Flexible dieting is a way of eating that allows you to consume all the foods that you want. No food is off limits. It can be a great way to help people stick to a dieting phase where they want to achieve fat loss. So how does it work?

Firstly you need to be aware of how many calories YOU can consume in order to maintain your weight. From here, you can place yourself into a calorie deficit. This will be individualised. What may work for you, may not always work for someone else. How many calories your body needs depends on a variety of factors including your height, weight, how active you are and your muscle mass. Once you are aware of the number of calories you need per day in order to lose weight at a sustainable rate you can use a food tracker such as My Fitness Pal to track the food you eat.

You MUST ensure you remain in a calorie deficit throughout the week. If you don’t achieve this you will not lose fat! However, the type of foods you eat in order to hit your calorie target are entirely down to you. 1000 calories of cake is the same as 1000 calories of salad. If you are in a calorie deficit you will STILL lose weight eating cake!

However, flexible dieting is not simply a solution to allow you to eat as much crap as possible! Most of your diet should still be made up of nutrient dense foods. Those that are high in protein will help you to maintain your muscle mass and keep you satiated. Your body needs a variety of macro and micronutrients in order to function properly and therefore living off 1000 calories of cake may allow you to lose weight but it will not allow your body to function properly and you are sure to feel pretty horrendous too!

The best way to stick to a dieting phase is to make it as enjoyable as possible. If you eat mainly nutrient dense food but allow yourself to have the foods you love in moderation too, you are likely to stick to it in the longer term and therefore achieve better overall fat loss results.