Flexible Dieting
As far as ‘dieting’ goes, it seems like the list of diets are quite endless. From Atkins to Caveman, Keto to Straw, there are so many to choose from. The common trend we see in most of these are that the ‘diet’ puts you in a calorie deficit. (you eat less than you burn- which causes weight loss) We’re not saying any are particularly good or bad but there is another ‘dieting’ method most of our Trainers apply here at All4Fitness; Flexible Dieting.
Flexible Dieting or IIFYM (if it fits your macros) simply means consuming a diet that meets your macronutrients and caloric needs. To break it down and start from the beginning, macronutrients are the three main food groups – proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Each macronutrient has its own role to play, and is needed in different quantities depending on your goals, metabolism, training history, and many other factors. For more information, enjoy reading our previous blog “Basics on Macronutrients“.
The idea of IIFYM is simple – you eat whatever foods you like that fill your allotment of proteins, carbs and fats. The flexible part means that you can eat chicken, rice and vegetables one day for lunch and salmon, beans and potato the next as long as you track each meal. But we all have cravings, so one day you might accidentally eat a packet of salt and vinegar crisps. In flexible dieting you would log this item and it would come off your total allotment for the day just like any other food. You may not be able to have as much rice with your lunch or peanut butter later on that you had planned but its all good if you don’t exceed your macronutrient targets at the end of the day.
‘So I can eat whatever I like and get in shape?’
On the face it may seem that way, but actually it’s far from it.
The idea is that your diet is far, far more flexible from those you might have seen advertised in magazines. You needn’t worry about sticking to only “clean foods”, eating every two hours, or forcing egg whites and spinach down your throat just because your diet plan says so. We still recommend eating 80%+ whole nutritious foods but you have flexible room for “other” foods and you wont have to cheat on your diet plan and be left feeling guilty.
You still eat good, wholesome, nutrient-dense foods, but you have a lot more leeway in the process. Don’t have an appetite in the morning? Don’t worry, just compensate by eating bigger meals the rest of the day. Going out to your favorite restaurant? That’s fine – you’ll probably use up a large chunk of your day’s carb and fat allowance if that means burgers, but you can compensate by eating chicken, lean beef, protein shakes and non-starchy vegetables for the rest of the day. You might not want to do this every day of the week, but once in a while is no big deal.
Priority is daily intake. From here, its just tracking what you’ve consumed throughout the day. There are a lot of protocols that can be applied to Flexible Dieting or IIFYM depending on your current health and fitness goals. All4Fitness trainers Michael & Argee are currently applying this method to their 2017 Bodybuilding Contest Prep and coach others on how to apply this method to their lifestyle, for more information feel free to contact them on [email protected] and [email protected].
