Flexible Dieting Principles

Principle 1: How much you eat is more important than what you eat.

Principle 2: You should tailor your daily food choices to your preferences, goals, and lifestyle.

Principle 3: You should forgive dietary lapses and not beat yourself up when you fall off track with your diet.

Principle 4: Long-term compliance is the key to sustainable improvements.

Flexible Dieting Rule of Thumb: You should aim to get the majority (80%+) of your daily calories from
relatively unprocessed, nutritious foods.

What Are Macros?

The word “macro” is short for “macronutrient.” Macronutrients are substances required in large amounts in
the human diet, which include protein, carbohydrates, fats, and minerals such as calcium, zinc, iron,
magnesium, and phosphorous.

The macronutrients you pay most attention to with flexible dieting are protein, carbohydrate, and fat.

Protein: 4 calories per gram

Carbohydrates: 4 calories per gram
Fat: 9 calories per gram

What You Should Eat

I recommend that you eat a high-protein and high-carb diet.

You may be surprised to learn that I don’t recommend low-carb dieting. Low-carb diets are not better for fat
loss, and actually are worse in several ways.

For example, studies show that low-carb diets don’t accelerate fat loss. Plus, higher-carb diets result in lower
levels of stress and fatigue.

Higher-carb diets are also better for preserving performance and lean mass when calories are restricted. And
it’s generally easier to overeat on a low-carb, high-fat diet than a high-carb, low-fat diet.

We want to limit our amount of fat because fat has more than double the calories of carbs and protein per
gram.
When it comes to fitness, people tend to fall into one of three groups for protein requirements. Here’s my
simple chart:

To determine your exact macros, please use The Vegan Gym Macro Calculator.

My Favorite Fat Shredding Foods:

Protein Sources
FOOD AMOUNT CALORIES PROTEIN CARBS FAT
Lentils 1/2 cup cooked (99 grams) 115 8.9 19.9 0.4
Black beans 1/2 cup cooked (86 grams) 114 7.6 20.4 0.5
Pinto beans 1/2 cup cooked (85 grams) 122 7.7 22.4 0.6
Kidney beans 1/2 cup cooked (89 grams) 112 7.7 20.2 0.4
Sweet peas 1/2 cup cooked (80 grams) 63 4.1 11.4 0.2
Chickpeas 1/2 cup cooked (82 grams) 135 7.3 22.5 2.1
Hemp hearts (seed) 2 tablespoons (20 grams) 105 5 5.5 7.1
Buckwheat 1/2 cup cooked (84 grams) 77 2.8 16.7 0.5
Quinoa 1/2 cup cooked (93 grams) 111 4.1 19.7 1.8
 Protein Sources
FOOD AMOUNT CALORIES PROTEIN CARBS FAT
Pumpkin seed 1/2 cup roasted (32 grams) 143 5.9 17.2 6.2
Spirulina 1 tablespoon powder (12 grams) 35 7 3 1
5 oz firm cooked from block (140
Organic tofu 132 15.4 3.2 7.9
grams)
Tempeh 3 oz (84 grams) 164 15.8 8 9.2
Seitan 5 oz (140 grams) 150 30 5 1.7
TVP (Bob's Red
1/4 cup uncooked (24 grams) 80 12 7 0
Mill)
2 scoops Chocolate Naked Pea
Protein powder 160 25 8 4
Protein

Starchy Carb Sources

FOOD AMOUNT CALORIES PROTEIN CARBS FAT
Sweet potatoes 1 cup mashed (255 grams) 230 5.1 52.8 0.4
Quinoa 1 cup cooked (185 grams) 222 8.1 39.4 3.6
Couscous 1 cup cooked (157 grams) 177 6 36.5 0.3
Brown rice 1 cup steamed (202 grams) 249 5.5 51.7 2
Whole wheat
1 cup cooked, angel hair (140 grams) 209 8.4 42.1 2.4
pasta
Oats 1/2 cup uncooked (40 grams) 154 5.3 27.4 2.6
1 cup diced or 15 baby carrots (130
Carrots 53 1 12.4 0.2
gram)
Lentils 1/2 cup cooked (99 grams) 115 8.9 19.9 0.4

Fibrous Carb Sources

FOOD AMOUNT CALORIES PROTEIN CARBS FAT
Kale 3 cups raw, chopped (48 grams) 24 2.1 4.2 0.5
Cabbage, red or
1 cup raw, chopped (89 grams) 28 1.3 6.6 0.1
green
1 cup cooked, chopped (156
Broccoli 55 3.7 11.2 0.6
grams)
20 medium spears, cooked (360
Asparagus 66 7.2 12.3 0.7
grams)
1 medium cooked from fresh (120
Artichoke 64 3.5 14.3 0.4
grams)
 Fibrous Carb Sources
FOOD AMOUNT CALORIES PROTEIN CARBS FAT
1 cup cooked, chopped (170
Bok Choy 21 2.7 3 0.3
grams)
Eggplant 1 cup cooked, cubed (100 grams) 35 0.8 8.6 0.2
Sweet bell peppers 1 cup raw, chopped (150 grams) 46 1.5 9 0.5
Zucchini 1 cup raw, chopped (149 grams) 25 1.8 4.6 0.5
1 cup cooked, chopped (223
Brussels sprouts 80 5.7 15.8 1.1
grams)
Cauliflower 1 cup cooked, cut (124 grams) 29 2.3 5.1 0.6
Mushrooms 1/4 cup chopped (18 grams) 4 0.5 0.6 0.1
Parsley 1 tablespoon chopped (4 grams) 2 0.1 0.2 0
Onions 1/2 cup raw, chopped (97 grams) 39 1.1 9.1 0.1
Tomato 6 oz raw, chopped (168 grams) 31 1.5 6.6 0.3
Spinach 3 cups raw, chopped (90 grams) 21 2.6 3.3 0.4
Cucumber 1 cup raw, chopped (142 grams) 21 0.9 5.2 0.2
Collard greens 1 cup raw, chopped (87 grams) 30 2.1 3.2 0.1
Lettuce, mixed
3 cups raw, chopped (165 grams) 28 2.5 5.3 0.4
greens
1 cup cooked, chopped (104
Leeks 32 0.8 7.9 0.2
grams)
Celery 1 cup raw, chopped (101 grams) 16 0.7 3 0.2
Apples 1 medium apple (182 grams) 105 0.5 25.1 0.3
Bananas 1 medium banana (118 grams) 117 1.3 27 0.4
Strawberries 1 cup raw, chopped (152 grams) 55 1 11.7 0.5
Blueberries 1 cup raw (148 grams) 79 0.6 17 0.9
Blackberries 1 cup raw (144 grams) 70 2 13.8 0.7
Raspberries 1 cup raw (123 grams) 72 1.5 14.7 0.8
Oranges 1 medium orange (131 grams) 68 1.2 15.4 0.2
Grapefruit 1 medium grapefruit (256 grams) 121 2 27.3 0.4