What is Flexible Dieting? 🍎🍰

Why Most Diets Fail

Most diets create a rigid set of rules in an effort to help you eat better or hit a specific goal. The problem is, most people won’t stick to some arbitrarily restrictive diet for their whole life. We do these 30 day protocols, but all we can think about is day 31 when we can finally have a slice of pizza again! We alternate between sprints of ‘healthy eating’ and the seafood diet (I see food, I eat it) with more frustration than my toddler trying to put her shoes on the wrong feet.

So maybe… let’s not do that anymore… Good? Great!

 

Flexible Dieting 101

Flexible dieting is an approach that focuses on the big rocks that drive progress while leaving room for foods you actually enjoy. Here are the 4 Key Factors we focus on:

1. Whole Foods with minimal processing for 80% of what you eat
2. Caloric Intake that match your goals
3. Protein intake to support muscle, recovery, and fullness
4. Fibre intake to keep your GI tract healthy

 

These things are our pillars. Our foundation. Our Fortress of Solitude to defend against Zod and his army. Sorry, the nerd slips out sometimes. Let’s break down how to manage each of these before I derail this article talking about Batman.

You don’t need to eliminate carbs. Or sugar. Or steak. Or whatever you love. As long as your portions generally fit the targets we outline below, you are good to go! We are basically balancing moderation with structure so you can enjoy what you love in portions that drive progress. 

 

Why Do We Like a Flexible Approach?

Despite what some people online will tell you, we don’t label certain foods as good or bad. Why? It is easy to develop a poor relationship with food and start moralizing your decisions. Think of it this way in an example that has totally never happened to me… 

1. I like pizza but I know that it takes me further from my goal when I splurge
2. I label pizza as ‘bad’
3. I eat the pizza so I think ‘I’m so bad for eating it’
4. I see myself as weak or undisciplined & I can’t stick to my goals
5. I start to think that I suck at this 
6. Fuck it, what’s the point of all this anyway? I’ll never be good at this
7. 2 XL pizzas and a regretful Jordan asleep on the couch 

Once you start down the morality line of thinking it is really easy to develop a poor self image on days when things don’t go perfectly. When that happens, most people end up throwing their arms in the air and giving up. 

Instead, we don’t moralize about food in the first place. Yes, certain food choices make consistency easier than others. And yes, some trigger foods may temporarily move us further away. This doesn’t mean nutrition quality doesn’t matter. It just means we don’t attach morality to food choices. 

Most importantly, there are quantities of food that we like that fit in a flexible framework. Yes, I can have some pizza while losing weight! No, I don’t need to feel like I’ve failed just because I have eaten something that tastes good!

Flexible eating puts you back in control of your own decisions and takes the pressure off of being perfect. Yes, there is a learning curve at first. But over time most people get much better at estimating portions and making decisions without tracking everything perfectly.

 

Tracking Food Without Losing Your Mind

So, why do we need to track our food? Can’t we just add some awareness to our day to day lives and make progress? In short, no. There are two reasons I want to outline 

1. Most people don’t have a problem with understanding. It’s consistency that is the tough part. We live in an environment designed to make overeating easy, so it is already immensely hard to practice restraint. Tracking doesn’t automatically fix this problem, but it does give some objectivity and a chance to reflect on how things are going. Think of it more as a reflective tool than a complete overhaul.
2. People are surprisingly bad at estimating intake. Logged calorie intakes are usually 10-20% less than real numbers, and that only gets worse when we are flying by the seat of our pants. Now this isn’t to say that people are stupid or lying. It’s just hard to estimate portions or account for all the added ingredients and extra bites through the day.

 

That’s why tracking for a while can be so valuable. It helps calibrate your eye and build awareness around what you are actually eating. And to be clear, tracking is a tool for awareness and data collection, not punishment. 

Think of food tracking as training wheels on a bicycle. Like a bicycle, the goal is to ride without help (or in our case eat healthy without tracking). But right now, like a wobbly toddler, we don’t have the skills developed to do it on our own. So we use the tools we need to learn the skills and build momentum. When the time is right, we try to go solo! Until then, we learn.

So how do you do it? There are many applications out there, but I like MyFitnessPal. Its free version has everything you need, plus you can save meals and recipes to expedite the process and save time. Start by logging as consistently as you can and the app will give you a breakdown of your calories, protein, fibre, and more. Here are a few tips to save you time and get better data: 

1. Use the barcode scanner if you’re eating something packaged
2. When searching for individual foods, look for verified foods with the green check mark. 
3. Use mass to measure your food whenever you can. Yes, it’s more accurate but honestly it’s just easier and saves guesswork and frustration. The annoyance of using a food scale is usually outweighed by the time, accuracy, and insight you gain long term

Calories with a Flexible Approach 

Let me start with a quick story about a man named Mark. Mark Haub is a professor out of Kansas State who wanted to prove a point. He wanted to show first hand that caloric balance was the key to weight loss and what you ate didn’t really matter as long as you ate less than you burned (we call this a caloric deficit).

So in 2010, Mark created a diet that consisted of around 1800 calories per day. He stuck to it for 10 weeks and lost around 27lb. Amazing! 

Oh. Did I mention what his main source of calories was? Twinkies. Yes. Twinkies. In all of their saturated fat and sugar coated glory. 

Now I don’t believe Mark would suggest that this is the ideal diet. But this quick personal study, which is strongly supported by decades of research, shows the power of caloric balance. You don’t need a perfect diet to lose fat. A simple deficit creates the setting for weight loss. How you feel during the process, how full you stay, your performance, recovery, muscle retention, and long-term health are all heavily influenced by protein, movement, and fibre… but the deficit is the foundation for it all. 

There are many online calculators to help you calculate your caloric needs. Honestly they all have flaws. The best way to find your true needs is the classic Guess & Check Method. Pick a number that seems to be in the right ballpark, try it for 2 weeks, and see what happens. If you are trying to lose weight and aren’t seeing progress, cut things down by another 200 calories and track for another 2 weeks. Here’s a decent starting point in the meantime

Gain Weight: Calories = Bodyweight in pounds * 18

Maintain Weight Calories = Bodyweight in pounds * 15

Lose Weight: Calories = Bodyweight in pounds * 13

Remember that these are not perfect numbers- they are starting points. Your real-world results over 2-4 weeks matter more than the calculator.

 

Protein with a Flexible Approach 

Let’s say Mark Haub wanted to lose the weight that he did, but also wanted to keep or even build some muscle. Instead of just Twinkies, he made a goal to keep his protein high. Let’s assume for easy math Mark weighed 200lb at the start of his experiment.

Our protein recommendations are 0.7 grams of protein per pound of target body weight per day. As with everything we talk about, this doesn’t need to be perfect. Anywhere in that general range is likely going to work well.

So if Mark wanted to weigh 180lb, his daily protein would be 126g. Mark wants to have protein at each of his 3 meals, or about 40g for each meal. He’s a smart guy and knows that this gives his muscles more opportunities to trigger muscle protein synthesis and that protein helps keep him fuller for longer. Well done, Mark! 

So what does 40g of protein look like in a Flexible Approach? It can vary a lot! We have animal and plant based sources, each with their own benefits, so Mark can see what his body responds well to and change things up as he goes. Here are some examples for you to reference

FOOD	SERVING	PROTEIN	CALORIES	SATURATED FAT
Chicken Breast	170g	50g	280 Cal	1g
Extra Lean Ground Beef	170g	42g	300 Cal	5g
Striploin Steak	170g	45g	420 Cal	10g
Salmon	170g	40g	350 Cal	3g
Greek Yogurt (0%)	450g	40g	260 Cal	0g
Eggs	6 XL Eggs	42g	480 Cal	11g
Firm Tofu	400g	40g	320 Cal	2g
Lentils	600g Cooked	42g	690 Cal	0g
Protein Powder	2 scoops	50g	240 Cal	1-2g

There is one caveat to be aware of here! Animal based sources of protein contain a specific type of fat called Saturated Fat. Different animal types and cuts of meat have different amounts of saturated fat, so it’s something to keep an eye out for.

Now saturated fat is not inherently bad, but it can impact your heart health by increasing your risk for cardiovascular disease and plaque buildup over time. Your risk profile is highly dependent on your individual genetics and other lifestyle factors. Research suggests keeping saturated fat intake below 10% of daily calories is a reasonable target for cardiovascular health. For example if you are eating 2000 Calories per day, that would be <200 Calories of saturated fat, or <22g of saturated fat daily. 

Again, this is not intended to scare you away from eating any animal products! But being aware of your saturated fat intake and keeping an eye on your cardiovascular health markers is part of a healthy lifestyle.

 

Fibre with a Flexible Approach 

Alright so now our good friend Mark has a good caloric balance and is fueled with protein but wants to go one layer deeper. Mark wants to feel like a million bucks with ample energy, help his GI tract regulate, and reduce his risk of multiple long term diseases – Mark decided to get some fibre! He also knows that fibre helps slow digestion and keep him fuller for longer, which can make maintaining a calorie deficit much easier. Mark is killing it!

Fibre is a type of carbohydrate that is found exclusively in plant material like fruits, vegetables, beans, oats, and seeds. It comes in soluble and insoluble forms, but most people don’t need to worry about that level of detail. In practice, higher fibre intake usually just means eating more plants more often.

Our fibre recommendation ranges from 25-40g daily depending on your body size. More is usually better here – just know that your stomach might be a little upset when you acutely increase your fibre. If you try to bump it up slowly, say 5g weekly, you’ll be less bloated as your body acclimates. 

For Mark, we recommend 40g of fibre per day distributed throughout the day. Mark has decided that he will try to get 10g of fibre at each meal plus the two fibre-rich snacks. 10g of fibre can look like a lot of things! Here are some examples of 5g of fibre servings for you to mix and match

FOOD	SERVING	FIBRE	CALORIES
Apple	1 medium apple 180g	5g	95 Cal
Pear	1 medium pear 180g	5g	100 Cal
Raspberries	3/4 cup 90g	5g	45 Cal
Avocado	1/2 avocado 75g	5g	120 Cal
Lentils	70g cooked  ~1/3 cup	5g	80 Cal
Black Beans	70g cooked ~1/3 cup	5g	75 Cal
Chia Seeds	15g ~1 tbsp	5g	70 Cal
High Fibre Wrap	1/2 wrap ~35g	5g	60 Cal
Oatmeal	1 cup cooked 250g	4g	150 Cal
Popcorn	3-4 cups Popped ~28g	5g	110 Cal

 

Take It Home

1. Flexible dieting balances structure with variety in a way most rigid diets can’t touch. In my mind it’s a fantastic tool to build awareness around what you’re eating while making progress. It’s not about eating perfectly- it’s about building enough structure that you can make progress without feeling like your whole life revolves around food.
2. Eating mostly whole foods is the cornerstone of any healthy diet and this approach is no exception. Aim for roughly 80% of your intake to come from minimally processed foods rich in protein, fibre, vitamins, and minerals. Then use the other 20% for foods you enjoy so the plan actually feels livable.
3. Tracking is a fantastic tool for learning about portion sizes and how much you are eating in the categories that matter. No, you don’t need to do it forever, but the insights gained by tracking for a few weeks will pay off dividends long term. 
4. Caloric balance is the foundation for weight management. If you are looking to lose weight, you need to be in a caloric deficit. Our preference is to create that deficit while keeping protein around 0.7g/lb of target body weight and fibre around 25-40g per day. You’ll not only make progress, but feel more energized and strong along the way.
5. You don’t need to be perfect. In fact, striving for perfection in tracking or execution often ends in disappointment and frustration. Instead, focus on what you can and build wins over time. We are playing a long game, so be patient with yourself and build one step at a time!