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In the first part (here) I gave an introduction of flexible dieting. In this article I will show you an example of how flexible dieting is implemented in the offseason of a drug free bodybuilder, and compare it to a few weeks before competition. A bit of background: Tehezib (T) started contest prep (weight loss-get lean phase) for the 2015 season in March. He competed in five competitions between early August and late November.

Late January 2015 (80kg)

Mid September 2015 (72-75kg)

The lighting is different, but that’s besides the point. He obviously got shredded and contest-lean. He did this with no restriction on any foods. He ate whatever food he wanted, it just wasn’t always as much as he wanted. He tracked his calories, macros, and fibre and this along with appropriate cardio and training planning facilitated him to get this lean while retaining his muscle mass. For interest’s sake, I’ll give you some examples of his Myfitnesspal dietary entries from the off-season and from deep in prep:

This example MFP entry was from in the off-season prior to the weight loss phase (prep). Calorie intake was around 1000kcal higher/day than in the depths of prep. During this time, there was far more flexibility in quantity of foods eaten. This calorie intake was around 200-300 above maintenance, and enabled a weight gain of roughly 250g/week. Controlling calories around this amount (±200) ensured that T did not gain excessive amounts of fat, while also maximising rates of muscle gain. As you can see, he was eating all types of “unclean” “bad” foods yet still remaining at his calorie target, hitting ample protein to maximise protein synthesis, and eating enough fibre to maintain digestive health. More dairy products could have been incorporated as it looks like calcium was a bit low for this day, but this is only a small snapshot of his overall diet. His health, body weight/muscle gain, mental health, was all good following a diet like this without any crazy restrictions on particular food groups or foods. Note that his sugar intake on this day was 94 grams. This is above typical recommended daily intakes and far above guidelines of radical sugar restriction diets, but his health was completely fine. He is an athlete with improved blood glucose regulation, due mainly to an abundant of insulin-sensitive muscle tissue which can quickly soak up excess glucose from the blood stream. CONTEXT is important with diet, you simply can’t say sugar is bad for everyone.

This next snapshot of T’s diet was in the depths of contest prep where we were aiming to get him to stage-ready leanness while maintaining as much muscle as possible, and doing as much as we could do make him mentally sane and remain as healthy as possible (although it is unlikely to remain hormonally/mentally healthy during an extended period of leanness/calorie restriction.. simply what natural bodybuilding entails). His calories had dropped quite a lot since the bulking period. Note these dietary changes were not all made in one go, rather it was a gradual drop from ~3250 to ~2350. He was still consuming foods that he enjoys (just in lower quantities), while getting shredded. As you can see, sugar intake has dropped. This is because high sugar foods are often micronutrient, fibre void foods that don’t keep you full for the amount of calories that they have in them, which can lead to overeating calories (this is the main reason why excess sugar is associated with weight gain, and context is important). As T was restricting calories and getting extremely lean, his hunger was elevating. Thus, inherently he opted to eat more filling foods with his allocated calories and macros, which typically means less sugar.

Hopefully this gave you a good insight as to how a diet of a competitive natural bodybuilder changes from the offseason to contest prep. This particular diet is not intended to be copied and followed by anyone, as each individual often requires different calorie and macronutrient targets to get to their desired goal.

If you are interested in bodybuilding prep while still eating your favourite foods, or simply want to lose weight, please check out the services  page and get in contact with me.

-Jeremy

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  Most diets fail because of unsustainability. This is often because of particular food restriction or restrictions on entire food groups. In an instance where an individual doesn’t follow every rule laid out by a fad diet, they have no idea how to adjust the rest of their diet to accommodate the earlier muck up, and this can lead to a chain of binge/purge cycles. For example: worrying that the small bowl of ice cream you ate will completely stop your chances of weight loss for the day so you might as well go all out and eat the whole tub. This type of black and white thinking about nutrition can impede people’s ability to maintain a healthy weight once achieved (1). 

To give you a bit of background, flexible dieting AKA IIFYM (if it fits your macros) is a dietary strategy which has a main focus on reaching target macronutrient and calorie numbers by the end of the day. It does not directly discriminate between “good” and “bad” foods or “clean” and “unclean”. To do so is missing the bigger picture. These macronutrient and calorie targets are often set through trial and error as to how training performance and body weight/composition responds. If planned with health in mind, a dietary fibre target will also be present. Reaching a daily fibre target of around 25-40g/day (depending on caloric intake) will aid in gastrointestinal system health and help blood sugar levels stay relatively stable. It will also indirectly ensure that you are consuming a large amount of some of the micronutrients.. as most foods that are high in fibre are also high in micronutrients.

Flexible dieting means you don’t have to eat this for meal #2,3,4, and 5.

One huge misconception that people have about flexible dieting is that it gives you permission to eat junk food all day so long as it “fits the macros”. There is something inherently wrong with that idea. Suitable macros ESPECIALLY when someone is trying to lose a great deal of body fat, like during bodybuilding contest prep, will not allow a large intake of calorie dense, unfilling, “unhealthy” foods. For example, if you are eating 2000 calories per day of about 150g protein, 250g carbs, 50 fat, and 30 fibre, you simply won’t have enough room in your macro quota to fill it with pure junk. You would end up not reaching the protein or fibre target.

Thus, flexible dieting often involves eating a decent amount of typical “bodybuilder” foods like chicken and broccoli, just because these foods are of low caloric density and make you full for the amount of calories that they have in them. When you are on 3000-4000 calories however, there becomes a lot of room to fit in a wider range and quantities of foods you desire, just be sure to still hit the calorie, protein, and fibre quota for the day, eat some fruits and vegetables, and your health will be just fine. Remember, look at your diet and lifestyle as a whole to determine whether it is healthy or not, rather than nit-picking at smaller details in your diet like if you should put a teaspoon of sugar in your coffee or not. 

Big Mac(ros). Still possible to fit this into a diet of 2000 calories, but not recommended as it will use up a large chunk of your fat and calories for the day.

It IS possible to eat this and still lose weight and be healthy, just be smart and calculated with your dietary strategy.

Where it trumps other styles of diets is the flexibility that it has. It means you don’t have to be a social outcast and bring tupperware out to lunch with your friends. Not to hate against anyone who does that, just saying that it is unnecessary suffering. You can eat what you like when you go out, as long as you have a decent estimate of the macronutrient profile of the meal. Once you have used flexible dieting for an extended period of time, you will have a greater understanding for the nutrient profile of select foods, and will be able to eat intuitively without having to track calories/macros. That is the end goal.

In the next article I will provide a case study on a bodybuilder transitioning from deep in the off season, to late in contest prep, as an example of how a flexible diet changes when calorie and macronutrient targets change. Stay tuned!

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Nutrition for fat loss and muscle retention

Basic nutrition for bodybuilding/powerlifting

References

• (1) Palascha, A., van Kleef, E., & van Trijp, H. C. (2015). How does thinking in Black and White terms relate to eating behavior and weight regain?. Journal of health psychology, 20(5), 638-648.