“Saying you don’t believe in macros, is like saying you don’t believe in gravity” – Layne Norton
1: Foreword
Hey!
Firstly, I’d like to thank you for taking the time to download and read this eBook on flexible dieting! I
hope it serves you as a very useful reference for your dieting endeavours to help you achieve
whatever fitness and body goals that you have for the future!
Secondly, this book contains NO set diet plans. Sorry! We are all unique, and will therefore require
different food plans, different foods in differing qualities, based on our own individual goals,
genetics, current weight, lean body and fat mass, food allergies and intolerances, hormonal profiling
etc. so if you were looking for something set in stone just for you to follow, this isn’t it.
This book IS here though, to give you the tools with flexible dieting to allow yourself the freedom to
include the occasional treat, without compromising your short, and long term fitness goals.
From this book, you will learn:
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How to count calories and macronutrients easily, and with 100% accuracy
How to apply this method to counting for your own individual goals
How to help yourself get the body you’ve always dreamed of!
“The art of a good diet is in its ability to be consistently conformed to on a long term basis – what
good is a diet that is focused on a quick fix, if it is not maintainable?” – Steve Gay
2: What is ‘Flexible Dieting’?
So, you might have the term ‘flexible dieting’ banded around fitness and dieting circles, but what is
it? It’s a concept that has been gaining momentum for several years now, and is now finally starting
to take off as a healthy and maintainable way of working towards your fitness and body related
goals.
“Flexible dieting is taking your daily calories, dependent on your goals, spread among individual
values of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, where the bulk of your food intake is from high quality
food sources, but still allowing for the treats that you love.”
It means that we can eat great, healthy, nutritious food without compromising small treats or social
gatherings where we might want to indulge in some more naughty food, all the while working
confidently and without guilt towards our goals!
For instance, I could eat loads of high quality protein and veggies during the day, and in the evening
if I fancy a small chocolate bar, or a slice of cake – I can eat it. You heard me, I can eat it!
Another quick heads up though. Flexible dieting is a skill. It’s an advanced form of eating that can
take a great deal of time, effort, energy and knowledge to be able to implement and use properly.
This means, that not everyone is going to be ready to use it in the real world. I want this book to
make any of you that are new to it as ready as you possibly can be, but please bear in mind that:
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Some people will currently need a lot more structure than a flexible dieting plan
Some people will be unable to incorporate unhealthy food into their plan without being able
to stop themselves from binging on it
Some people will be at a level where they need a strict plan that they can adhere to
But that’s totally ok! Obviously there isn’t going to be a 1 size fits all approach for everyone, that’s
the great (and at the same time frustrating) thing about fitness.
For those of you that aren’t necessarily ready for flexible dieting drop me an email at
stevegaypt@gmail.com , and we can talk about getting you on the right track!
Hopefully now, you have a greater idea of what flexible dieting is. What we now need to do is to look
into and understand the science that goes into flexible dieting. In the following sections, we are
going to explore calories, and the macronutrients (macros).
3: Calories
Ah, calories. Probably the single most referenced word ever when it comes to dieting – a word that
has polarised the opinion of many a keen dieter for decades. Some of us believe that calories don’t
matter at all, and some of us think calories are all that matters… So it’s no wonder so many of us are
confused and failing with our dieting endeavours!
Before I explain which camp is right, let’s look at what a calorie actually is, from a scientific view.
‘A calorie is approximately the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of one gram of
water by one degree Celsius’
… Wait. What?! Yep, that’s right! I know you’re probably thinking ‘But calories are in food..?’ Well,
yes, but the actual science of a calorie is that it is a unit of energy. Scientifically, it is used to calculate
the energy required to heat water. In our bodies, we break down food to give us calories, which
gives us heat to fuel our bodily processes, like movement, breathing, our heart beating, etc.
Still, this isn’t exactly helpful when trying to calculate eating calories, huh?! The best way to look at
them is that calories to our body are like fuel to a fire – they keep it burning!
So, going back to the calories do/don’t matter argument. Who is right? What do you believe? Most
of us will have an opinion on this, even if we aren’t actually correct – to be honest, it’s hard not to
when every single food wrapper we buy has its’ calorie content on it, and how every dieting
magazine and concept preaches about calorie counting. It seems every time we head to the
supermarket, or our fridge, we have these magical numbers staring back at us, teasing us. But what
is the use of these numbers if we don’t understand them?
Ready for the truth?! Calories DO matter. On the most basic level, if we take in fewer calories than
we need every day, we will lose weight. If we take in more calories than we need, we will gain
weight. There’s rather a lot more to losing/gaining weight than that, but calories do matter.
But, it’s not JUST calories that matter. If you count only calories, you could spend your entire calorie
intake every day on eating nothing but chocolate fudge cake. But deep down, we probably know this
isn’t going to be brilliant for losing weight/body fat, or growing muscle. We might not understand
why, but we seem to ‘know’ that this particular approach isn’t going to be optimal.
The trick is to factor in not just calories, but also the macronutrients (or macros) that give us those
calories. The macros are the missing piece in the jigsaw!
4: Macronutrients
At this point, you’re probably wondering exactly what a macro, or, macronutrient is, and how it
applies to flexible dieting.
A macronutrient is a food source that can be broken down by the body and used as energy, from
proteins, carbohydrates and dietary fats. (Just so you know, there’s a fourth macronutrient… A little
known substance called alcohol! But I’m not going to go into alcohol here, as it’s fairly safe to say we
don’t want the bulk of our energy coming from alcohol  )
“For flexible dieting to work, you must balance the books of macros of proteins, carbohydrates and
fats whilst not going over your calorie target for the day”
Going back to my example of eating chocolate fudge cake all day to hit your required calorie target –
why won’t it work optimally? Chocolate fudge cake is made up predominantly of carbohydrates (in
the form of highly refined flour and sugar) and processed dietary fats (in the form of the oils that go
into making them). There will be a very small amount of protein, but far too small to have a positive
effect on the body. And for flexible dieting to work well, we need to make sure we have a great
protein intake.
Let’s take a look in more detail at the different macronutrients, and their effects on the body.
4a: Protein
Protein is the life force of the body. It repairs cells, helps to preserve muscle, and very importantly
when dieting, it helps to keep us full.
Protein is found in high quantities in meat, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils etc. It’s important to
know, that when flexible dieting optimally, to think ‘face’ when choosing sources of protein –
meaning if it had a face, or was laid by something with a face, it’s going to be high in protein!
Nuts, seeds, beans and lentils are still good sources of protein, but they also contain more of the
other macronutrients, so their protein/carb or protein/fat ratio is going to be a lot lower than say
meat, fish and eggs.
It’s also important to remember that there are good and bad forms of each macronutrient. We
probably know that sugar isn’t as good a carbohydrate as sweet potato for instance, and protein is
no different.
Choosing organic or wild, and grass fed meats when possible is great, whereas processed meats like
salami and hams etc. whilst containing high levels of protein, are not so good.
Protein contains 4 calories per gram. This means that if you eat 10g of protein, whether it comes
from Beef, Fish, or even Ostrich, no matter what, you will always be eating 40 calories.
Protein is also very difficult to break down and use as energy in the body. Ever heard of
thermogenesis? It’s the process in which the body ‘spends’ calories it already has to break down
food it’s currently digesting in the stomach to then be able to use as more calories. Of the 3
macronutrients, protein is the most difficult to break down. Approximately 25% of the calories from
protein that you eat will in effect be used by the body to break it down to use.
This means that if you eat 100 calories of protein, 25% of it will be used by the body turning it into
a useable energy source. This means that a 100 calorie chicken breast you just ate, actually only
works out at 75 calories!
Protein also helps to maintain consistent blood sugar levels. If we eat diets high in protein, we
experience less of a blood sugar response, meaning that we will feel energised for longer periods.
In terms of fat loss and muscle building, protein is a non-negotiable macronutrient. Protein intake
needs to be as accurate as it can be, as consistently as possible, because protein helps to build
muscle, and to preserve existing muscle.
From a fat loss perspective, protein needs to be kept high enough so that the body will preferentially
sacrifice its’ fat stores first, saving its’ muscle mass. It’s so important to remember that muscle is
what gives our body its’ sexy shape. Without muscle, we become unaesthetic, and unhealthy.
Above is supermodel Eva Herzigova. She has very low muscle mass, and is what we could class as
‘skinny fat,’ meaning that even though she is ‘slim’, because she has such low muscle mass, the
proportion of her total bodyweight from her body fat is high. Judging by this picture, Eva has been
eating a very low calorie diet that is not rich in protein. Skinny fat is dangerous to fall in to, as even
though one might appear slim and attractive in clothes, when you remove them you are left with a
soft body with a puffy appearance, and are also highly likely to not be ‘healthy’ at all!
Whereas above, this is fitness model Michelle Lewin. She has high levels of muscle mass for a
female, which is what gives her those killer curves. She also has low levels of body fat, which gives
her fantastic body composition (body composition is the ratio of muscle mass/body fat). Michelle
definitely eats a diet with adequate protein!
So hopefully now you’re seeing that protein is a critical component of dieting, and flexible dieting.
Without adequate protein, your body will just end up losing weight. Losing JUST weight is highly
undesirable, as it implies a loss of both fat AND muscle mass.
For instance, if you set a target of losing 2 stone, and you lose an equal amount of muscle and fat,
you will end up looking like a smaller, but equally soft and puffy version of yourself before. This is
why when flexible dieting, and dieting in general, you should always aim to lose just your body fat.
Don’t be ruled by the scales!
As a general rule for protein intake, a minimum of 1g per pound of your own bodyweight is required
to help preserve muscle mass when dieting for fat loss. This means that if you weigh 150 pounds (or
10 stone 10lbs), you need to eat 150g of Protein per day. If you’re thinking ‘but how do I know how
much protein certain foods are going to give me’, don’t panic, as I will be showing you how to later
on.
4b: Carbohydrates:
Carbohydrates (I will refer to them as carbs from hereon in), are very controversial in the dieting
world. There are many different diets that factor in carbohydrates in different quantities (e.g. high
carb diets, low carb diets, or even the Atkins diet, which focuses on almost no carbohydrate intake),
but which one is right?
Again, it depends. As top strength coach Charles Poliquin would say, ‘You’ve got to earn your carbs!’
But what does this mean? Well, let’s take a closer look on how carbs interact with our body.
Carbohydrates come from many different food sources - bread, pasta, potatoes, oats, rice,
vegetables, fruit, biscuits, cake, chocolates, etc. But no matter which of these carbohydrate food
sources we eat, our body will always break down the different carbs into glucose, what I like to call
the sugar currency of the body.
Glucose can be used as immediate energy for the body, if it is required. But glucose is very
interesting, as our body can actually store glucose in muscle tissue as a compound called glycogen,
which is used by the muscles as an immediate fuel source if we are exerting ourselves physically.
What this means in layman’s terms, is the more physically active we are, the more carbohydrates we
can afford to eat – it makes sense that if we do lots of physical activity and use up our muscle
glycogen stores, we can eat more carbohydrates to replace the glycogen, right?
Seems straight forward enough, but with the infinite complexity of the human body, nothing is ever
that simple!
If our muscle glycogen levels are full, and our body has no need for the immediate energy of the
glucose, we are highly likely to send the glucose into our fat stores. And this is where the pancreas
comes in to play, and a critical hormone called insulin.
When we eat carbs, our pancreas releases the hormone insulin to circulate around the body, and
pick up glucose molecules and transport them to either be used as energy by the body, or to go to
muscle stores if there is room, or to fat stores if there is not. (Again, there is way more science to it,
but this keeps it relatively simple).
If we didn’t produce insulin, our blood sugar levels would rise dramatically, and we would become
hyperglycemic, causing a whole host of symptoms including coma, and death. So insulin is pretty
important!
How effective insulin is at transporting glucose to muscle cells is determined by our own insulin
sensitivity. If we are insulin sensitive, our cells become very open to letting insulin transport glucose
in to. This is something we want, as it means our pancreas has to produce less insulin to get the
desired effect. The more sensitive to insulin we are, the less the pancreas needs to produce.
However, this is a sliding scale. Where on the one side you have insulin sensitivity, on the other side
you have insulin resistance. This is also known as type 2 diabetes, or for those that are very out of
shape and insulin resistant, pre-diabetic. What this means is that our cells are not very sensitive to
allowing insulin in with glucose, which forces the pancreas to produce more and more insulin trying
to force the glucose in to where it wants to go.
“How insulin resistance affects us”
A simple way of looking at insulin sensitivity and insulin resistance is that the leaner you are (the less
body fat you have), the more sensitive to insulin you are.
Insulin resistance is a state which is going to have been built up over many months and years of poor
food choices. So, just like it has taken many months and years to get out of shape, it will also take a
considerable time to get into shape.
As my coach James Sutton says, “It takes a month to build a Toyota, but it takes a year to build a
Rolls Royce.”
So now we have a greater idea of how carbohydrates interact with our body. But how do we know
which carbs are good, and which are not so good? We need to look into the glycemic index, and
glycemic load of carbohydrates.
Glycemic index: This is a scale that measures from 1-100, and is used to work out how quickly carbs
are broken down in the body and converted in to sugar. The higher the number on the scale, the
quicker it is broken down. And if we break something down quickly, it is going to promote a quicker,
higher insulin release (also known as an insulin spike). The bigger the spike, the greater the potential
for fat storage, as we don’t necessarily need lots of carbs at once!
With the scale itself, anything under 60 is considered ‘low GI.’
Here are some examples:
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Broccoli has a GI of around 20, meaning it is broken down and converted very slowly
Gluten free oats have a GI of around 55-60, meaning they are broken down slowly
Jelly beans have a GI of around 85-90, meaning they are broken down very quickly and
promote a high insulin response
Each carbohydrate will have its’ own GI value, and there are numerous reference guides on the
internet where you can find what the GI value of a carbohydrate is.
Glycemic load: This is a scale that measures the increase in blood sugar levels after eating a
carbohydrate. For instance, a 100g serving of watermelon has a glycemic index of 72, meaning the
sugar in it is broken down and used by the body quite quickly. However, the actual sugar content
100g of watermelon is only 5g or so, the rest of it being mostly water, which means for the size of
the portion we are going to eat, its’ glycemic load is low.
To calculate glycemic load, you first measure how many grams of sugar are in a serving. For
watermelon, this is 5g. We then multiply that 5g by the glycemic index score, which is 72, and then
divide that amount by 100. So 5x72/100 = 3.6, meaning that a 100g serving of watermelon will raise
blood sugar levels by 3.6.
Just like the GI scale, the bulk of our carbohydrate choices should come from foods that have a low
glycemic load.
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Good carbohydrates: sweet potato, brown rice, quinoa, green vegetables, gluten free oats
Bad carbohydrates: biscuits, chocolate, sweets, crisps, bread, pasta
Hopefully that’s cleared up a few misconceptions on carbohydrate intake.
Of each of the macronutrient intake, carbohydrates are the one that will fluctuate massively,
depending on the current insulin sensitivity and activity levels of the person. If the person is
physically active, and already quite lean, they can allow for a greater number of carbohydrates.
Whereas, if the person is physically out of shape and lives a very sedentary life (physically inactive)
then they will need less carbohydrates.
For already lean individuals, I would focus on around 1.3g per lb. of bodyweight to be eaten as
carbohydrates. This means that if an individual weighs 100lbs, they can therefore eat 130g of carbs
per day (100 x 1.3 = 130).
For a more out of shape individual, who is highly likely to be insulin resistant, I would focus on less
carbohydrate intake, maybe 0.5g per lb. of bodyweight, meaning if an individual weighs 100lbs, they
can eat 50g of carbs per day (100 x 0.5 = 50).
This is where you will need to take a look at your current body fat level and physical activity level to
determine how many carbohydrates you should eat per day. If you are confused, please email me at
stevegaypt@gmail.com and we can talk about you in more detail! 
4c: Fats
Lastly, we have fats - A word that scares so many dieters or people that are watching what they eat.
Over the years, stances have changed dramatically over fat, but since the 1980s, it’s common place
to hear ‘fats make you fat!’ but is that actually right?
To give fats their full and correct term, we can either call them dietary fats, or essential fats. For
simplicity, I will refer to them purely as fats, but for me personally, that is the biggest problem.
Because they are called the same as the unsightly stuff we store on our bodies, we seem to have put
2 and 2 together and blamed fats for making us fat, when really, eating from a wide range of fat
sources can confer many different benefits on our bodies, like increased brain function!
Fats are split in to 4 different types:
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Saturated: found in butter, cheese, dairy, meats, fish, some nuts, and coconut oil
Polyunsaturated: found in walnuts, sunflower oil and seeds, peanuts and tuna
Monounsaturated: found in some red meats, avocados and oils
Trans fats: found commonly in biscuits, cakes and fast food to give improved taste and shelf
life
These are just some examples. But, like good and bad sources of protein, there are also good and
bad fats! There is plenty of literature and studies on the internet that explain why fats AREN’T bad
for you, (including some here, here, and here) and the benefits of eating each type of fat.
But as long as you eat the bulk of your fat calories from high quality sources like meat, fish, nuts,
butter, and coconut oil, you can’t go wrong!
Fat contains 9 calories per gram, so it contains over TWICE the amount of calories per gram as
protein, and carbohydrates (which will be explained in the next section). This is one reason why
people believe fat makes you fat. Having 9 calories per gram makes fat very energy dense, meaning
that you don’t need to eat a lot of it to get an adequate amount of calories. Obviously it doesn’t take
a rocket scientist to work out that if you ate a lot of butter, you’re highly likely to put on body fat! So
moderation is the key, and this is where flexible dieting comes in, as before you start, you have a set
amount of fat to aim to eat each day.
Fat is the bodies preferred fuel source. Unlike protein, fat is very easily broken down in the body
through thermogenesis – if you remember protein requires 25% of its’ energy to break down, fat
only requires 1% of its’ energy to break down. Meaning that if you eat 100 calories from fat, only 1
calorie will be spent by the body breaking it down into useable energy!
With flexible dieting, fat intake will be worked out only after protein and carbohydrate intake. This
means after we have planned our protein and carbohydrate intake with our goals, whatever is left of
our total calories will be made up of fat.
4d: Conclusion on macronutrients:
So now we know a bit more about the macronutrients, and the effects that they have on our bodies.
Hopefully now you can make more educated, healthy choices with your diet, so that you can afford
to have the small treats! To recap:
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Protein: 4 calories per 1g. 25% used in digestion. Critically important for preservation and
growing of muscle, and repairing of cells. Keeps us fuller for longer. Keeps blood sugar
constant. Think ‘face’ when eating healthy options.
Carbohydrates: 4 calories per 1g. 10% used in digestion. Fuels physical activity. Helps to
preserve muscle. Stimulates appetite. Can cause blood sugar spikes, resulting in high/low
blood sugar periods. Think potato, oats, and rice, fruit and veggies when eating healthy
options. Think ‘Low GI’ and ‘Low G-Load’ for optimal fat loss.
Fats: 9 calories per 1g. 1% used in digestion. Important for optimal brain and hormonal
function. Keeps us fuller for longer when eaten with protein. Helps keep blood sugar
constant. Think ‘face’, and also coconut oil, olive oil, avocado, nuts and seeds when eating
healthy options.
5: Micronutrients
For simplicity, I will group micronutrients, phytochemicals, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and fiber
in to this category.
We know what a calorie is now, and we also know what a macronutrient is. I’d like to cover
micronutrients briefly, as I believe these are very important to consider when on any dieting plan
(especially flexible dieting, when you’re not going to be eating good food 100% of the time).
A micronutrient is a nutrient that is required by humans to power a range of different physiological
functions. Some examples could be aiding the liver with detoxification, or for helping promote
optimal levels of testosterone in men. Pretty much every bodily processed will be optimized by
having the right levels of micronutrients.
If you are flexible dieting, and eating with a ratio of 80/20 in good/treat food, the 80% will largely
contain a high and varied amount of micronutrients that are critical to optimal bodily function. The
20% treat food, will likely not.
For this reason, I would recommend a good supplementation program to counter any basics
deficiencies:
A basic protocol would involve:
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Zinc
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Magnesium
Vitamin D3
Omega 3 Fish Oil
A multivitamin
A probiotic
This kind of protocol would cover most of the basics. The current Western diet is chronically lacking
in zinc and magnesium, and if like me you live in England, during winter you will be guaranteed to be
deficient in vitamin d3, as we are not exposed to as much sunlight.
(Please be aware, I’m not a qualified nutritionist. This protocol is one that I use with many of my
clients to optimize their function. If in doubt, please contact a qualified nutritionist/dietician, or your
GP.)
6: Flexible Dieting on Paper:
So, we know what the principles behind flexible dieting are, and we understand the science behind
good quality and poor quality food, calories and macronutrients. Let’s put flexible dieting into
practice!
Arnold, a 70kg male is looking to lose body fat at a nice, slow pace. We will assume Arnold is only
lightly active, as he weight trains 4 times a week but works sat behind a desk, but still has good
insulin sensitivity. Because he trains with weights in the gym 4 times a week, I will give him 14
calories per pound of his own individual bodyweight (and just for reference, there are 2.2 pounds in
a kilogram) which is 70kg x 2.2 = 154lbs, so we multiply 154 pounds x 14 calories to give us a total of
2,156 calories each day.
We already know that:
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Protein contains 4kcal per gram
Carbohydrates contain 4kcal per gram
Essential fats contain 9kcal per gram
So we can use this to factor in our grams that we can eat of each macronutrient per day. For
instance, 100g of protein containing 4kcal per gram will equal 400 calories.
Now, we know that when dieting, protein is a non-negotiable for maximizing fat loss, and retaining
muscle mass – remember muscle mass is what gives our bodies a sexy shape! So with protein,
Arnold will need to eat 1g per pound of bodyweight. With 154lbs of bodyweight, he will be eating
154g of protein. 154g of protein x 4 = 616 calories!
So, Arnold already has 616 of his 2,156 calories accounted for, just in protein.
But he still has 1,540 calories left to divide between carbohydrates and fats. As Arnold is strength
training and looking to lean out whilst keeping his muscle, he is going to need a relatively high
carbohydrate intake. We will give him 1.3g of carbs, per pound of his bodyweight. 1.3 x 154lbs will
give us 200g of carbs, or 800 calories just from carbohydrates (because carbs have 4cal per gram). If
we subtract 800 from 1,540 that leave us 740 calories left to eat from fat.
As the 740 remaining calories are going to be just from fat, we can simply divide 740 by 9 (as there
are 9 calories per gram of fat) to give us just over 82g of fat to eat.
So, in case you’re thinking ‘what the hell did he just do?’
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We have 2,156 calories to eat per day, based on Arnold’s goals, and activity level
We calculate Arnold’s required protein intake to be 154g, which x4 gives us a calorie total of
616
We then calculate Arnold’s required carbohydrate intake to be 200g, which x4 gives us a
calorie total of 800
We then take what’s left as our total fat calories (740 calories) and divide that by 9 to give us
82g.
All in all, Arnold’s daily macronutrients (or macros) are:
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154g protein (P)
200g carbohydrates (C)
82g fat (F)
Let’s take a look at a food plan that would factor in these macronutrients whilst allowing for some
freedom!
“This is an example of a highly individualised food plan I would construct for any of my personal
training clients. For more information on these, feel free to email me at stevegaypt@gmail.com”
This food plan is slightly condensed so I could get it all in, but as you can hopefully see, this current
food plan contains very high quality foods. Arnold has 4 set meals, each containing a high quality
protein source with green veg, and either a fat source, or carbohydrate source (in the case of meal 4,
both).
We’ll ignore the section in red, and shift our focus now to the section in green. If you look to the left,
you will see that on this food plan, Arnold is eating 140g of protein, 140g of Carbohydrates, and 57g
of Fat, which equals 1,633 calories.
We know that through the calculations earlier, Arnold can eat 154g of protein, 200g of carbs and 82g
of fat. So we can subtract the values from the food plan, to leave Arnold requiring 14g of protein,
60g of carbohydrates, and 25g of fat.
You might have also noticed, that if we use the 80/20 ratio of good food to treat food, 1,633 is
around 80% of 2,156 – which gives Arnold the remainder of those calories and macros to use on
treat food!
To reiterate, following that food plan, Arnold has left to eat:
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14g protein
60g carbs
25g fat
Now Arnold can truly use flexible dieting, to allow himself some treats! Arnold fancies a packet of
McCoy’s crisps for after his lunch. Let’s take a look at the back of a packet of ‘Flame Grilled Steak’
flavour, 30g:
30g packet of McCoys ‘Flame Grilled Steak’ crisps
We are now going to start to look into reading food labels. If you look at the column on the right
hand side, you will see that per 30g packet, there are 9.3g of fat (we will round it to 9g for
simplicity), 16g of carbohydrates, and 2.1g of protein (we will round it to 2g for simplicity). If Arnold
eats this packet of crisps with his remaining macros, he will then go from:
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Protein: 14g remaining to 12g remaining
Carbohydrates: 60g remaining to 46g remaining
Fats: 25g remaining to 16g remaining
Hopefully this is all now starting to click in your heads, and you’re starting to work out how to
calculate macronutrients and calories!
Arnold has eaten his packet of crisps, and knowing that he still has plenty of carbohydrates and fats
left to eat today, he decides to reach for a chocolate bar just after his tea. Let’s have a look at the
food label on a single finger of ‘Twix’.
‘Twix wrapper, and some of my hand’
Though it is not stated explicitly in the photograph, 1 single finger of Twix is 23g, which relates
specifically to the column on the right hand side. 1 finger contains 1g of protein, 14.9g of
carbohydrate (rounded to 15g for simplicity), and 5.5g of fat (rounded to 5g for simplicity).
Again, factoring in Arnold’s remaining calories from his 4 main meals, and his bag of crisps, he has
left:
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Protein: 12g remaining to 11g remaining
Carbs: 46g remaining to 31g remaining
Fats: 16g remaining to 11g remaining
So Arnold is now getting closer to hitting all of his macronutrient targets for the day, consisting
mainly of high quality foods, and a couple of treats. But he still has a bit of leeway left, and before he
goes to bed, he fancies a few individual sweets from ‘Waitrose Dairy Fudge’ 225g bag:
‘Waitrose Dairy Fudge 225g, plus a bit of my hand’
Arnold is very aware he has very little left to play with, so he’s going to be pretty mindful not to eat
too many, and set him over his macros for the day. As he is not going to be eating 100g, he is instead
going to focus on the macro content in the column on the left, which is done per individual sweet.
He knows he has 12g of protein, 46g of carbs, and 11g of fat remaining, and each sweet contains
0.2g of protein, 1.2g of fat, and 8g of carbs.
Let’s do some math:
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46g of carbs, with 8g of carbs per sweet, will go into 46 5 times over. This means that Arnold
can eat 5 sweets, and still have 6g of carbs left.
If Arnold eats 5 sweets, each containing 0.2g of protein, we can multiply that to equal 1g of
protein, taking him from 12g to 11g remaining
Again, if Arnold eats 5 sweets, each containing 1.2g of fat, we can multiply that 5 times to
equal 6g of fat, taking him from 11g of fat to 5g of fat.
Now, after eating 5 cubes of fudge, Arnold has left:
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6g of carbs (24 calories)
11g of protein (44 calories)
5g of fat (45 calories), totaling 113 calories left for the day.
At this point I would ensure Arnold is not focusing on counting any more, as he will find it incredibly
hard to hit everything absolutely spot on. But if he fancied a spoonful of yoghurt or a small scoop of
protein powder, he should have it. Having a macro target is great, but it doesn’t have to be exact
every day, as by doing so you will only end up obsessing if you go slightly over or under – believe me,
this has happened to myself and plenty of other people!
So if you’ve factored in your treat food and are pretty much spot on, I would err on the side of
caution in fat loss and go for slightly lower, than higher.
Conversely, if Arnold was aiming to gain some more muscle mass, I would recommend he go slightly
higher on the calories in.
7: Formulating your own diet
In the template food plan I used for Arnold, you will have seen some values assigned to certain
foods, and you’re probably wondering how I calculated them.
Here are the macros I use for healthy foods, but please be aware this isn’t an exhaustive list. If you
want to check the macros in relation to the size of the portion of food you are eating, there are lots
of calorie counting websites online, like this one.

Protein: for every 5g of raw meat and fish, I generally count 1g of protein from it. So for
instance, 100g of raw chicken would give 20g of protein. You can use this for all meat and
fish. If you were to fry or bake the meat in oil, you would need to include the extra fat in
your macros.
Eggs are slightly different – for a medium egg I would calculate 7g of protein, and 6g of fat in
each whole medium egg, including the yolk. 4 boiled or poached medium eggs for example,
would give 28g of protein, and 24g of fat. Again, if you were to fry them in oil, for instance,
you would need to add extra fat.

Carbohydrates: These can change quite a bit, depending on which carb source you are going
for.
In each 5g of raw white potato, there is just below 1g of carbs (rounded up to 1g). So 400g
white potato = 80g carbs.
In each 5g of raw sweet potato, there is around 1g of carbs. So 400g of raw sweet potato =
80g carbs.
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In each 3g of raw brown rice, there is around 2g of carbs. So 90g of raw brown rice = 60g
carbs.
In each 10g of raw gluten free oats, there is around 6g of carbs. So 40g of gluten free oats =
24g carbs.
Green Vegetables: I don’t count calories from green vegetables – I would consider these free
calories, so eat plenty!
Fats: For oils and fats like goose fat, each gram you weigh out would translate to 1g of fat
straight away. With nuts, for every 2g of nuts you eat, I would count 1g of fat (also a small
amount of protein and carbohydrates).
You must remember to count the fat content that is naturally found in meats and fish, but
remember the amount of fat differs between each source.
For instance, 100g of turkey would contain around 2-3g of fat, whereas 100g of salmon
would contain around 12g of fat.
If you would like to know the macro content of a particular type of food not on this list, feel
free to email me at stevegaypt@gmail.com!
8: Flexible Dieting Myths:
There are quite a few myths about flexible dieting, so here I will discuss them with you.
MYTH 1: Flexible dieting means you can get away with eating nothing but junk all day long.
Reality: Flexible dieters don’t eat junk food all day long at all. Eating junk food all day is a common
British and American diet, but that is pretty much the opposite of what flexible dieting really is. We
understand the importance of hitting our essential macronutrient targets like protein and essential
fat intake, but we ALSO factor in the occasional treat.
Here are some key components of flexible dieting:
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Macronutrient quality and intake. Getting sufficient high quality protein and healthy fats and
good carbs is essential, and this goes for whether you’re counting macros for fat loss or
muscle gain, or not.
Portion control. 3 squares of chocolate is a lot different from the whole bar of 18 squares,
and you don’t abuse this.
The understanding that treat food is completely allowed, but in relative proportion to good
food. I like the idea of 80/20 or 85/15 in a good/treat food ratio.
If your idea of flexible dieting is having a salad sandwich with an Innocent smoothie, that’s not quite
right. What a flexible dieter would do is maybe add eggs to that sandwich, and then focus on only
eating higher quality carbohydrates during the day – and this is because bread should be considered
a treat.
You will find it impossible to hit your protein, good fats and fibre intake through junk food alone –
trust me!
This is an example of how a flexible dieter might eat treats:

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A small handful of sweets, rather than the whole bag
A small bowl of pasta with a sprinkling of cheese, as opposed to a huge bowl
A small glass of wine with dinner
MYTH 2: Flexible dieters believe that eating ice cream is the same as eating sweet potato.
This couldn’t be further from the truth! Referring back to myth 1, flexible dieters know the
difference between good, healthy food, and treat food. We understand and research the
macronutrients and ingredients that go into everything we eat, so we know the difference between
both. It’s all fair and good seeing pictures sprawled over the internet with hashtags on flexible
dieting underneath photos of ice cream and cookies, but the reality is, is that those dieters are
spending the rest of their days eating high quality food!
If we decide to eat ice cream it’s because we’ve spent the day factoring in our macronutrients,
weighing up our options and eating really well all day, so with what we have left to ‘spend’ our
macros on, we can allow ourselves a small treat.
Again, we make the 80/20 or 85/15 rule. As long as we follow this, and count our macros (or
instinctively eat, where we know from experience roughly what we’re eating amounts to macro and
calorie wise), we’re going to be absolutely fine.
MYTH 3: Clean eating is the only healthy way to eat, and flexible dieting is really unhealthy.
This is where things become a bit more psychological. Let’s take a look at clean eating and what it
means:
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The list of foods you can eat is massively restricted, as you are only allowed to eat good
food, and no bad food
Because of this, there is nothing good that can come from totally cutting ‘off-limit’ food. As
soon as we place boundaries on those foods, we instinctively want them more
Over time, our willpower will gradually cave in, to the point where we binge on those foods
This leads to self-loathing, destructive habits such as excessive working out and starving
ourselves until we give in and binge again, causing a vicious circle
Clean eating normally involves eating probably no more than 10-12 different foods. It’s no
coincidence that there is a massively high correlation between binge-eating and clean-eating. So
many studies give evidence that as soon as a food is forbidden, you instantly want it so much more!
Now let’s compare this to flexible dieting:
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There is no restriction. Any food can be eaten, as long as it is eaten in moderation
By placing no food off limit, there are no bad thought patterns associated with binge eating.
You won’t be actively using your willpower to resist food!

Because of this, there will be no binge eating, no rebounding and no destructive behaviours
and negative thought patterns
Let’s use an example. What’s worse, eating 3 squares of chocolate a night per week, and enjoying
every mouthful before putting the rest down and moving on with your life – or actively using your
willpower to resist the temptation for 6 nights in a row, then all of a sudden succumbing and eating
several bars worth, or 60 squares at once.
Flexible dieting could mean 21 squares per week. Clean eating could mean 60 squares per week. So
now which one looks worse?
9: My Dieting Experience
As a Personal Trainer specialising in fat loss, dieting is my bread and butter. I leaned out for a photo
shoot between June-September 2014. I was a clean eater – and I stuck RIGIDLY to my meal plan. No
sweets, no chocolate, no biscuits. For 8 weeks I was resolute, and delighted at seeing my body fat go
down. But unbeknownst to me, my willpower was dwindling in those 8 weeks. Enter the last 4
weeks, and every 5 days I factored in a cheat meal to ‘speed up’ my progress.
(Just so you know, a ‘cheat meal’ is a deliberate high calorie meal, normally high in carbohydrates
that you program in to your diet at specific times to accelerate fat loss by intentionally speeding up
your metabolism when your body has been used to a low calorie diet. Cheat meals are specific to the
person dieting though, and should only be used when someone is already pretty lean, with the added
bonus that the leaner you are, the more regularly you can cheat – up to one cheat meal every 5 days
for someone that is below 10% body fat, but for anyone that is already out of shape, they should
totally avoid them as it won’t have the same effect on their metabolism – you will just put on weight
- so don’t use your dieting as an excuse to cheat big unless you are already lean!)
The problem was, because I restricted all of the bad food, when it came to my cheat meals, what
should have been around 1000-1200 calories turned into 3500 calorie binges. I literally went to
town. Pizza Hut, it’s free salad, huge pizzas and amazing deserts caused me to self-destruct, and in
the 2 days or so building up to the cheat meal, I got progressively more frantic. Whilst I was waiting
with my girlfriend for the food to be served, I could feel myself shaking on the inside, anticipating
the food to come. When it did come, I wolfed it down. Anything that was left by my girlfriend, I also
destroyed. I even went out for a meal with her family, and ate all of their leftovers too. I would be so
full I would have to walk very slowly and carefully to the car, as I felt so sick I thought I was going to
blow chowder everywhere! I even remember being sat in the car with the door open for 20 minutes
before we left, because I felt so unwell. The cheat meal still worked, but not as well as it should have
done.
Fast forward to now – I’m leaning out again, and most of the time, I’m a clean eater. Note: most of
the time. During a typical working week, pretty much all of my food is prepared every morning for
the day ahead, and I won’t indulge much in treat food in the week days, as I’m too busy to think
about it.
Instead, what I will do is go out at the weekend for a burger and chips, and maybe a small amount of
ice cream. But I factor this into my daily and weekly macros, so there’s no self-loathing, and no
negative behaviour associated with eating this food. The great thing is, is that I can leave food now –
sometimes the portion sizes are so much that I know if I eat it ALL that I’m going to be well over my
macros. There has been quite a few times where I have left chips because I’ve felt full. I haven’t felt
the need to eat everything, because I know that I can allow myself to have it at any time.
The best thing? I’m seeing progress every day. And I have a far healthier relationship with food slow, consistent, healthy progress is better than fast, destructive progress.
Now, hopefully you see the difference between these 2 ways of eating, and which one is going to be
far better for your long term success.
BONUS: 10: Other Dieting Strategies:
Depending on your goals, and current conditioning level, you could be best off adopting other
nutritional strategies like carbohydrate or calorie cycling. For your reference, here are some simple
descriptions of what they are:
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Carbohydrate cycling (or carb cycling): alternating days of high, medium and low
carbohydrate intake. Normally when you carbohydrate cycling, the calories you are not
taking in from lower and medium carbohydrate days are instead eaten as fats.
Carbohydrate cycling is a more advanced dieting strategy that only needs implementing by
dieters that are already in good condition, and is normally structured depending on what
muscles are being trained on that particular day by the person. A training day that is spent
using large muscles (e.g. leg day) will require greater carbohydrate intake than a training
day that is spent using smaller muscles (e.g. arm day).
Calorie cycling: alternating days of eating high/medium/low calorie days, where you will
change your calorie intake. Another advanced strategy, often used in conjunction with your
training. So for instance, as your body requires more fuel on a training day, you would have
a high calorie day. On a day off, you would have a lower calorie day.
Again, these are advanced dieting strategies that should only need to be implemented once you
have reached a certain level of conditioning. Again, for any more information on these strategies,
please email me at stevegaypt@gmail.com
11: Strength Training and Flexible Dieting
I always endorse maintaining strength levels in any fat loss phase, so if you are an experienced lifter
looking to lean out I would suggest prioritising maintaining your strength levels in the big compound
lifts like the squat, dead lift and the chin up, over any moderate and high rep pump work.
By lifting heavy and therefore recruiting more muscle fibres and receiving more activation of the
central nervous system, your body will be tricked into holding on to more of its’ muscle mass. For
this reason, I would suggest hitting the big compound lifts at least 1-2 times per week, for multiple
sets of low reps (between 1-5). If you are an experienced lifter, it is highly likely you will not make
any appreciable gains in muscle mass when dieting, simply because you will not be eating enough
calories to stimulate mass building. For this reason, I would relegate moderate and high rep range
work to the end of your workouts.
If you are new to flexible dieting and the lifting weights, and are looking to use both together, most
training programs (the exercises you perform, and how you perform them) will work to increase
strength, and if you are new, you are likely to have only baseline strength levels. With these baseline
strength levels, any program will induce increases of strength, but I would still suggest working 1-2
compound lifts per day for a lower amount of repetitions per set.
Conversely, if you are looking to increase your lean body mass with flexible dieting, you should
ensure a variety of different rep ranges to stimulate maximum hypertrophy. With flexible dieting, it
would work most optimally to include your high carbohydrate treat food within 1-2 hours of
finishing your workout, as your body will be more sensitive to the insulin that will be produced from
the strength training. Just be careful that when you are trying to increase lean body mass, any extra
junk calories are very likely to be stored as fat, so ensure you are still maintaining a high ratio of
good/treat food.
12: Allergies and intolerances
It would be pretty irresponsible of me to talk about flexible dieting without discussing individual
food intolerances and allergies.
If you suffer from a severe allergic reaction from eating certain foods like peanuts, it obviously
makes sense to completely eliminate peanuts from your diet, including treats.
Similarly, if you show signs of a food sensitivity when eating a certain type of food containing gluten,
dairy, nuts, mustard etc. it is a very good idea to eliminate them from your diet as much as possible.
Food intolerances and sensitivities can display themselves in a wide range of ways any time from 30
minutes to several hours after you have eaten the food that causes the sensitivity.
For instance, if you suffer from gas, bloating, abdominal cramps, diarrhoea, constipation, bad skin,
headaches, etc. when you eat certain foods, listen to your body and cut them from your diet! Treats
are all well and good, but if they are causing you more harm than good in your pursuit of fat loss or
muscle growth, it’s best to leave them out.
I myself, when I eat nuts experience some pretty nasty gas (the sort of gas that could empty a grand
hall), and I get the feeling of being very disconnected, almost drunk, when I eat gluten – so when I
factor in my treats I try to minimise these as much as I possibly can.
13: Summary
So let’s summarise!
Flexible dieters DO:
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Eat what they want to eat, but in controlled quantities
Know that food will actually always be there and available
Have other hobbies, and not just live in the kitchen
Have complete freedom over their own food choices
Flexible dieters DON’T:
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Experience any sort of anxiety about social gatherings that will be serving food
Miss out on family outings and vacations because they are scared of eating ‘off plan’
Obsess over any food
Actively resist cravings
Have an arrogant view on foods, and what people should be eating
So, what are you waiting for?! Your dietary freedom awaits you! 
SG
Steve Gay is a Personal Trainer specialising in
physique coaching and female fat loss in the
Devon area. He currently works freelance at
the ‘Phoenix Health Club’ in Okehampton.
Outside of the fitness world he enjoys playing
the guitar, reading, and music in all its forms
(mainly blues, jazz, folk, and other old fart
music). You can find him on his Facebook page
here, and his Twitter page here.