Flexible Dieting- Lose weight without food restrictions

The hardest part with any “diet” is staying committed to it. It is hard to go out with friends when there are not a lot of healthy food choices. Most of the time, this situation would result in a“cheat meal,” which then can cause a snowball effect that ends your diet completely. To combat this, a “Flexible” diet should do the trick! Instead of counting calories, we are going to count Macros (Protein, Carbs, Fats.) By doing this, you can technically eat anything you want if you have enough macros left in that category for the day. Think of it like a bank; you start the day off with X amount of dollars in your 3 accounts (protein, carbs, fat.) Everything you eat is a withdrawal from the bank. If you eat a bowl of ice cream it will be a much larger withdrawal than a salad would be from your carb bank, but it doesn’t mean you still can’t have that ice cream. It just means that you will have less left in your bank, so you will have to be careful for the rest of the day.

Certain foods will always be more healthy. Flexible dieting allows for the occasional dessert to still fit into your plan, but that doesn’t mean that every single carb should be twinkies and candy. A MAJORITY of your food should still come from healthy sources. “Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar.” This should be the guide to most of the food choices you make, but exceptions are not only okay, but encouraged! Having a small bowl of ice cream a couple nights a week should discourage an entire “cheat day”, which can set your body back for days after. The point to fitting in small little treats is that you can stick to this diet for a long time without losing your mind!

To keep track of your macros, I suggest using the MyFitnessPal app. This is great app that allows you to enter in your food and stay on top of what is going into your body! Finding how many macros you need is simple and can be done by searching google for a “macro calculator.” Then you can plug that info in to the app and away you go!

If you need help calculating your macros, please email me at kolin@dignifiedcrossfit.com and I will happily do it for you!