What is Flexible Dieting?
Flexible dieting, otherwise referred to as “If It Fits Your Macros” is an eating style that focuses on macronutrient percentages and calories. Clients can eat the foods they want as long as the total consumption aligns with a previously calculated macronutrient profile. Your clients can easily track macro and calorie intake via an app, such as MyFitness Pal.
Flexible Dieting Can Be Summed Up in 3 Steps:
- Calculate your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) based on your current weight and exercise.
- Calculate your macros in ratios that help you reach your desired goal.
- Track your food intake and try to meet your TDEE and macro limits each day.
Why Most Fad Diets Fail
Fad diets are the weight-loss equivalent of viral content. They become popular really fast because they claim to help you or your clients lose weight quickly. Fad diets often promise dramatic, unrealistic weight loss results. Many are designed to take advantage of people’s willingness to “try anything” to lose weight look and feel better, and reduce their risk for weight-related health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease and other conditions.
And who hasn’t had a client who wants to lose weight quickly? The thing about fad diets is that they only work in the short term. They are not something that most clients are able to follow for a lifetime, and chances are your clients will gain all that weight back once they return to their regular eating habits. This, as you know, is often called yo-yo dieting.
It’s difficult for most people to maintain any diet that drastically restricts their food choices or requires them to eat unusual foods, very little food, or the same foods day after day. Therefore, people who lose weight on a fad diet usually gain the weight back again.
Benefits of Flexible Dieting and Counting Macros
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Flexibility
Many clients need flexibility when it comes to nutrition in order to be successful in the long run. In fact, current dietary guidelines encourage consumers to eat a variety of foods. The caveat is that the foods consumed come from a variety of high-quality options, and minimizes overly processed foods.
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Clients Track Their Intake
Tracking food intake is an accountability measure that helps clients build better habits and be honest with themselves (and their trainers) about what they are taking in to fuel their bodies. Many fitness professionals encourage food journaling.
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Easy to Follow and Sustainable
Finally, it is easy to follow in terms of calculating macronutrient profiles. This gives clients a roadmap and set of specific parameters to stay within. This can be positive for those who struggle with meal planning and balance and because you can eat whatever you want (in moderation) it’s more mentally & emotionally sustainable.
How to Track Your Macros
Tracking macros over calories is helpful for so many reasons. This method of food logging can help you understand which types of food make you feel good or bad; which foods improve your athletic performance; and which foods help you focus or make you drag. Counting macros can also help you shift your current eating habits to healthier patterns for the long-term.
You’ll need to learn how to read a nutrition facts label for this approach, but the benefits far outweigh the time you’ll spend grasping the concept of a macro diet.
Macro counting consists of consuming specific percentages of your daily calories as protein, carbs, and fat in order to reach your full potential and get results. While your nutritional needs are unique, there are standard calorie breakdowns that have proven effective for burning fat and maintaining lean muscle. Start with a calorie break down of 50% Carbs, 30% Protein, and 20% Fats. Using the 1800 calorie example from earlier, your macros target would be:
- Carbs: 50% of your 1800 calories = 900 calories/4 calories per gram = 225 grams
- Protein: 30% of 1800 calories = 540 calories/4 calories per gram = 135 grams
- Fats: 20% of 1800 calories = 360 calories/9 calories per gram = 40 grams
Choose quality macronutrients and you will enjoy the benefits of healthy nutrient-dense foods over calorie-dense foods leading to the lean body that you desire.
How to Help Clients Maintain a Healthy Weight
If you want to help clients with food, diet, weight management and improving the results of their fitness routines, the Fitness Nutrition Coach course is for you. You will learn about optimal nutrition, including proven techniques for increasing energy, optimal health and decreased dependence on medications. Instantly increase your job and career opportunities with this popular professional credential.
Become a Lifestyle Weight Management Specialist. Help your clients achieve their weight loss or weight management goals using the latest proven strategies.
You can become a Certified Personal Fitness Chef and expand your current personal chef business, or add a new profit center for your fitness or wellness business. Many personal chefs cook and coach people in groups to help more people and earn more money per hour. Some chefs provide weekly meal prep service for health-minded customers and athletes.
Check out what it takes to start a career in personal fitness training. This is your most affordable and fastest way to become a highly qualified personal trainer.
NESTA coaching programs are open to anyone with a desire to learn and help others. There are no prerequisites.
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