IIFYM...?

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ginger531
ginger531 Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi guys,

I'm wondering if anyone can speak to the whole IIFYM lifestyle and give me their personal experience with it.

About a year ago, I lost over 100 lbs just cutting my calorie intake a lot (I was eating around 1200-1400 calories a day, which worked well for me at the time). I didn't do a lot of physical activity though, so I didn't really need to increase my caloric intake to accommodate that. After I gave birth to my first daughter, I managed to lose the pregnancy weight I gained, but over the past several months I've gained back 30 lbs and I'm finding my old nutritional goals difficult to maintain. I'm more hungry than I used to be, and find myself binging a lot when I try to restrict myself. After doing a lot of looking, I came across the whole "IIFYM" lifestyle and was totally intrigued. I'm especially focusing on content by Jamie Eason (LiveFit) and Jessie Hilgenberg (Jessie's Girls Home Edition and Bikini Body).

I was wondering if anyone could give me their personal experience/success/failure with IIFYM...? Is it as "great" as everyone claims it to be?

My biggest concern after losing weight so efficiently after cutting calories, is the whole you actually have to eat a lot more in order to lose weight - my macros would put me over 2000 calories a day, which is a far cry from my old 1200-1400 calories a day. My past experience has me anxious that I'll gain weight instead of losing it, even if I stick within my macros. Any thoughts? Opinions?

Thanks so much for any and all advice you're able to give!

Replies

  • BronxBStanfield
    BronxBStanfield Posts: 34 Member
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    For me, it has helped me be more aware of my protein-fat-carb intake and the benefits of each. I was totally clueless about that stuff when I was just counting calories.
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    IIFYM is no different than calorie counting except that in addition to counting calories, you also track macros. You don't eat more doing iifym unless you were under eating before. Whatever your TDEE is in a day, you reduce calories from that number and you'll lose weight. That is true about any diet ever. IIFYM simply allows you to eat the foods you enjoy in moderation. It by no means lets you eat more calories. You energy expenditure is what it is and regardless of what you eat, if you don't eat less then you burn in a day, you won't lose weight. How did you calculate your macros?
  • Justthisgirl1994
    Justthisgirl1994 Posts: 226 Member
    edited July 2015
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    That doesn't sound right! What's your TDEE? We probably have different stats, but I personally would be gaining a lot of weight at over 2000 calories. If you give us your height, weight and exercise level, someone will let you know if your macro goals are reasonable.

    Btw I'm currently doing iifym at 1200-1400 cals/day.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    What are your stats: age, height, weight. :)
    2000 sounds like a lot.
  • leahcollett1
    leahcollett1 Posts: 807 Member
    edited July 2015
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    I've been given 1700 calories feom iifym for an aggressive loss I'm going to try it this week as I believe I was eating too many calories back through exercise
  • Xcsn
    Xcsn Posts: 11 Member
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    If you're just trying to lose fat you do not need to worry about your macros, IIFYM is more for people trying to put on muscle. Just try to get a good amount of protein in and follow IIFYC (If it fits your calories).
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    Xcsn wrote: »
    If you're just trying to lose fat you do not need to worry about your macros, IIFYM is more for people trying to put on muscle. Just try to get a good amount of protein in and follow IIFYC (If it fits your calories).
    This isn't true at all. There are plenty of good reasons for tracking macros outside of gaining muscle. First off, if you are in a calorie deficit, you aren't going to gain any muscle anyways. You track macros to help maintain muscle mass. Doing this ensures that the weight you lose is mostly fat. Following only calories could lead you to under eat on dietary fat. This is a big no-no when dieting. It's important to get in an adequate amount of dietary fat for hormone/mood related reasons. If you are already going to go through the trouble of tracking protein and calories, why not also track the other macronutrients? Especially given the fact that myfitnesspal is already going to log them anyways.
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,031 Member
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    vismal wrote: »
    IIFYM is no different than calorie counting except that in addition to counting calories, you also track macros. You don't eat more doing iifym unless you were under eating before. Whatever your TDEE is in a day, you reduce calories from that number and you'll lose weight. That is true about any diet ever. IIFYM simply allows you to eat the foods you enjoy in moderation. It by no means lets you eat more calories. You energy expenditure is what it is and regardless of what you eat, if you don't eat less then you burn in a day, you won't lose weight. How did you calculate your macros?

    /thread

    This is really all IIFYM is. And, it's a way to not have to worry about creating a complex system of food you can/cannot eat (ie, Paleo, Vegan, Pegan, Clean, whatever)
  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
    edited July 2015
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    I have been following IIFYM since 2/2015 and found it was the only way I have been able to lose weight, but more importantly inches. When I started again with MFP 1/2014 I was wearing a tight size 12 (US) and got down to around a size 10 by the end of the year. This was just counting calories and working out to mostly cardio style DVDs (JM30DS, T25, Insanity). I started with Les Mills PUMP and really liked working with weights so I decided this year to change over to mostly weight and minimal cardio. My friend introduced me to IIFYM and since then I have reduced my size to 4/6 (US). I can't tell people enough how easy it is. It does take dedication to weighing and logging your food, but every program has you counting something. I really think the weight lifting has been truly what has made more changes in my waistline, but since following macros will eventually help me to gain more muscle mass when I bulk this fall/winter I'm going to stick with it. If you need help or more accountability feel free to add!

    ETA: Before I was following TDEE -20%, but when I started IIFYM I increased my calories some and really began to lose. Trust the process.
  • MelissaPhippsFeagins
    MelissaPhippsFeagins Posts: 8,063 Member
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    ginger531 wrote: »
    Hi guys,

    I'm wondering if anyone can speak to the whole IIFYM lifestyle and give me their personal experience with it.

    About a year ago, I lost over 100 lbs just cutting my calorie intake a lot (I was eating around 1200-1400 calories a day, which worked well for me at the time). I didn't do a lot of physical activity though, so I didn't really need to increase my caloric intake to accommodate that. After I gave birth to my first daughter, I managed to lose the pregnancy weight I gained, but over the past several months I've gained back 30 lbs and I'm finding my old nutritional goals difficult to maintain. I'm more hungry than I used to be, and find myself binging a lot when I try to restrict myself. After doing a lot of looking, I came across the whole "IIFYM" lifestyle and was totally intrigued. I'm especially focusing on content by Jamie Eason (LiveFit) and Jessie Hilgenberg (Jessie's Girls Home Edition and Bikini Body).

    I was wondering if anyone could give me their personal experience/success/failure with IIFYM...? Is it as "great" as everyone claims it to be?

    My biggest concern after losing weight so efficiently after cutting calories, is the whole you actually have to eat a lot more in order to lose weight - my macros would put me over 2000 calories a day, which is a far cry from my old 1200-1400 calories a day. My past experience has me anxious that I'll gain weight instead of losing it, even if I stick within my macros. Any thoughts? Opinions?

    Thanks so much for any and all advice you're able to give!

    I lost 40lbs on IIFYM. It's still counting calories, just no focus on a particular diet - South Beach. Adkins, vegan, "clean eating" or whatever. Since I didn't want to stop eating anything to lose that I wasn't willing to never eat again, IIFYM worked for me.

    Eating 1200-1400 calories will allow you to lose weight without exercise. However, if you are doing Jamie Eason's LiveFit program, lifting 4-6 days/week will require you to eat back the calories you burn in the gym. I am doing it at maintenance calories and have days I am ravenous. Also, Jamie Eason advocates for clean eating with a focus on high protein, moderate fat and lower carbs. I ignore her nutrition advice completely and am still dating IIFYM with a goal of 110 grams of protein daily.
  • mantium999
    mantium999 Posts: 1,490 Member
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    Xcsn wrote: »
    If you're just trying to lose fat you do not need to worry about your macros, IIFYM is more for people trying to put on muscle. Just try to get a good amount of protein in and follow IIFYC (If it fits your calories).

    Bad comment is bad. If you don't know, don't type.

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