Paleo, Low Carb, High Protein, Keto…and so the list goes on and on. Why is it however that you don’t read much about ‘Flexible Dieting’? Its an approach I take and its an approach I prefer my clients to take. I have seen great results from it – as have my clients and what’s more important my relationship with food is great and I don’t go to sleep at night wondering if I deserved that surprise cheat meal. Anyway ‘cheat meal’ what is that. We will save that for another day.

Flexible dieting for me is not limiting a particular macro, removing a food group or telling myself I can’t or shouldn’t eat something. Of course there does need to be common sense here, eating 10 mars bars all day isn’t at all nutritious but if I want one whose to say can’t I have one??? The industry frowns upon this kind of language.

Our relationship with food needs to change, as does our knowledge. Fundamentally every diet that you try, or we read about all have one thing in common. They put you in a caloric deficit. Low carb – its just a deficit. Of course I’m not saying going low carb doesn’t have its benefits but ultimately low carbs equal less calories.

Extreme calorie cutting be it in the form of a shake dieting or a huge calorie deficit isn’t sustainable. The other extreme I see is under eating with a proportion of calories coming from alcohol consumption which not only disrupts us hormonally it also has a negative impact on metabolism.

A few simple tips. Food labels – they will provide and calories and nutritional values. Keep an eye on sugars. Sugary foods will generally be higher in calories. Portion Control – Assess the actual serving sizes of your foods. Don’t pack all your calories into your evening meal. Output – I’m only touching on this as im focusing here more on the nutrition side. Its super simple, increase your put, burn some calories, go for a walk and move more. Your body will thank you for it.