Flexible Dieting 101

If you’ve ever been anythinggg like me, maybe the thought of Valentine’s Day makes you cringe. Least favorite holiday hands down. Like seriously- Columbus Day is better than this day on the calendar in my opinion. I don’t know if it was the added pressure from my significant other. Or no pressure at all because I was feeling sad for my single lonely self, couldn’t tell you. But what was NEVER good for my mental space before I had a really good relationship with food was Valentine candies, chocolates, sweets thing. Like I just had no off switch with this.

I am not a “Keto Diet Hater”. I honestly don’t care what diet you do in 2020 and beyond. What I do care about is people being fear mongered or fed false claims to believe a certain diet is superior than others. And one of those claims is that calories don’t matter on a keto diet. I totally agree that counting calories/macros is not the best option for some people. But this claim that by eating Keto, you can eat more calories and defy the laws of CICO is just not supported by any of the literature. Correlation does not

Life is hard. Stress is real. But‬ ‪I see all the time when we encounter A breakup‬ Job stress‬ Family stress‬ School stress‬ Our nutrition goes out the window. We start eating like crap. We start falling off track. But in reality, our nutrition should help aid that recovery.‬ It shouldn’t be another stressor. Our nutrition should help us live our best life‬ Not pull us away from that best life.‬ And so when I see this happen, my first hypothesis is that the diet in the first place wasn’t very easy to stick to. It was difficult.‬ It was

Which are you? Do you eat more of your calories earlier in the day? Or Do you eat more of your calories at the end of the day? I personally eat more of my calories later on in the day just because I’m not hungry in the mornings. And early on in my fitness and nutrition journey, I literally would take my last bite of food at 8pm because I thought eating late at night would lead to me gaining body fat. Why did I think this? Well when I didn’t eat pasta 8pm, my weight would be less in

“When the weekend begins, the diet ends.” I have nothing against someone eating more calories on the weekends. That’s totally normal and usually works best for most people. During the week, they are much more busy and can naturally eat less. On the weekend, less busy and more time for food. But What does worry me is a diet that is too rigid during the week thus leading to a disproportionate feeling of needing to reward yourself on the weekend. These rewards tend to be wayyyy higher than what you had “earned” per se during the week by eating less.

https://vimeo.com/384522912 Do you agree? Do you disagree? If so, why? I was talking to one of my FDU student (Kerrie) and she was telling me about the power that food has over her. And this video was the result of me trying to reframe her mindset around certain foods. I think the goal for all of us with our nutrition is to not give food soo much power over us. It’s meant to be enjoyed. It’s meant to help us live our best life. It’s meant to be a tool. It’s NOT meant to be feared. And it’s a scary

If you’re new to tracking macros, you’re probably looking to hit your numbers easily AND still enjoy your food. But there will inevitably be challenges. Like what do you do if you have a hard time hitting your protein? When is it acceptable to swap out carbs and fats? Why do my favorite foods have to be so calorie dense and use up so many of my carbs and fats? At The Flexible Dieting Lifestyle we look to recreate all of the foods that are considered “bad” on a diet and flip them on their heads to make healthier/low-calorie, high

BCAA’s Stop Wasting Money Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) are one of the most popular fitness supplements available. BCAAs have been marketed as being able to preserve muscle in dieting conditions, help stimulate protein synthesis during the day and help to fuel your workouts. In this article, I will review the literature on BCAAs and why there is no reason to spend your hard-earned cash on this supplement! What are BCAAs? Protein is made up of amino acids; there are 20 amino acids that can be combined to form countless types of proteins. Of these amino acids, 3 of them

Sweeteners: Are they safe?By: Miguel Blacutt   Whoever said that you can’t have your cake and eat it too definitely did not know about non-nutritive sweeteners. Non-nutritive sweeteners are natural and artificial sweeteners that contain no calories, or at least very few. For the purpose of this article, the term “sweetener” refers to non-nutritive sweeteners, whether artificial or natural. In this article, I will be going over the most common sweeteners and the research on their safety. Before you read this article, I would like to clear your mind of what you may have read on a popular-media outlet that

The Infamous Donut Pose–To most, this just looks like me taking a picture with a cool looking donut in front of my face….–But to anyone who knows me well enough, this represents freedom….–And you might be thinking, “Zach, what the heck does a donut in front of your face have to do with freedom?”–Honestly, it has everything to do with it. Food use to control my life. It used to determine my self worth. It used to make me anti social. It used to cause me anxiety. It used to scare me. It used to be the enemy. It used

Let’s talk about what Flexible Dieting is and what it is not! –What is it!?–✅ The tracking of Macronutrients❌ Not just tracking of Calories–✅ An understanding of the “Why” behind nutrition and teaches you the important roles of your Macronutrients (Protein, Carbs, Fats) in your overall health.❌ Not just a calorie goal that neglects the importance of our Macronutrients.–✅ A diet that allows ALL Foods and is more focused on the hitting of our overall nutritional needs.❌ It is not a way to fit in as much Pop Tarts, Cookies, Ice Cream, etc….–✅ A diet that allows ALL meats, fruits,

Have you ever had those days where you were so busy or life was just so crazy that before you knew it, it was 5pm and you had yet to eat anything!? You then proceeded to eat all of your macros from 5pm till you went to bed that night. It was pretty awesome right!? Straight feast! Well by doing this, you inadvertently practiced a dietary strategy known as “Intermittent Fasting.” And more than likely if you clicked on this guide, you have heard of Intermittent Fasting before and are looking to learn more on how to maximize it so

Today I am so lucky to bring you an exclusive interview with the one and only Lyle McDonald! Lyle is a physiologist and author who is one of the top thought leaders in the fields of nutrition, fat loss and muscle growth. He has spent the past decade plus obsessively dissecting the latest research in order to bring the world unbiased information that they apply right away! His site BodyRecomposition.com is his platform where he has hundred of amazing pieces of content using an evidence based approach to provide everything you need to know on the most important topics in

The Golden Ticket of #Gainz! Imagine if you were Charlie and you just found the golden ticket. But in this story, the ticket gets you access to that all in one perfect supplement that builds muscle and spot reduces body fat while giving us the leeway to eat all the food we wanted! And exercise/training is optional! And imagine that you get this golden ticket and you are given this glorious supplement! How exciting! So you gather up all the foods you love in various amounts, get your next season of your favorite shows ready to watch and you sit

Think about how awesome it would be to travel and not lose of your #gainz!? Or maybe even come back lighter than when you left like what happens to me most times! And I’m going to be blunt by saying that thank God you have Flexible Dieting for when you are traveling because it is by far the best tool you could have in order to travel often and still keep your results. If you’ve ever tried to travel while on a meal plan you either fell into 3 different categories: 1. You were so stressed out trying to get

I’ll be honest, when I started this mini cut, I thought it was going to awful… I was so used to eating a ton of food and never really feeling hungry. I have a massive appetite and love to eat huge meals so I knew it was going to be a challenge trying to satisfy my appetite while being on poverty macros. To give you perspective, I went from 400g carbs and 65g fat per day to 200g carbs and 45g fat. ​ The trick when dieting is to trick your body into thinking it is eating the same amount

Macro-Friendly: How to Eat a Ton Without Gaining a Ton! I want you to think about when you go shopping at the grocery store. What is the first thing you do? You start looking for deals like BOGO, 50% off, Clearance, 10 for 10, etc. We all want to go to the store and get as much of the food we want for as little money as possible. Why spend more money that you have to!?  What am I getting at!? Well today I want to introduce to you a concept that is well known in the Flexible Dieting community

Do you ever feel like every time you start a new diet, you have to flip your lifestyle upside down in order to adhere to the diets rules!? If you are like most people then that answer is a big YES…. Well let me introduce you to Ryan Andrews His endless list of credentials Registered Dietitian Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) Possesses a masters degree in Nutrition as well another masters in Exercise Physiology Trained and worked at the prestigious John Hopkins Medical Center Writer and Coach for Precision Nutrition​ the past 6 years (click on link or search

The biggest struggle for most newbie flexible dieters when they are counting macros is almost always how to hit protein macros. You are told you need to hit a certain protein goal for the day but you have no idea how to get there! It seems like you will never be able to hit that goal but with today’s post, I am going to make you into a seasoned veteran who hits their protein every day! When I first start working with a client, we do our 3-day tracking assessment to see what their typical intake of calories and macros

The Ultimate Protein Cheat Sheet There’s no debate! Protein is a huge factor in your not only your physique goals but your overall health This cheat sheet will supply you with every high protein source you can deploy in your diet! Dairy FAT FREE GREEK YOGURT Protein Content: 19g protein per 1 cup serving Pro-tip: Stay away from brands that have more carbs than protein per serving. Plain greek yogurt is much lower in carbs and can be substituted for sour cream or used as a base for any dip because it will take on the flavor whatever you add

“History doesn’t repeat itself, it rhymes.” –Mark Twain So why the quote from the man, the myth, the legend, Mark Twain!? Because I am going to tell you from the very beginning, all diets are built around the same principles. They are not special and none of these diets defy science. I’m here to show you how each and every one of these diets trick you into thinking they are different. Ohh and trust me, they’ve tricked me too! I first thought that I couldn’t eat carbs late at night and would not touch carbs close to bed at all!

How many times in your life have you heard that, “you need to eat breakfast because it is the most important meal of the day!”? I can guess it is a lot. You heard it from your parents, grandparents, friends, coaches, on television, and everyone else under the sun. Growing up, I just assumed it to be true just because everyone was saying it. But have you ever thought about whether it was actually true or not? In this post, I am going to be covering everything about meal timing from whether breakfast really is the most important meal of

The Ultimate “How To” For Flexible Dieting Mastery Are you sick of nutritional programs or diets that do not fit your lifestyle? The Flexible Dieting Lifestyle is about teaching you every single you need to know in order to create the diet of your dreams while living the life of your dreams! Do I have your attention!? If yes, then theres no need to go anywhere else! This is the “One Stop Shop” teaching you everything you need to know in order to become a Master Flexible Dieter! In this guide, I am going to cover: Our tool kit How to

FORGET WHAT YOU’VE BEEN TOLD Throughout our culture, we are taught that certain foods are “good” and certain foods are “bad.” It’s evident everywhere you look. Everyone has their own conceptions of what is considered healthy from low carb, vegan, paleo, keto, vegetarian, and many more. Do you notice that there is a million different definitions of healthy? (I’ll touch on this in a later post). For the sake of this post, lets consider “healthy” as high quality, minimally processed, micronutrient dense foods. Is that ok with you? Most people think that in order for them to reach their fitness