Welcome to Part 3 in my series on Flexible Dieting / IIFYM. In part 1, we learned that where your Calories come from isn’t important since all proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, regardless of source, will be digested into the same thing; in part 2, we discussed what a Calorie is (just a unit of energy). In part 3, which will be very a relatively short post, we’re going to talk about one of the most important principals regarding flexible dieting: “Non Restrictive Dieting.”
How can a “Diet” be Non Restrictive?
I had a client once tell me that the nutrition plans I recommend are still restrictive because you have to restrict your Calorie intake.
When I (and others) talk about flexible dieting, “Non Restrictive” refers to food choices; not Calories. No matter what, if you want to lose weight, you have to lower your energy intake– That’s a characteristic of any weight loss plan. (Source) In fact, when it comes down to it, when it comes to Calories, every nutrition plan is restrictive in some way– If you want to maintain your weight, you have to “restrict” yourself to eat at maintenance; if you want to gain muscle, you have to “restrict” yourself to eat only a certain amount above maintenance, otherwise you could gain a much higher amount of fat.
Non restrictive dieting is about choices, and following a non restrictive diet just makes it easier to maintain and more enjoyable. Quite often, I tell my clients about some of the food choices I make, because it’s the easiest way to demonstrate how non restrictive diets work. On a regular basis (while dieting down for a bodybuilding show), I eat chocolate truffles, ice cream, ice cream bars, cookies, baklava, etc.
How do you do that and lose weight!?
Remember to our last posts: What is most important is that I stay within my Calories (which I do every day); and my body can’t tell if the sugars I consumed came from a banana or a cookie. I’m in a net energy deficit, which means I will lose fat.
So I can eat nothing but ice cream and pop tarts to lose weight!?
Remember the story of the nutrition scientist that basically did that? If we’re talking about weight loss, then yes, you really can eat whatever you want since weight loss is dependent on energy balance. However, that could lead to setbacks in your goals, health, and just general misery:
- If all of you eat are “empty Calories,” you’ll likely go over your Calories since these don’t have a very profound effect on satiety.
- Similar to the above, if you live off of “empty Calories” and manage to stay within your Calories, you will likely spend the vast majority of your day starving.
- By avoiding nutrient dense foods in favor of pastries and desserts, you risk not only becoming deficient in a number of micronutrients (vitamins & minerals), but you also miss out on valuable phytochemicals that may offer some great health benefits. (Source 1, Source 2)
So what’s the point, then?
Non restrictive dieting seeks to make dieting more enjoyable, and also offers some psychological benefits:
- Dieting is more enjoyable because you can make food choices you enjoy– Rather than cutting out rice, pasta, or sweets, you can make room for them so that you can have them while pursuing your goals.
- Non restrictive dieting helps to avoid eating disorders like binge eating disorder. By allowing yourself the freedom to have desserts, you don’t run the risk of falling into a binge each time you eat them since there is no time period where you’re not allowed to have them. Side note: This is something I am still recovering from personally, and flexible dieting has made recovery more manageable. (More information on Binge Eating Disorder)
- Non restrictive dieting creates a healthier relationship with food. By thinking about foods in terms of energy, nutrition, and enjoyment, rather than what is “good” and “bad” (or what you “can” and “can’t” do / have), you have more freedom! You can go out and enjoy a meal with friends while dieting; if you need to change your foods around to better suit your schedule or social life, you can; etc.
You’ll hear a lot of flexible dieting proponents talk about a “healthy relationship with food,” because it’s a very important thing to have. A bad relationship leads to psychological disorders, weight management issues, and more. (Source: Psychology Today – “How Do I Improve My Relationship with Food?”)
It’s important to note, though, that there is a way to approach flexible dieting that can be not as efficient as other ways– Thus far, we’ve only looked at flexible dieting from a weight loss perspective. While that’s a big part of the puzzle, we’re also interested in maximizing the diets healthfulness, and effectiveness. . .
Which is what we’ll be talking about next week– Healthfulness, food choice, and variety!
Bonus Round: Here’s a short quiz to evaluate whether you have a healthy relationship with food. Even though I’m on a contest prep right now with the goal of getting my body fat as low as possible, I scored as having a healthy relationship with food!