Have you ever heard of the term “Flexible Dieting?” If not, this post is going to make you pretty happy. = )
I am a firm believer that diets DO NOT work. Otherwise, why would the weight loss industry be worth about $60 billion dollars in the U.S.? Think about it… one diet doesn’t work for someone, so they’re off to buy the next one. Or even worse, the diet does work but as soon as they get off it they gain all of the original weight back… and usually some additional pounds.
These fad diets are simply not the answer.
The only way to lasting success is with regular exercise and sensible eating. This does not mean that you cannot enjoy your favorite foods here and there. The real problem is that we seem to be enjoying them far too often, no? Anyhow, sensible eating does not necessarily entail eating some strict militaristic style diet where you can only have certain foods at certain times. That may work for the elite athlete or body builder whose career rests in their physical performance, but for most of us “average folks” who just want to look and feel good… this isn’t the answer.
Welcome to Flexible Dieting.
The word flexible means that something is able to bend without breaking, and this definition sounds even better when applied to a diet. After all “breaking” the diet is where we fail, right? With flexible dieting you will be eating sensibly and healthy, but not depriving yourself of some of your favorite foods. Pretty sweet, huh?
Here’s How Flexible Dieting Works:
Basically, if it fits your macros you can eat it! Because you now have a daily calorie and macro goal that you’re aiming for, this allows you a little wiggle room in what you actually eat. This is because if you get close to your macro goals daily then you are going to be eating an overall healthy diet.
Now, let’s be clear though before anyone gets too excited…. eating a hamburger, fries, and coke daily for lunch is going to be pretty devastating to your macros, and it would be almost impossible to level that back out (getting to your goal) before the end of the day. Being able to blow it one meal per day is not what flexible dieting is about.
Flexible Dieting is about sticking to the plan the majority of the time, but still allowing yourself a treat here and there. For example, flexible dieting allows me to eat healthy and stick to my goals all day, but still go out in the evening and grab some frozen yogurt with fruit if I wanted to. Additionally, if I know I am going to a special event, like a wedding where there’s some great food (or cake… I love cake, haha), then I can simply adjust what I eat around that event and can still get as close to my daily goal as possible. Make sense?
The Key To Success With Flexible Dieting:
Whether you experience success of failure in hitting your health and fitness goals all falls on the answer to this one question:
“ARE YOU PLANING AHEAD?”
You’ve heard the saying “failing to plan is planning to fail,” right? This couldn’t be more true with your nutrition. You cannot simply “wing-it” and expect to get great results. The way I recommend that you plan ahead with your nutrition plan is to simply sit down each night and use the MyFitnessPal app to plan out what you will be eating the next day. If you’re not sure how to do this, please watch the video below regarding how to use the MyFitnessPal app. I show you exactly how I go about planning my meals for the next day, and it takes little to no time to do. After you get used to doing this daily, it will literally take you 5 minutes or less to do. Again, the video uses an old version of MyFitnessPal, but the concept remains the same. Be sure to contact me if you need help.
Remember, you MUST plan for tomorrow if you want to see success. Keep bringing it, guys!
God bless.
Tracking With MyFitnessPal:
