Getting started with flexible dieting
Getting started with flexible dieting
Recently, we discussed some of the reasons why your diets have failed in the past. You might have had a few light-bulb moments as to why you haven’t been getting the results you want or expect. We have definitely been there ourselves! Our own experience with many diets lead us to believe that some foods are good for you and some foods are bad for you. We used to think that the only way to lose fat was to eat “clean”. Chicken + broccoli = good. Ice cream + doughnuts = bad. Thankfully, this isn’t the case at all (phew).
The thing is, labelling foods as good or bad doesn’t actually help us to lose weight. This is because our bodies do not identify foods as good, bad, healthy or unhealthy – they identify the macronutrient breakdown of the food we consume. Every food we eat is made up of macronutrients, which include protein, carbohydrates and fat and each of these have a corresponding caloric value which add up to give the total caloric value of the food:
- Protein = 4 calories per gram
- Carbohydrates = 4 calories per gram
- Fat = 9 calories per gram
Knowing this will go a long way in helping you understand why you don’t need to cut certain foods out of your diet and the freedom that flexible dieting creates when it comes to food selection. Flexible dieting has completely changed how our clients view food. They build their own meal plans based on food they actually enjoy eating, they have the ability to eat out with family and friends, satisfy any cravings they experience without the guilt and most importantly – have a healthy relationship with food. And all while working towards their goals! If you want to learn more about flexible dieting, click here.
If you’re ready to stop making dieting harder than it needs to be and start getting results then keep reading!
How do I get started?
Now that we have (hopefully) sold you on giving flexible dieting a try, let’s get started. We know it might seem a little overwhelming to begin with but it’s an extremely valuable skill to learn and will continue to serve you for the rest of your life. And let’s face it, what you’re currently doing isn’t working so what have you got to lose?
We will take it step-by-step.
1. Set yourself a goal
Do you want to lose fat? Do you want to gain muscle? Or do you just want to transition to a more flexible and sustainable nutritional approach and maintain your body weight?
2. Calculate your personal calorie and macronutrient targets
Calculate the calorie intake you need to achieve your goal and then calculate your personal macronutrients based on your body weight and preferences. We tell you exactly how to do this in our eBook ‘How to calculate your fat loss targets’. Alternatively, if you want to make sure it is as accurate as possible based on your previous dieting history we can help you with this as part of our services.
3. Get the tools
All you need to get started is a food tracking app (we use and recommend MyFitnessPal), a set of food scales, body weight scales and a measuring tape.
4. Set up your food tracking app
Set up your app and enter the calorie and macronutrient targets you have calculated in step 2.
5. Start tracking your food
Enter in the foods you would like to eat and aim to reach your calorie and protein targets each day. If you’ve never tracked your food before, you might like to just start with tracking your calories and then add protein when you feel more comfortable. These are the 2 most important targets to track when it comes to achieving your body composition goals.
6. Track your progress
Track your weight and measurements regularly and don’t forget to take progress photos too! This is the best way to assess the changes that are occurring in your body. Regularly assess your progress to ensure that you are heading towards your goal!
This is the exact process that we coach our clients through as part of our 1:1 Personalised Coaching. We have helped thousands of women transform their bodies and their relationships with food using this process. Seems pretty simple right? It’s amazing what you can achieve when you stop overcomplicating things and start focusing on the basics!
Click here for more details on how we can help you get the results you want without the restriction!
