IIFYM: Increasing Fat, Decrease Carbs

rckeeper22

Happy Tuesday everyone,

I generally eat pretty healthy, but taking a more focused approach to tracking with MFP has given me some deeper insights into my diet. I've been using IIFYM as a rough guideline for my macro break-down, but after tracking for about 2 weeks, I've noticed that while I can generally hit my protein goals, I'm having trouble hitting the carb targets, while I go over on fats.

I don't necessarily view this as a bad thing, since my fat sources are from eggs, meat, fish, and the olive oil I use to cook those items.

However, I was wondering if anyone had insight if there's a more fat-friendly ratio to use for IIFYM? Right now, I just eat my eggs and meat, and minimize carbs (beans, rice, oatmeal, etc) accordingly to accommodate the remaining allotment, but I wasn't sure if there was actually a ratio out there (beyond the usual IIFYM formula), or if I should keep feeling it out day by day.

I'd like to keep protein at 1g/lb of bodyweight, so for me, 147g of protein per day.

Background info on me:

Basic Stats: 5'8, 147 lbs, female
Activity level: Exercise 5x/week for between 1-2 hrs (lifting/steady-state cardio 3x per week, HITT-style workouts 2x/week).
Goal: Nothing weight-related; just looking to improve performance in the gym overall, and of course added muscle definition is always nice. If improvement causes the scale to go up (or down), it's not really something I'm worried about, as long as I'm happy looking in the mirror.

Thanks in advance.

TavistockToad

0.3 -0.4g per lb of bodyweight for fat I think

rckeeper22

I think that's the usual IIFYM formula, which is around 58g of fats for me. However, I routinely go over that by about 10g. I guess I was wondering if there's a 'fat-friendly' modification that's out there to be made to the formula. I know I can just manually fiddle with it, was just curious if anyone knew (or had experience with) something that had been developed as an off-shoot of IIFYM, versus me just messing around with numbers myself, hah.

Or if anyone else has similar experience, how it went for you.

I realize numbers are based on each person's individual needs, it just struck me as odd that I was falling so far short of the carb number the IIFYM calculators are generating for me.

TavistockToad

It doesn't really matter, macros are personal preference unless you're an elite athlete. Manually change your macros to whatever suits if it's above the 0.3-0.4 calculation.

cmriverside

That's about what I eat, too. Just change your goals

MY HOME > Goals >view guided setup

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided

rckeeper22

Thanks. That's what I was thinking, but it's nice to know I'm not crazy or wildly off the mark!

I'm getting my BMR and lean mass measured next week because I'm curious, so it'll probably help to have more precise numbers for all that too (one would hope).

cwolfman13

rckeeper22 wrote: »

Happy Tuesday everyone,

I generally eat pretty healthy, but taking a more focused approach to tracking with MFP has given me some deeper insights into my diet. I've been using IIFYM as a rough guideline for my macro break-down, but after tracking for about 2 weeks, I've noticed that while I can generally hit my protein goals, I'm having trouble hitting the carb targets, while I go over on fats.

I don't necessarily view this as a bad thing, since my fat sources are from eggs, meat, fish, and the olive oil I use to cook those items.

However, I was wondering if anyone had insight if there's a more fat-friendly ratio to use for IIFYM? Right now, I just eat my eggs and meat, and minimize carbs (beans, rice, oatmeal, etc) accordingly to accommodate the remaining allotment, but I wasn't sure if there was actually a ratio out there (beyond the usual IIFYM formula), or if I should keep feeling it out day by day.

I'd like to keep protein at 1g/lb of bodyweight, so for me, 147g of protein per day.

Background info on me:

Basic Stats: 5'8, 147 lbs, female
Activity level: Exercise 5x/week for between 1-2 hrs (lifting/steady-state cardio 3x per week, HITT-style workouts 2x/week).
Goal: Nothing weight-related; just looking to improve performance in the gym overall, and of course added muscle definition is always nice. If improvement causes the scale to go up (or down), it's not really something I'm worried about, as long as I'm happy looking in the mirror.

Thanks in advance.

You can change your macros to whatever you like...the "Y" in IIFYM is kind of important...their YOUR macros. There is no universally optimal macro breakdown. The formula you're getting from the website is just their default...that website isn't IIFYM...the website is simply capitalizing on the concept of looking at the overall breakdown of one's macros rather than demonizing this or that...there is nothing special or magical about the macro breakdown that website spits out.

Beyond that, 1 gram per Lb of body weight in protein is overkill...more than about 1 gram per Lb of LBM is doing nothing except making expensive glucose...and even then, if you're not a dedicated strength athlete, it's overkill but nothing wrong with it.

Macros are a very individual thing...an endurance athlete for example would have a vastly different optimal macro breakdown from a strength athlete...

lemurcat12

The default is what? 50% carbs, 30% fat, 20% protein (I always forget how fat and protein break down).

I think 40-30-30 works great and is popular, but it sounds like you may be seeking a bit more fat.

I'd say shift them to reflect how you like to eat? Fat vs. carbs is really a personal preference, it's protein that makes a difference (for muscle maintenance), and that is something like .65-.85 g per lb of goal weight (or current weight if you are only losing vanity lbs). I think percentages are not important, grams are a better measure, but MFP doesn't actually work it out by grams but has some default percentage.

rckeeper22

Hm, that's the first time I've heard an argument against the 1 g/ lb of BW for protein for physically-active folks, but I can understand the lean body mass argument. That's an interesting one to consider - appreciate the insight.

cmriverside

rckeeper22 wrote: »

Hm, that's the first time I've heard an argument against the 1 g/ lb of BW for protein for physically-active folks, but I can understand the lean body mass argument. That's an interesting one to consider - appreciate the insight.

Oh! I missed that part in your posts/my reply.

Yeah, that's an over-kill amount of protein, IMO.

No way I'm eating 140g of protein every day. Some days I do, but not every day.

I just use the default 50/30/20 and then I eat a little bit less on the carbs and a little bit more on fats. It's just my natural preference.

rckeeper22

I guess the 1g/lb of protein is what I've always seen from lifting websites, advice from friends who are very active, etc. I can accept that somewhere in the range of 0.8-1 g/lb - is probably fine, asa few folks have noted. I guess personally, I'm just more comfortable at least aiming for the higher end to fuel growth/recovery.

I do appreciate all the advice though! Makes me feel better for the days I don't hit protein as high. :-)

lemurcat12

Good compilation of information on protein from a well-respected site, if you are interested in exploring it: https://examine.com/nutrition/how-much-protein-do-i-need-every-day/

rckeeper22

lemurcat12 wrote: »

Good compilation of information on protein from a well-respected site, if you are interested in exploring it: https://examine.com/nutrition/how-much-protein-do-i-need-every-day/

lemurcat12 wrote: »

Good compilation of information on protein from a well-respected site, if you are interested in exploring it: https://examine.com/nutrition/how-much-protein-do-i-need-every-day/

Interesting article! Thanks for sharing it, and I'll have to check out more of that site as well. Makes sense, I probably should have prefaced that I prefer to keep my protein level high to support muscle growth/recovery with an active lifestyle, rather than because I think I need that much to maintain health in general.

inertiastrength

As long as you're getting min. fats who cares if you're over? I get 120g protein and carbs are anywhere between 170-200g whereas fats are consistently at 70. Could I eat less? Sure. Do I want to? Nope. The foods that I prefer to eat have me naturally fall here so why fix what isn't broke?

ETA: Provided it still works with your overall calories/goal

lemurcat12

rckeeper22 wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

Good compilation of information on protein from a well-respected site, if you are interested in exploring it: https://examine.com/nutrition/how-much-protein-do-i-need-every-day/

lemurcat12 wrote: »

Good compilation of information on protein from a well-respected site, if you are interested in exploring it: https://examine.com/nutrition/how-much-protein-do-i-need-every-day/

Interesting article! Thanks for sharing it, and I'll have to check out more of that site as well. Makes sense, I probably should have prefaced that I prefer to keep my protein level high to support muscle growth/recovery with an active lifestyle, rather than because I think I need that much to maintain health in general.

Just to make sure I'm clear, I'm not at all trying to push you to get less protein, I think there are various reasons to get more than "necessary" (however one defines that) protein, and didn't even realize you'd commented on protein until late in the thread as I focused on the other part of it (fat vs. carbs). But since it came up I thought you might find it interesting.

I think 1 g per lb is more than needed for muscle growth/recovery even then (for similar goals I aim for .8 g per lb when at a deficit, which is more than 1 g per lb of LBM for me), but plenty of people do well on higher (or somewhat lower) protein amounts, so I am not at all saying everyone should do what I do. Sometimes people think they must get more even if it's hard for them to manage, that's all.

(My impression was that you were more struggling with fat, not protein, so as the protein amount is working fine for you no need to change it. Re fat, I think you can just increase the fat macro some and decrease carbs or look at fat and protein as minimums and carbs as a maximum.)

rckeeper22

You're right, I was commenting more on the fat and carbs - and thanks for the tips on that.

The conversation just veered a bit into protein. I'm not necessarily trying to work at a deficit now, so 1g/lb, or at least aiming towards that, works well for me. I'm not going crazy trying to get it in if it doesn't fit for the day (I've tried that, and learned that there's only so much protein powder you can add to oatmeal before it becomes gross sludge . . .), but I try to maximize the intake when I can, and I feel pretty good about it. I don't have any concerns over my protein levels, hah, the conversation just got over to that area because there were a few different views.

You're spot on though, my concern was gathering advice WRT fats vs carbs, which folks have quite helpfully provided. :-)

cwolfman13

rckeeper22 wrote: »

Hm, that's the first time I've heard an argument against the 1 g/ lb of BW for protein for physically-active folks, but I can understand the lean body mass argument. That's an interesting one to consider - appreciate the insight.

Give this a read....

https://bayesianbodybuilding.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/

It lines up pretty well with my general thoughts and what I've researched...

There's certainly nothing wrong with more...but there's not a particular benefit to it either...

lemurcat12

rckeeper22 wrote: »

You're right, I was commenting more on the fat and carbs - and thanks for the tips on that.

The conversation just veered a bit into protein. I'm not necessarily trying to work at a deficit now, so 1g/lb, or at least aiming towards that, works well for me.

I actually think it's important to have more at a deficit, since that's when you risk losing muscle (also more for someone active, which I am, and a bit more if one is both active and at a deficit --but I think .8/lb is enough even then). So for me it's important to get .8g/lb (or so) when at deficit, and I don't worry about it when not at a deficit (But I often am at 100 g (which is my .8) anyway, since with maintenance calories it is easy, but I don't think it is so important.)

But like I said, not telling you to eat less protein! Just interested in this topic.

I think more protein can make it easy to hit the right calories, whether at deficit or maintenance, for many.