What is flexible dieting?
For my first blog post, I wanted to get straight to the important stuff – What is flexible dieting? And what is it NOT?
You may have heard the term “If It Fits Your Macros” or IIFYM – this is another way of saying flexible dieting. Flexible dieting simply means that you can be flexible with what you eat as long as it fits within a given range of macronutrients (macros) – grams of protein, fat, and carbohydrates – which have been designed to help you meet your goals. Your goals can change over time and vary between weight loss, weight gain, or maintain a steady weight. Flexible dieting also allows variance in the specific amounts of the macros you consume depending on your food preferences and how your body reacts to different macros. Some people prefer to be able to eat more carbohydrates, some prefer to eat more fat, etc. All of this is taken into account in flexible dieting.
Do not be misled by the word “dieting” in the term flexible dieting. It is not a “diet” by the definition that means you’re restricting calories for a period of time for weight loss. Flexible dieting uses the definition of “diet” as in the way a person eats. Flexible dieting is a lifestyle and a way of eating for life, no matter your goals. Flexible dieting is not like other strict diets you may have heard of such as Atkins, keto, or Paleo. It takes into account your goals without restricting any part of a typical American diet – including the occasional treat!
You can use an online calculator or you can speak with a food coach or nutritionist who can help you calculate how many grams of protein, carbohydrates, and fat you should eat daily. All of this is developed with the knowledge that each gram of protein and each gram of carbohydrate is equal to 4 calories and each gram of fat is equal to 9 calories. This determines the total calories you should have in a day to meet your goals while the specific macros help you to determine what foods you should eat to meet those macros/calories.
Choosing more nutrient dense foods, obviously, is the “healthier” option for meeting your macros but the beauty of flexible dieting is that if a cupcake, a cookie, or a serving of chips will fit your macros without going over, you can have it! This concept is highly motivating for many people to work very hard to meet their nutrition and protein goals earlier in the day so that they can occasionally treat themselves in the evenings with foods higher in carbs or fat. As you begin to master the concept of flexible dieting and how it applies to you, you will begin to discover foods that feel like it should be a “cheat” but is actually helping you toward your goals! For me, personally, I love low fat mixed berry Greek yogurt – it is a delicious way for me to meet my protein goals. For dessert, you can make yourself some sugar free Jello with a quick shot of Reddi-wip (it’s only 32 calories with 3.9 carbs/1.1 fat/1.3 protein)!
Any type of change takes time and will come with its share of frustration, failures, and feeling like giving up but I promise, if you give flexible dieting enough time, you will come to love it as I have! Finding foods that you like that won’t go over your macros takes time. You aren’t going to be perfect 100% of the time and THAT’S OK! Just vow to do better next time, you are a human after all.