IIFYM

JB035
JB035 Posts: 336 Member
Okay then. I'm not going to deny I'm hardheaded! Haha

Eating a strict clean diet does suck for the most part. Looking back through my diary, I'm pretty much eating like IIFYM anyways. Occasional stuff here and there through out the weeks as long as it fits in my Macros. Some days I miss my goal and some days I go over, not sure how that plays out in the grand scheme of putting on muscle.

Ultimately I can eat a pretty good amount of food, as long as it's planned out and prepared. If not I will eat what ever the quickest. The problem with eating what ever is the cals jump up real high real quick, leaving less for the remainder of the day.

So this is my questions:

Are Protein, Carbs and Fats still important? You know what I mean... if you don't hit your base % numbers but get your cals, is it still the same?

Should it just add 200-300 cals or 1000?





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Replies

  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    Protein, Carbs and Fats are the MACRO part of IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros). So, yes, they are important if that is the eating plan you are choosing. If you are just going for a total caloric deficit, and not IIFYM, then no, they don't matter.

    I don't understand the second question.
  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
    Yes all macros are important, but meeting your daily calorie requirement is going to be what gets you to your ultimate goal (losing, maintaining, gaining). Macros are important for body composition. That being said you want to make sure you hit your protein and fats, but carbs can vary since they are mostly for energy.

    Not sure what you are asking with the last question.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    not sure what the question is..

    must be a slow day on bb.com
  • joemac1988
    joemac1988 Posts: 1,021 Member
    JB035 wrote: »
    Okay then. I'm not going to deny I'm hardheaded! Haha

    Eating a strict clean diet does suck for the most part. Looking back through my diary, I'm pretty much eating like IIFYM anyways. Occasional stuff here and there through out the weeks as long as it fits in my Macros. Some days I miss my goal and some days I go over, not sure how that plays out in the grand scheme of putting on muscle.

    Ultimately I can eat a pretty good amount of food, as long as it's planned out and prepared. If not I will eat what ever the quickest. The problem with eating what ever is the cals jump up real high real quick, leaving less for the remainder of the day.

    So this is my questions:

    Are Protein, Carbs and Fats still important? You know what I mean... if you don't hit your base % numbers but get your cals, is it still the same?

    Should it just add 200-300 cals or 1000?





    No, it is not the same and thinking that it was stalled me for ages. Your body reacts differently to the different macros. Also, fats should be higher on low carb days and vice versa. To get a better understanding google "carb cycling".
  • JB035
    JB035 Posts: 336 Member
    edited February 2017
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    not sure what the question is..

    must be a slow day on bb.com

    Not sure what that means, but okay. @ndj1979
    Bear with me buddy.....
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    I'm not even sure what your goal is.

    Are you wanting to build muscle?

    Or are you wanting to drop weight?
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    Ultimately when bulking, calories are king. However, you want to make sure you get a certain minimum of macros, these are the building blocks of muscle and body function, gym performance etc..
    The recommendation I go by, grams per lean body mass:
    Protein: .8 to 1g
    Fats: .35 to .6g
    Carbs: The rest

    So while don't have to hit them exactly, you should at least aim for the minimum for optimal results.
    When you say you miss your goal, do you miss your calorie goal or macros? I would say try your best to hit your calorie goal otherwise you may find yourself slowly slipping into maintenance and not bulking. This isn't great if your goal is to gain.
  • JB035
    JB035 Posts: 336 Member
    edited February 2017
    @sardelsa I sometimes miss my cal goals. It's usually not by much though, like a few hundred max.

    Typically always hit my protein goal though.
  • JB035
    JB035 Posts: 336 Member
    @RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    Goal is to gain muscle and to not put on a bunch of fat while doing it.
  • JB035
    JB035 Posts: 336 Member
    @joemac1988
    I'm not looking to carb cycle.

    I'm wanting to find a consistent way of eating that builds muscle with minimal to zero fat gains and is simple and sustainable. If that's even possible. Haha
  • JB035
    JB035 Posts: 336 Member
    58269t4bf2qv.png

    That is what I adjusted to as of last night.

    Currently 5' 7" and 168 pounds looking to get to 175 with 12%to 13% bf and then maintain.

  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    Fat gain is an inevitability of bulking. You can minimise it by doing a slower bulk I believe/more of a recomp.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    Well zero fat gains while bulking isn't going to be possible unfortunately! (Unless you are recomping where you can gain muscle and lose fat over a longer period of time.. but depending on your goals and how lean you are right now, this may not be something you are interested in). But when bulking, best way to control fat gains is to keep your surplus smaller (<0.5-1lb gained per week) and being sure to follow a program with progressive overload. And if you do it right, you shouldn't have too much to cut after. I have seen a lot of successful bulkers keep their abs no problem (especially if they started pretty lean). Is this your first bulk? If it is, it is always the hardest, once you build a good muscle foundation it gets easier and the fat gain gets less noticeable (sometimes.. you also become more of a perfectionist ) :p
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    edited February 2017
    So you want to recomp. Maybe your questions are answered in this thread.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    JB035 wrote: »
    Goal is to gain muscle and to not put on a bunch of fat while doing it.

    It's not possible to gain muscle and not put on any fat.

    Here's a very detailed read that may be worth your while: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/general-philosophies-of-muscle-mass-gain.html/
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    JB035 wrote: »
    @RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    Goal is to gain muscle and to not put on a bunch of fat while doing it.

    not possible. For males it is about a 50/50 ratio fat to muscle gain ..so for every pound you add, you will add a half pound of muscle and a half pound of fat
  • JB035
    JB035 Posts: 336 Member
    @ndj1979
    50/50!! I just recently put on some weight. So half is fat??!!

  • JB035
    JB035 Posts: 336 Member
    @sardelsa
    All I have are pics to go off of right now. I'm not sure what my actual bf is.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    JB035 wrote: »
    @ndj1979
    50/50!! I just recently put on some weight. So half is fat??!!

    At best. Depends on what training you're doing.
  • JB035
    JB035 Posts: 336 Member
    edited February 2017
    @VintageFeline
    Hatch Squat Program 2 days a week
    3 days per week a Progressive loading upper body Program of my own.
    Once or twice a week I'll throw in a metcon of my own making.
    For example:
    5 Rounds
    10 deadlifts @ 185
    10 Handstand Push Ups
    10 cal row
    10 power snatch's @ 95
    10 chest to bar

  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    JB035 wrote: »
    @VintageFeline
    Hatch Squat Program 2 days a week
    3 days per week a Progressive loading upper body Program of my own.
    Once or twice a week I'll throw in a metcon of my own making.
    For example:
    5 Rounds
    10 deadlifts @ 185
    10 Handstand Push Ups
    10 cal row
    10 power snatch's @ 95
    10 chest to bar

    I would suggest finding a structured program and following it exactly for three to four months...

  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    JB035 wrote: »
    @ndj1979
    50/50!! I just recently put on some weight. So half is fat??!!

    Yes...
  • JB035
    JB035 Posts: 336 Member
    edited February 2017
    @ndj1979
    I heard that. I'm recovering from some knee issues that started back in November of last year. As of now I'm feeling pretty good and headed back to much higher volume of work. Most likely will be getting back on a Brute program.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    JB035 wrote: »
    @VintageFeline
    Hatch Squat Program 2 days a week
    3 days per week a Progressive loading upper body Program of my own.
    Once or twice a week I'll throw in a metcon of my own making.
    For example:
    5 Rounds
    10 deadlifts @ 185
    10 Handstand Push Ups
    10 cal row
    10 power snatch's @ 95
    10 chest to bar

    I would suggest finding a structured program and following it exactly for three to four months...

    get out of here with that good advice and *kitten*.
  • JB035
    JB035 Posts: 336 Member
    I just finished up my set of nights at work and I needed at ton of cals when I finally made it back home early this morning! I might have feel sleep and missed my 3am meal... oops.

    The kids cereal took a beating! LOL

    Blueberry mini wheats and a cup of milk saved the day this morning! 23 grams of protein and 100 carbs.

    Pancakes are next on the menu....
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    I miss my dinner sometimes when I come home.

    Usually I go ham the next day. I'm starting to flag a little- not going to lie. It's getting to me as we come to the end of the bulk. YOU CAN DO IT!!!
  • JB035
    JB035 Posts: 336 Member
    pftb0y5mfxg3.png

    Hit it hard straight or the gate! I add three extra eggs to the mix. No milk needed. Boom!
  • brettr23
    brettr23 Posts: 115 Member
    Caloric intake is key so you can sub macros of equal ratio. Macros just make it easy for you to count. Much easier to count 40 P, 40C,7F rather 383 cals. A protein is 4 cals a carb is 4 cal and a fat is 9 cals so I can sub carbs for protein and I can swap 2 proteins/carbs for 1 fat essentially. That's the beauty of flexible dieting. So if you out and you have to work some numbers to hit your caloric goals than do because the name of the game is cals in cals out.
    JB035 wrote: »
    Okay then. I'm not going to deny I'm hardheaded! Haha

    Eating a strict clean diet does suck for the most part. Looking back through my diary, I'm pretty much eating like IIFYM anyways. Occasional stuff here and there through out the weeks as long as it fits in my Macros. Some days I miss my goal and some days I go over, not sure how that plays out in the grand scheme of putting on muscle.

    Ultimately I can eat a pretty good amount of food, as long as it's planned out and prepared. If not I will eat what ever the quickest. The problem with eating what ever is the cals jump up real high real quick, leaving less for the remainder of the day.

    So this is my questions:

    Are Protein, Carbs and Fats still important? You know what I mean... if you don't hit your base % numbers but get your cals, is it still the same?

    Should it just add 200-300 cals or 1000?





    Caloric intake is key so you can sub macros of equal ratio. Macros just make it easy for you to count. Much easier to count 40 P, 40C,7F rather 383 cals. A protein is 4 cals a carb is 4 cal and a fat is 9 cals so I can sub carbs for protein and I can swap 2 proteins/carbs for 1 fat essentially. That's the beauty of flexible dieting. So if you out and you have to work some numbers to hit your caloric goals than do because the name of the game is cals in cals out.
  • JB035
    JB035 Posts: 336 Member
    @brettr23
    Thanks man.. I can see you've been on the block/zone before.

    That's pretty much what happened yesterday. I was busy all day and waking up from working nights I knew my time to eat eat short. So I ate high cal meals all day but missed my carb goal.
This discussion has been closed.