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What is flexible dieting? “Flexible dieting” also knows as “If It Fits Your Macros” (IIFYM), allows the “flexibility” of indulging in the foods that you love and enjoy, as long as it fits within your macronutrient needs. Macronutrients consist of three key food groups: carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Carbohydrates provide the main source of fuel to the body. Healthy carbohydrates includes; vegetables, fruit, unsweetened dairy products, pulses and wholegrains such as brown rice, quinoa, wheat and oats. Fats are needed by the body for energy and to function; such as: hormone production, nutrient absorption and body temperature maintenance. Good sources of fat includes; nuts, seeds, olive oil and avocado. Protein, unlike fat and carbohydrates doesn’t get stored by the body, hence needs to be supplied consistently. It helps to build and repair muscles, thus it is vital that the body is fuelled with sufficient amounts. Good sources of protein includes; Seitan (wheat gluten), tofu, tempeh, lentils & beans, dairy products and nuts. Despite there being an ever-increasing range of diets for people to now follow, it is crucial that YOU, find the one that works best for YOU! Some of these diets includes; Atkins diet, Dash diet, Keto diet, Mediterranean diet, Paleo diet, Raw food diet, Vegan diet, Vegetarian diet, Whole30 diet and Intermittent fasting. How important is your diet in achieving your fitness goals? Over the years it has become debatable as to what percentage your diet plays in achieving fitness goals. Some people state that is 70%, whilst others state it’s 80%, and some even state it is 90%. However, from personal experience, I would suggest that both your diet and training should be 100 percent, in order to achieve your fitness goals. Therefore, fuelling your body with the right nutrition is essential, in aiding you to perform to the best of your potential, in your chosen training programme. In addition, it is your diet that will help you to maintain a level of body-fat and enhance muscle growth, which when coupled with the right training, will help you to maintain and gain muscle mass. Let’s not ignore getting adequate rest and sleep, as these are also important factors in achieving your goals too. How to be successful on a “Flexible Diet” Should you choose to devote to “flexible dieting”, you need to be committed like you would to any other diet. The combination of carbohydrates, fats and proteins will vary according to your goals; whether these are: fat loss, gain lean muscle mass or weight maintenance. Flexible dieting enables you to adapt macronutrients to suit your lifestyle and changing needs. 1. Consume clean calories. Hitting a drive through every now and then or, even biting a cookie or doughnut here and there; won’t hurt you in the long run if the majority of your calories are clean. You should aim to get at least get 80% of the calories from nutritious and unprocessed foods. In simple terms, this means getting most of what you eat, from healthy source of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Having a well-balanced macronutrient diet provides your body with sufficient nutrients in order to achieve optimum health and wellness. Not forgetting the relevance of eating adequate levels of fibre. Eating a variety of high-fibre foods, aids towards keeping your digestive system healthy. You should aim to consume at least 14 grams of fibre for every 1000 calories you eat. Overall, you should eat food that “fits your macros” in a healthy way. 2. Consume meals on a schedule that suits your lifestyle Most people often say that “dieting sucks!” This is largely due to them consuming too little calories, causing them to feel miserable, alongside them not knowing exactly how much protein, carbs, or fats they are eating. As a result, this eventually leads to muscle-loss and a decrease in endurance. “Flexible dieting” provides a new method of dieting which sets you up for both physically and psychologically. In flexible dieting, the timings of your meals or the frequency of them, isn’t going to have a huge detrimental effect on your results if you’re sticking to your macros and total calories. However, there are some unique benefits of having specific pre-workout and post-workout meals, but the bottom line is, you can still achieve your goal eating three or six meals a day. 3. Eat foods that you enjoy No diet will work for you, if you can’t stick to the diet. When you’re eating food that you enjoy, it’s doesn’t become a diet, it becomes a lifestyle. Flexible dieting eliminates boredom, as you can still enjoy the foods that you want, sensibly. Instead of depriving yourself of the foods that you like, flexible dieting allows you to incorporate your indulgence within your diet plan. Hence, most people find it is a smooth and painless experience. There is more to the diet than just calories and macros, it should also provide body with all essential micronutrient that are needed to keep us strong, happy and perform at best. 4. Quantity over Quality - how much you eat is more important than what you eat. As discussed earlier, consuming nutritious food is important, however this doesn’t take-away from over-eating food, even if it is deemed as healthy food. It is only once your calorie intake has been calculated, the correct macros for your goals can be manipulated, in order for you to achieve your fitness goals. The finer details of the types of calories that you consume, plays a vital role when wanting to optimise your body composition, therefore, what you eat also matters.