Flexibility within dieting

I am an advocate of eating what you like (within context) and believe that no food needs to be eliminated from your diet. I think too much emphasis is put onto eliminating things, or saying that you can’t eat ‘this’ or ‘that’. In my opinion, this restrictive nature of typical diets is the reason why, even if they are successful in the short term, they ultimately fail in the long term.

Is one of these a day going to help you fill your weekly dietary needs? Probably not.

But one or 2 a week can certainly be 'managed' with no detriment to your goals

Adding the good stuff 

For me, it is more important that the diet as a whole is nutritious and fills certain requirements. I approach dieting from a standpoint of ADDING as much goodness and nutrition as you can, whilst still staying within a certain caloric allotment and fulfilling macronutrient, phytonutrient and psychological needs. I find that if these requirements are met, the rest of the diet sorts itself out; but with the mentality of ADDING goodness rather than taking away and depriving yourself of things, it gives people flexibility (this is the flexi-diet) to make their own choices, and approaches dieting from a positive viewpoint.

Fill your diet with more of these things to achieve the below goals.

Some of the requirements I would typically set are;

·         Does your diet meet your caloric needs for your goals? (click here)

·         Does your diet reach/exceed your vitamin and mineral needs?

·         Does your diet have enough protein for your goals? (click here)

·         Does your diet contain at least 5 portions of fruit and veg/day (as an average)?

·         Does your diet satiate you enough?
      Is your diet anti-inflammatory overall? (click here)

Think in daily/weekly terms, not individual foods

I look at this more from a weekly perspective than a daily one, and more a daily perspective than a single meal. If one day I don’t feel as hungry, I may choose to SKIP A MEAL, maybe adding those missed calories to a different day (calorie cycling) or using them to satisfy a craving later in the week. If I don’t feel like eating as much veg one day, I might take a day off, but make sure I make up for it throughout the week. Even with protein, while I used to be massively concerned that any hard earned muscle would wither away if I didn’t get exactly 160 grams of protein, it doesn’t bother me, and shouldn't concern you either, if you have to have a low protein day one day (perhaps due to social factors). As long as you don’t do it consistently, there will be no problem. And in the long run, this kind of flexibility will only do you more good than harm. When diets become too strict and we adhere to them ‘to the t’, we run the risk of burnout. We increase the chances of going off the rails and never coming back.

deprivation HAS TO catch up with you some time

Flexible guidelines versus Rigid guidelines

This is not to say that we shouldn't monitor our diet. Losing weight requires a certain level of awareness. But having rigid guidelines is a very different thing than guidelines which are flexible in nature, yet still work towards the same goal.

You should factor in some element of ‘cheating’ in a way. I have a cheat day once a week where I don’t worry about anything apart from total caloric intake. I may have a break completely from veg and fruit for one day, not hit my micronutrient targets and not get enough protein. Yet, you can be assured that I will make up for it during the week.

"Planned diet breaks are much more beneficial and productive than unplanned ones"

Even during the week, when I am filling my daily dietary needs, I may have a daily small treat, such as a cup of hot cocoa, if it fits into my overall diet and stays within the guidelines.

for a small cheat, hot chocolate is actually very nutritious

check out the mineral profile of 28 grams of cocoa here (adjust the drop down menu to say 28g)

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/sweets/7435/2

Also high in fibre, and the saturated fat is actually the type that is good for your health

This approach has led me to find highly nutritious food choices with smaller caloric densities, which enables me to gain all of my nutrition within a smaller caloric amount. This leaves a few more calories for me to spare to treat myself with what I am craving, or to fill it with more caloric dense foods in other areas (such as having a home cooked steak with all the fat, instead of a lean chicken breast.

In summary

So, the condensed idea here is, be flexible in your approach to dieting. Have guidelines, but don’t be afraid to shift those around in ways that you feel fit to meet your needs in the moment. Approach dieting from a positive standpoint, with the view of ADDING nutrition within your guidelines, rather than taking away foods you enjoy. You will likely find you eat less of the foods you wished to ‘ban’ anyway, but you will still have the option available to you.

If you enjoyed this and feel someone can benefit from it, please feel free to share on twitter/facebook etc, and don't forget to check back here for more articles. Next time, I will talk about some low calorie nutritious foods which will help you fill your dietary needs easier, leaving you more calories for other things.