Why I Like Flexible Dieting: The Dichotomy of Dietary Restraint | Biolayne Educational Video 

Down 50 pounds since February doing flexible dieting. 278 to 230 excersize and CARBON app. Thank you Lane for opening my eyes. I thought Keto was good but I couldn't sustain the diet.

I allow myself many of the things that would normally be considered junk food. The difference is that if I want a cookie or a muffin or a cheeseburger I make it at home so I know exactly what's in it and I find creative ways to reduce the calories.

I completely relate to that "All or nothing" mentality that you described. Love your videos man!

Very relatable, cravings and binges are awful when I’m restricted from food types. Flexible dieting is easier even if it’s about finding lower calorie alternatives. Also easier to transition to maintenance afterwards.

I just wanted to clear up an earlier comment I made. First off flexibility is key! I've been able to maintain my weight for 8 years by being flexible. For 6 months I did keto and got to my ideal weight of 180 at 6'2" and about 12% body fat. Although it can be done... staying in nutritional ketosis is a chore so instead I stayed low carb and time restricted my meals. That's being flexible... Until I started watching Layne's videos I thought restricting IGF-1 would help with longevity. Now I'm don't hold that view. That's being flexible. When I eat out it's a social event so order whatever I want, knowing what keeps me slim is waiting at home. At Christmas when I started the keto diet I told my mom that the delicious apple pie she made from scratch wasn't on the menu. After seeing the disappointment in her eyes I've never turned down a dessert she's made since. My relationship with my mom is way more important than a stupid piece of pie!! For years I've struggled to make gains in strength and after learning how important muscle mass is to longevity I decided to take Layne's advice and ditched the time restricted eating and added more protein and carbs to my recovery meals and am already reaping the benefits. That's being flexible. With that said if the calipers say I'm getting fat again then I'll go back to time restricted eating because I'm no longer a fat person that can't control my weight!!! That's being flexible...

I really connected with your "clean eating whole week and binge when exposed to non clean food" agree 100%

I’ve definitely found myself feeling deprived and inclined to binge if I try to eat perfectly, so I just pick healthier treats that don’t make me feel awful and have them if I want to. Like quest cookies or diet drinks. It’s funny how many people tell me how bad diet drinks & caffeine are while they themselves are typically overweight and nowhere near as fit as I am. Greg Doucette actually helped me adjust my mindset on this and I’m much healthier mentally & physically because of that.

One of the few scientific based youtubers I honestly respect and find his videos down to earth and “SUSTAINABLE” … Well done man keep it up

I was reliably informed by an ad just seconds before your video began that none of this is my fault, I simply have an overworked liver.

When you get into a binge its like a demon possesses your body you keep telling yourself not to eat it but your body just keeps eating everything. Im a lot better at avoiding binges now though

You have this ability to churn out an old message & just make it so much more relatable i.e. Penny drops. Thank you as always.

I love the freedom I’ve found with flexible dieting or iifym ❤️💪😋

Layne, your ability to simply communicate complicated and controversial fitness subjects with humour, practicality, common sense and always underpin with science is exceptional. Thanks for another incredibly useful video as they never disappoint.

100% bro. Started Keto felt like shit found it difficult to even enjoy eating. Stayed low carb but went more Mediterranean still intermittent fasting and it works for me I need the restriction. I'm down 55 lb in 3 months. Walking a lot running and riding my bike for the first time in over a decade. Feel fantastic. No prediabetes or diabetes. Blood pressure dropping into normal ranges. It's fantastic. Thanks for your input.

Finally, someone who recognizes those of us who do better with flexible dieting (along with Greg Doucette, Remington James, and a few others). I've actually had "gurus" tell me I was wrong when I said there were some of us out there who can (and actually have to) flexible diet.

I know you aren't dissing the Eckerd cafeteria food... Rice Crispys + soft serve for breakfast then grilled chicken sandwiches for lunch! Sounds like clean eating to me.

Now I just keep track of my calorie range and my protein target. I avoid take away fast food but have no really any other restraint. What I found to be the most important in the end, is not being hungry all the time, which happened to me on all the fad diets.

Flexible dieting has been very easy for me. I tried to be strict in the beginning with no cheat meals or anything and it just gets old quickly. For me I know I can achieve my goal without being that strict. I don’t go all out, but I allow myself some ice cream here or there or we make homemade pizzas at home. I always try to find a “healthier” version of the “bad stuff”. Im not trying to compete or anything, just simply improve my overall confidence, physique and health. Being very strict I was able to drop from about 200lbs to 145lbs just with diet alone. Then I began my fitness journey and have slowly added weight and I’m currently sitting at 161. I don’t over stress about being shredded, I just want to look good. Seth feroce said it best “functional and fu*kable”

Hi! It's really cool to see you talking about our work on guilt and low-carb diet

100% your best video imo - more constructive, balanced and helpful than anything else you’ve put out. You have so much more power when you are positive.

You should have over a million subscribers. Quality content as always.

I love flexible dieting. I’m using Carbon diet coach to cut right now and I’m down 14 lbs in 13-14 weeks. Eating cereal post workout every day. Fitting in some non-dairy ice cream as a snack too. I can go 100% “clean eating” easily. I love the strict discipline. But there’s no need for it.

This video was an eye opener and explains my nights with binge eating. I've since then moved away and allowed myself to eat what I want. I feel happier and control my weight better. Thank you Layne!

Love the message! Everybody is different. Do what works best for you. For me, clean eating actually prevents binging. Once I start with all the junk, it's hard for me to stop. It's easier for me to just cut these foods out and eat only clean. Good Video though

Let me pause your video, make a comment and watch the end. You’re the man. I found that being strict on the diet, taking a flexible break leads to bingeing and abandoning the process because the diet was not too restrictive but too low in calories. My present diet is a success because I make all my day’s meals in the morning and only eat them the rest of the day. No snacking! If I’m bored with my food I change it a bit the next morning. If I’m losing more than 1% a week I might get some cravings so I increase the calories. If I’m losing less than 1% a week I decrease the calories! In late January I weighed 284 pounds. Today June 222. When I can pour tomato sauce and oregano on a lean chicken patty, what the hell does pizza do for me!

Another relatable gem! You should have a million subs! You da man

I got the carbon app one week ago, I tried every diet in the book and I've been super restrictive. First time going into flexible diet. So far it feels good, I've been dealing with bing eating for a long time. Im not a victim i brought myself to this point and only i can get myself out of it. Feeling good so far. Wanted to thank you for your work and all the precious information you bring to the table! Opened my eyes and gave me hope to try and take care of myself again. Thank you 🙏

This is great timing. I have tried to be really strict but it became just too stressful and it really took its toll on my mind and my body. I was really stressed out and actually stopped losing weight because of it. I took a more balanced approach and not only reduced my stress but also started losing weight. I really track my macros and try to foods that I think will offer the “most bang for my buck” meaning I’ll feel fuller for longer but I no longer have to eliminate everything. Keep up the great work with your channel.

So glad I found you man. You are so honest and make complete sense.

thanks man! thats great, first week of carbon here and i am loving it. signging up for the year at the end of the month

when I was little, ice cream was a hot commodity at our house. our parents were trying to teach us kids moderation, so we could have one cup of ice cream every other day. now as an adult I go by what makes my body feel good, and ice cream doesn't lol. so I will buy the high quality ice cream once in a while, and be satisfied, and my stomach won't hate me after lol.

The best, most needed video Layne has ever done.

Another clear, inspiring, and respectful summary!

Yup, reflects my own experience. I work really well on OMAD. But when I started, I thought I could eat whatever I wanted, as much as I wanted, and keep losing weight. A year of that really busted that theory for me. Slowly realized that the reason I do well on OMAD is because it's the easiest diet for me to adhere to. Used to do low-carb OMAD thinking carbs and junk food were evil. Now, I do a flexible OMAD and I'mjust not overstuffing myself all the time. Wouldn't recommend it to everyone. But, it does work well for me. I'm not even that strict on the whole one meal part. If a social occasion demands I eat something, I'll just do it. This channel has really helped to moderate my stance on nutrition.

Great video with just the right amount of anecdotal vs science based info. Made it both relatable AND informative. I wish more top tier people in the fitness industry advocated for flexible dieting.

Thanks for all you do!

Layne is the absolute best. Love this guy.

Great content! You changed my diet completely, I don't beat myself if I have more carbs on one day anymore as long as I'm hitting my weekly macros.

Always love your advice

Great information. I improved my diet and starting eating more "clean" a year or so ago and I've had trouble with binging when I allow myself the "dirty" foods. I will definitely give flexible dieting a go and see how it works.

the way i’m able to stick the most to my diet is go all in… “eat clean, no cheat, no flexibility. Motivation come from stickness: the more you stick, the more you’re motivated to continue to stick!!” 😎

His anecdotal experience is relatable. Especially if one is coming from a dogmatic carnivore/keto. It’s hard to wrap your head around the cognitive dissonance that comes with having a bit of pizza, or a burger, or ice cream if you moderate it.

Flexible eating kept me sane. It also helped me learn to make copycat recipes of the junk I loved so I could rely on my own ingredients and their calories rather than trust the fast food joint

Best video yet!

Bro I just discovered you and just wanna say thank you, a honest thank you! ❤

Thanks for sharing some of your journey

Thanks for your advice Doc. Started using Carbon a week ago and I think is awesome!

Love your content, I wish that I would have come across it sooner. But glad that I did!

Congrats on the 200k

Nice Layne!

Eye opening stuff Layne💪👊

Interesting study you report here, and I think this is what i gradually, after close to a year of adjusting, can start to do now: just have less of the “bad” foods, have them more often, and avoid hard deprivation and binges. I think it leads to, in my case, less stress for the body.

really good video iv tried this dieting approach as well as clean eating all the time can lead to outrageous calorie consumption on cheat meals/days and cravings for certain foods are sky high

I tried most of the FAD diets and found just being flexible works best for me. Sometimes I have a "cheat meal" on Sunday. If I want a little extra one day per week I just use the planner on Carbon. Its fucking GREAT.

So happy I found your channel

As always, what works for you and being one of the 5% who lose weight and keep it off…flexible is well flexible and adherence is ALL that matters. Layne once again bringing knowledge.

Just wanted to say I love your videos

Great info right here

Preaching!🙌🏻 Very sustainable way of Living.

I was dying when you said Wild Salmon. Literally was exactly the same way but you exposed the truth! OG of the Fitness game for life! 💪🏼🙌🏻

love your content bro

Great video. Thank you.

Thank You for opening my eyes to this. Sometimes what should be obvious, is burried underneath a bunch of silly beliefs. Thanks for freeing me!!!!!

Awesome videos

Nice video. 👍🏼

This is SO me. I decided to eat what I want when I want it ( I do eat mostly healthy ) because I was the adhere to but then I would binge. I no longer binge. I call that freedom !

Thank you

Carbon up rocks dude !

Couldn't control my weight until I went low carb about 8 years ago and the scale hasn't moved much since. I'm 6'2" and weighed as much as 260 on more than one occasion. I'm 180 now. Really I eat plenty of slow carbs and if I want something sweet I make a chocolate mousse that I make with sour cream, coco powder, protein powder, mixed berries and nuts sweetened with allulose. Mmm-mn! Not full celiac but close and the only other real restriction is no added sugar. I'm aware I get 40 plus grams of protein at each meal but I really don't track anything. Easy peasy... Works for me!!

Alan Aragon watched your video and wrote a book!!!

I did flexible dieting for years, low fat, high fat, high carb, low carb, carnivore. The BEST for me is low carb,sometimes keto with intermittent fasting most days. Some days I don't. I thi k it's good to mix it up. Meat centric with a few berries and eggies, e en a sweet or whit potato every now and then. This way has been WAY easier for me to control food cravings, stay leaner, and feel better. Even modest carbs make me feel sluggish and bloated. And I know some will disagree but yhr benefits of fasting go beyond calorie restriction. Thr book "The Intermittent fasting revolution " by Mark P. MATTSON goes into great detail regarding this. I tracked everything for years, been in this space close to 40 years, and it was annoying and futile. If I want something like a dessert once in a while, I just have it and don't go off thr rails like I used to. That's what works for me the absolute best.

I've found that allowing myself a small "treat" almost daily helps me avoid binging, whether it's just one of those yummy dinner rolls or one cookie, or something like that. I know I'm active enough it won't hurt me, and 90% or more of what I eat is healthy stuff I made at home, so why be any more restrictive than that? Being open-minded and not completely shunning any certain kind of food makes adherence very easy for me.

Read the Harman and Mack paper. definately found this experience as well personally.

Keto has been very sustainable for me for several years. I guess that is because I control what comes into my house food wise. Plus there are so many different keto friendly recipes for bread desserts and so forth. Lots of keto friendly sweeteners to make drinks and desserts it’s been very sustainable for me but I get your point. For some it may not be sustainable pick what diet works for you.

Never really thought through about how extreme some are with a Puritanical view of food for most meals, then an extreme hedonistic food orgy cheat meal/day that exceeds "junk food" total for the week than daily moderation. Hilarious example. How does someone counter that in a debate?

Wisdom right here

great vid

Flexible dieting is what I call mindful eating. It is something I have done for the past year and have lost 120 lbs. Nothing is off limits. I don't have cheat meals. I adjust how much I eat of something based on what it is. I can eat a lot more chicken breast than bacon. If I really want the bacon I can have it, but I also know that the chicken will be more satisfying.

Do you think people over emphasize eating for health? I.e grass fed steak vs usda free range chicken vs caged organic vs gmo etc. anyone with some insight I’d love to hear it thank you 💪🏾

I've been following this for a few months. Around 2000-2100 calories is easy for me to comply with. I just pencil in a few days where I know I want a treat and try to pre pick at restaurants if they have online nutrition guides. The only thing that still gets me is chips, I'm an addict haha.

I wish I could do flexible dieting, but having such a small TDEE of 1600 calories (that's with daily lifting and steady state cardio), I'd have to eat such unsatisfying portions of junk, which just makes me sad and then I'd just want more. I don't miss chocolate if I haven't had it for a while, but if I have just a square, the rest of the bar will be gone.

You are the best science based RU-vidr IMO Greg Doucette is a close second. Great job again Layne. Can’t stand all the hype about intermittent fasting. It’s just a tool to manage a deficit so many people think it’s a magic bullet. Same for clean eating

I used several diet techniques* over the course of my 2-year 115-lb weight loss, and they all worked fine. I do think though that bright-line methods would be hard for me to stick to because of that notion of “can’t have.” I don’t even care that much for sweets, I’m a crunchy-salty kind of guy. But if I did want a cupcake and some self-imposed rule said I couldn’t have it, I’d just keep thinking about it. (I’ve never been one for binges, I’d just lock on to that one thing and obsess over it until I caved. And I wouldn’t even enjoy it that much because I’d stress out about having gone off plan.) With a more flexible approach (which as Layne has said elsewhere is more about mindset than a specific mode of restraint) it’s much easier for me to look at the cupcake as a snack food rather than as some sacred object and ask, “do I really want that?” As it turns out, without that artificial scarcity the answer is usually “Eh, maybe later.” * I started on 40/30/30 meal replacement shakes, which transitioned into the Zone Diet because I knew shakes wouldn’t help me with my relationship with food. Then I reduced the carbs to about 20% to see how that felt (fine, but I don’t care for fatty meats so I kind of got worn out on avocado and almonds) and then I was curious about time-restricted eating so I did 5:2 for a bit (allowed me to eat at maintenance most of the time, so I found it pretty light on the diet fatigue.)

Love it

I do flexible dieting 2 or three days a week but I don't track macros, just stick to my calorie budget. I feel soooo much freer around food. Its stopped the binge eating. If I feel like a donut for breakfast, I have one. Yay

i meal prep and only eat what i plan for myself, plus a halo top as a weekly bonus. as a chef im able to plan most of my favorite foods into my diet, and one night i eat at maintenance so i get a big bowl of ramen and a halo top. i was only having 1 cheat day a month, and that cheat was getting to be too big, and every month that i didnt add something to it i was disappointed.

Perfect video for where I'm at right now! Now, what are the Marcos I should be using for fat loss?

Mike Mentzer said the same thing !myself I just match my calories if I have extra at the end of a day and a scoop of ice cream fits I do it .

What a agret video! I'm an old afart but have studied the human body a l ot. A hobby maybe. But it has had it's perks. Over the years I've studied many diets and tried many also. Sometimes I needed tm lose some but many times I just wanted to see if they worked. The wilder they were, the more I was attracted. I've never found a single one that didn't work as advertised. Not recommended them but just a fact. Couldn't sustain them forever but who cares. Kinda goes back to a video of yours about diet breaks. No it didn't prove that more faat could be lost but hey, if it allowed you to some back and start reducing again, it is valuable. Same thing with some of the other diets. If it gets you started on your road to losing fat, it's of value. You probably know it's not gonna solve your problem but if it gets you off the fence, go for it Sometimes I tell people to think about what type of food they would find easy to eliminate. Then find the reducing diet that allows that and give it a try. there are so many out there, there's gotta be one that catches your fancy. Then put a time limit on it say 6 weeks, and be prefect for that time. You can be good for 6 weeks. Success can breed more success. Hopefully you'll end up learning enough to figure out eating healthy will solve many problems. Ora just listen to you.

I can't find a video I saw a while back. It was about one having one day out of the week of super low calories (800), low fat, high protein. Does anyone remember what that was called?

I think we have to consider differences between people's mindsets, attitudes etc. Me for example, I'm rather "all or nothing" type guy and whenever I tried incorporate some "dirty" products I failed. When I start, I loose control, there is no "one bar or piece of chocolate" to me, so for me actually, completely avoiding those is better choice. And it doesn't have to be real YOLO binge, but it "unlocks" this mode of few bites here, and few more there, and some bar, and a bit chocolate, and maybe some cookie. I see pretty much similar problem with refeeds - I struggle to close me dayly calories in maintenance, when I already catch the smell of carbs lol. The only problem is - I can't always adjust and modify my environment as I would like to. I live with not mine kids, there are sweets here and there, so dieting is like alcoholic trying to recover, living in liquor store lol. A LOT OF adherence and motivation must be involved :)

This video is old and just came up in my feed but I have to comment because it hit home. In my experience, I can either eat no cake or cookies or I can eat ALL the cake and cookies, but I can’t eat 1 cookies or a small piece of cake. 🤔

For me, flexible dieting is slightly different. I can't (or don't want to) stop on one slice of pizza or few pieces of chocolate. I eat whol pizza (margherita, Neapolitan style, 900 kcal) at least once a week as a regular meal within my macros. Chocolate bar? 1-3 a week. Whole bar at once. Also within my macros. When cutting, I replace my breakfast with coffee (sort of Intermittent Fasting), limiting my feeding window. Zero problems with adherence for me. Everyone should find their way focusing on what works and what's sustainable.

👍 the way

I’m sure you’ve addressed this already but curious why you prefer tracking macros over calories?

I’m an addict I can’t have even a little or I go overboard.

This happened to me - I would cut out carbs and I would lose weight but once I got carbs I would eat it like no tomorrow. I could eat pad Thai, spring rolls, an entire pizza and a piece of cake and I would feel horrific after. It would repeat itself like a cycle and I would stay at the same weight or gain weight. The way I would cheat was that I would want to get whatever I want in because the next day I would have no carbs anymore.

Of course they lie about what they eat , I would rather see people’s real diet ! I just eat the same breakfast and snacks and a meal for dinner or brunch will be different occasionally depending on so many things .. I just had a cup of graters ice-cream zero guilt , one it fits in my macros it’s 350 calories and it’s my birthday , I don’t go all fu&@ it on my birthday either .. No all day binges but I defiantly did the same things as you in my 20s as well ! Macros work for me , no guilt and I know what makes me feel good or what makes me feel crappy and I manipulate my carbs and fats during the week depending on workouts ... it has worked for 2 pregnancies as well . I can give you macros on a crap ton of normal meals because I’ve been doing this for so long 🤷‍♀️ it gets easier people just always want a fast approach to everything

Hello Layne, how can i increase y hunger? i'm consuming 4100 calories daily and my weight doesn't go up... im 88kg at 182cm tall, like 15% bodyfat and decent muscle mass (nautral), how much do i have to eat? lol i'm already force feeding just to mantain weight.. literally been stuck at 88kg for months

It doesnt even feel like dieting when u have whatever food u want its also easier to maintain after losing weight since u just increase ur calories a bit. Its all about the numbers