When embarking on a weight loss journey, we are led to believe that following strict diet with absolutely no junk food is the best way to slim down.
But one Scottish weight loss expert wants dieters to know that you can still enjoy your favourite treats, while also losing weight. Graeme Tomlinson, AKA the The Fitness Chef, is an "evidence based" health coach who focuses on losing weight in a realistic way for long-term results.
The Aberdeen native, who is the author of three books including Still Tasty: Reduced-calorie versions of 100 absolute favourite meals and Eat What You Like & Lose Weight For Life, took to YouTube to explain the practice of "flexible dieting".
The diet specialist, who has 1.2million followers as @thefitnesschef_ on Instagram, explained how you can enjoy occasional treats and still lose weight, as long as they fall into your daily calorie limit.
Speaking to the Record, Graeme explained the benefits of the eating plan: "Flexible dieting is usually a better idea for fat loss because because instead of restriction you are able to include all your favourite foods. If done properly with knowledge on the food you are eating, you can enjoy your diet and adhere to the fat loss goal.
"Enjoyment is the number one aspect anyone should consider before changing their diet to lose weight. If it’s miserable or extreme it’s unlikely to be sustainable long-term."
What is flexible dieting?
According to The Fitness Chef, flexible dieting involves eating a highly nutritious diet full of fruits and vegetables, but doesn't cut out junk food treats. Most diets require slimmers to follow a calorie deficit, which means eating less than you burn in total each day.
He says that the idea behind flexible dieting is that you can still enjoy the occasional chocolate bar, bag of crisps, or slice of pizza as long as you don't go over your calorie deficit. There is no one amount of calories that everyone should be eating to shed pounds, as this depends on a variety of factors including gender, lifestyle, schedule, age and height.
"In short it's allowing inclusion of less nutritious, calorie dense, ultra processed foods into your diet," he said.
Luckily, Graeme has developed a free calorie deficit calculator to help determine your daily caloric needs. Using a daily intake of 1800 calories for reference, he explained that as long as you don't go over this number you should still lose weight, even if some of them come from junk food.
"Technically, as long as you don't exceed 1800 calories per day over weeks and months, you will lose body fat," he said. "So effectively, a flexible diet is simply fitting these non-optimal foods into your overall diet and aligning them with your calorie targets."
But people often take this to mean they can eat a diet that heavily features junk food and still lose weight, as long as they don't go over their calorie deficit. According to Graeme, not only does this kind of eating offer little to no nutrition, it also doesn't follow his flexible ethos.
He explained: "While you would technically lose weight, this isn't what flexible dieting is supposed to be. A flexible diet is supposed to add inclusion of non-optimal foods, not be saturated by them."
Instead, he says a flexible diet should mainly consist of "large amounts of nutritious, satiating foods you enjoy which drive satiety - or in other words make you feel fuller for longer."
"A top-up on nutrients that generally give you lasting energy throughout the day. But it still allows room for less nutritious foods in smaller quantities - like snacks."
Lastly, Graeme stressed that a successful flexible diet requires a "flexible mind". If you feel like you've gone over your calorie deficit, shake it off and start fresh the next day.
"Some days life will throw things at your, or, you'll have a special occasion," Graeme said. "On these days you'll eat fewer nutrients and excessive calories and being flexible with your mindset allows you to accept these days for what they are - single days in your life.
"The reason you accept these days is you have knowledge that you can adjust your diet the next day to get back on track - you simply, move on."
As well as being an author, he also runs his own weight loss app called The Fitness Chef and has this month moved onto YouTube to share his expert knowledge.
Graeme Tomlinson is the author of three weight loss books, which include "Eat What you Like and Lose Weight for Life", his latest release "Lose Weight without Losing your Mind" and "Still Tasty: Reduced-calorie versions of 100 absolute favourite meals".
Follow the Fitness Chef on Youtube here or on Instagram for more sustainable health tips. You can also learn more about The Fitness Chef app here.
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