Flexible dieting is a popular diet trend aiming to create a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. If it your macronutrients, it fits your diet!
In this post, we'll go through to what flexible dieting is and the main benefits of such protocol.
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What’s Flexible Dieting?
Flexible dieting is a simple and popular weight loss plan that allows any foods that fit within your specific daily macronutrient targets.
This protocol doesn’t focus on the foods you eat, but rather on the macronutrients and calorie targets. As long as you are reaching the required calories and macronutrients, you are good to go.
Flexible dieting creates adherence and eliminates de concept of “bad foods”, which may create a bad relation towards specific foods.
If it fits your macros, it fits your diet
How Does Flexible Dieting Works?
To make flexible dieting work, you need to set a target calories and macronutrients. This will serve you as guideline to fit the foods in your daily targets
Calculating calorie intake
Calories are the units used to measure the energy contained in foods. The more calories it contains, the more energy it will provide to your body
The difference between your calorie intake and expenditure will determine the fate of your diet.
If you eat more than you use, you will gain weight over time. This is called calorie surplus
If you eat less than you use, you are in a calorie deficit, and you will lose weight over time.
To lose weight and do flexible dieting, your calorie target should be in the calorie deficit range.
How to Set your Macronutrients Target
The three macronutrients of any diet are fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. While fats and proteins are essential, you are able to produce carbohydrates on your own, and they are not extremely essential in your diet.
However, carbohydrates can bring you a lot of benefits, and should be considered in your diet as well
Each of these macronutrients play an important role in your health and metabolism.
To do a proper flexible dieting, these are the recommended intakes for each macronutrients and the important functions they play in your health
Benefits of Flexible Dieting
Flexible dieting shows very attractive and obvious benefits over other traditional weight loss diets.
In the next 3min, the benefits of flexible dieting!
Benefits of Flexible Dieting
- Creates adherence
- Focuses on the long term
- Low risk of developing eating disorders
- Easy to follow
- Gives you more freedom
- Doesn’t make you feel excluded
Creates Adherence
Flexible dieting creates adherence to a new lifestyle based on healthy habits and dietary choices.
If you are able to choose any foods and not restrict yourself from anything, you will create a new lifestyle based on new and healthier habits.
Adherence shows to be one of the most important factors when it comes to weight loss. The longer you are able to maintain a diet, the better the outcome will be
In this study, only 20% of the people doing strict weight loss were able to maintain the lost weight (source).
It’s not about losing weight fast, it’s about losing it well and being able to maintain it.
Focuses on the long term
Flexible dieting doesn’t aim to lose weight in two days, but rather on the long term.
By including any foods, flexible dieting allows you to slowly lose weight to reach the physique you always wanted.
Doesn’t that sound awesome?!
Online Course: How to Start Changing your Physique
Low Risk of Developing Eating Disorders
One of the main concerns when doing strict dieting is the risk of developing an eating disorder.
While strict diets often lead to eating disorders, people seldom show any sign of eating disorder when doing flexible dieting (study)
Flexible Dieting is an easy approach to lose weight without creating a bad relation towards food.
Easy to Follow
One of the main benefits of flexible dieting is the ease of doing it. It doesn’t require of any knwoledge in nutrition, science, or anything weird.
You, your calorie tracker, and the willingness to track your calories and macros to make sure the food you eat fits into your calories and macronutrients targets.
Gives you Freedom
Flexible dieting gives you freedom to choose, eat, and buy foods based on your feelings and cravings. It doesn’t tell you what to eat, but how much to eat.
Everything in controlled amounts can fit your macronutrients and calories. Flexible dieting gives you the freedom to eat any food you want, at anytime.
Doesn’t Exclude You from the Rest
One of the main struggles of those trying to lose weight is when it comes to social commitments, family dinners, or going for trips.
If you are not at home, or you go out for dinner, you lose control over what you cook and eat.
Flexible dieting doesn’t exclude you socially and psychologically. You can perfectly eat the same as the others, and you won’t be missing out as far as it fits your macros and calories.
How to Do Flexible Dieting
If you are convinced and willing to do flexible dieting, this is your lucky day.
You are only 3 steps away from starting the flexible dieting journey!
Step 1: Calculate your Calorie and Macronutrient Targets
The first and most important thing to do when doing flexible dieting is to set your calorie and macronutrient targets.
Calculate your calorie targets, and use the table above to establish your macronutrients. Take into account that 1 g of protein and carbohydrates provides 4 kcal, while 1 g of fat provides 9 kcal.
Play with the recommended ranges of each macronutrient to find your sweet spot and stick to it.
Step 2: Insert your Targets in a Calorie Tracker
You can track all your calories and macronutrients by hand, but why would you do such thing having mobile apps that do all the hard work for you?
MyfitnessPal, or FatSecret are some of the best calorie trackers available for iPhone and Android.
Download the app and insert your data to create your perfect profile.
Step 3: Track your Calories and Macros
Now that you have the calorie tracker up and running, it’s a matter of putting all the foods in the calorie tracker. You can do so by typing in the app the type of food, brand, and amount taken, or by scanning the food label.
This is the easiest and most accurate way to track your calories and macronutrients.
Conclusion
Flexible dieting is a simple and popular weight loss plan that allows any foods that fit within your specific daily macronutrient targets. If it fits your macros, if fits your diet
This weight loss plan helps you create adherence to your lifestyle in a flexible and easy manner. You don’t have to worry about what to buy, cook, or eat.
In this post, we have seen the benefits of flexbile dieting, and how to start your journey in three very simple steps!
