Does flexible dieting work for weight loss?

A flexible diet is one where you get to enjoy your favorite foods every so often as long as you’re eating healthy foods and keeping your total calories in line. For some people, this works well. These individuals believe they need their glass of wine or pizza in order to deal with the stress of clean eating the majority of the time. The problem is that some people tend to cheat a little too often and end up gaining fat. The other issue is that fatty foods are higher in calories so if you have cheese pizza and a few beers, you’re going to need to do damage control, exercise more and reduce the size of your next meal, or skip your next meal altogether.

I do think there is some merit to a flexible diet; it’s difficult to eat perfectly all the time. If you have a beer, skip the pasta or the bread. I tried not to eat any Halloween candy this year, but I admit that I couldn’t resist the Swedish fish and a mini red licorice Twizzlers.

Photo: lobster salad