not lasting energy. Finally, you have your fats. Fat's are important for growth and will keep your muscle-building hormones at a healthy level. Don't make the mistake that many guys do trying to avoid all fats in order to cut fat. Make sure you take in good fats daily, which are crucial for great health and best results. Not all fats are created equal, and to lose fat you need healthy fat in your diet. Make sure you take in fats like a tablespoon of olive oil, almonds, fish, or peanut butter a few times a day. Avoid foods with a ton of saturated or trans-fats. They're packed with calories, yet provide few nutrients.

Keep yourself on the right path by loading your desk or bag with portable fuel like trail mix, beef jerky, ready to drink protein shakes, protein powder, and bars. Having these accessible throughout the day will ensure that your body is constantly infused with the right nutrients.

While making the commitment to the gym will require about six hours a week from your life, when it comes to nutrition, you're on 24/7. There's no real end-point to healthy eating: it's an all day effort. Make sure you avoid skipping meals. A skipped meal is a quick way to overeat at a later one, which can pack on calories and fat quickly. Not only that, but it's going to slow your metabolism down if you consume too few calories, which kills your lean muscle mass and makes further fat loss difficult.

Hydration is also essential for getting a ripped physique. Without enough water, you'll feel fatigued, bloated, and may turn to food when you don't need it. A gallon of water a day will keep your body primed for results and will help regulate your cooling system. Keep a Bodybuilding.com shaker bottle or water jug with you at all times.

This covers what you need for most meals, but don't forget about pre- and post-workout nutrition. You absolutely must fuel your body properly at these times. Around your workouts, you need the right fuel to get results. About 1-1.5 hours before you lift, you need to have a meal that contains complex carbohydrates and a lean source of protein. This will give you sustained energy to get through intense training sessions. If you don't have time to eat a whole meal, make yourself a protein shake with oats. This will be the perfect combo to fuel your body to hit the weights hard, and can easily be taken with you to work for convenience. Otherwise, have a shake with yogurt, a high-protein sandwich, or something like chicken and brown rice.

When it comes to your post-workout meal, you want a fast-digesting carb with whey protein to help kick-start the recovery process and restore your muscle glycogen (energy). Turn to maltodextrin, white bread, a bagel, or any simple form of sugar. Have a little fun with this, because it's a great time to kill your cravings for something higher carb and sweet. Keep fat out of the picture as best as possible, and use supplements at this time for quick absorption.

In order to spike your metabolism, every 1-2 weeks we recommend that you grant yourself a cheat meal. A cheat meal is the perfect way to boost your morale and reward your hard work and dedication. Only have a cheat meal if you've consistently nailed your nutrition for 1-2 weeks. Otherwise, you don't need it. Make sure the meal contains no more than 500 calories (you don't want to ruin your hard work), but enjoy yourself.

Weekends are almost always a struggle for most guys. Whether the big game is on and its BBQ time, or the crew wants to go out for beers, don't let a night out derail all the progress you made during the week. If you're out for a night on the town or taking your girl out for a fancy dinner, just make smart ordering choices. Order grilled chicken breast, steamed vegetables, or baked potato. Avoid fried foods, heavy carbohydrates, or creamy, cheese-based sauces, and you'll be fine.

If you're going out to drink, do so in moderation. Having a drink or two on a special occasion is fine, but try to alternate water between drinks. Moderation is key to lasting success. Remember, you might get hassled from your buddies for not drinking, but secretly they'll be the ones coveting your abs when everything is said and done.