The Balance of Flexible Dieting

When many people try to lose weight, they choose a specific, cookie-cutter diet that claims to be the one true way to shed pounds. My guest says that approach is bound to backfire, and that there's a better way to lose weight and change your body composition.

Alan Aragon is a researcher and educator, a pioneer of evidence-based nutrition, and the author of Flexible Dieting: A Science-Based, Reality-Tested Method for Achieving and Maintaining Your Optimal Physique, Performance & Health. Today on the show, Alan offers an intro to his method of flexible dieting, in which, as long as you stay in a caloric deficit and hit your daily protein target, you can decide on how much fat and carbs to consume according to personal preference. We discuss what to keep in mind as you create your own individualized nutrition plan, including how much protein you need a day, the minimum amount of fat to get in your diet to avoid a decrease in testosterone, and the minimum of carbs to consume to maximize muscle gain. And, because flexible dieting is also about not rigidly sticking with your diet 100% of the time, Alan shares how often you should take a break from your diet to eat what you want.

Resources Related to the Podcast

• AoM Podcast #475: How to Lose Weight, and Keep It Off Forever
• Alan's diet calculator
• AoM intro to tracking macros
• AoM Article: How I Used the AoM Podcast to Lose 20 Pounds in 3 Months
• AoM Article: Why Carbs Don’t Make You Fat

Connect With Alan Aragon

• Alan's website and research review
• Alan on IG
• Alan on X