Anyone using the IIFYM program?

sceleste54

I hate to invest in something without some reviews? I have done low carb and kept in the past but for some reason it's not working well for me now. I would appreciate any feedback

FIT_Goat

For most people, low-carb is an IIFYM program. You just have set your macros for low carbs, moderate protein, and the rest from fat. Beyond that, if your food fits within your macros, you are allowed to have it.

Now, if you're talking the specific IIFYM diet, that's going to be really high carb even at fairly low calories. That is not something I would recommend paying any money towards. For example, they recommend 480 grams of carbs, 145 grams of protein, and 74 grams of fat for me. Their calories are spot on (2800 which is about what I eat), but the macro breakdown doesn't work for me. I'm closer to 145 grams of protein (so we're good there), 247 grams of fat, and 0 grams of carbs.

I have seen worse recommendations. LOL, I posted one specific (job-related) recommendation that says during certain periods of intense work (when my calorie needs are through the roof 6000+), I should be eating 1000-1100 grams of carbs a day (4,000-4,400 calories/day)! That's more than twice most people's total calories just from carbs.

kpk54

I've set my macros to favor what I've determined is best for me (LCHF with no emphasis on being in ketosis) so from that perspective I do IIFYM. Out of interest, I plugged some stats into the IIFYM site and it spit out (for maintenance at 140 pounds, female, 64, 30 minutes of light activity per day) and this is what I got:

1491 calories
119 grams of protein
128 carbs
56 fats

Today, this is me:
~1500 calories
~ 50 carb grams
~ 100 protein grams
~ 100 fat grams

This is what I ate (on average) towards the end of my weight loss phase:
1427 calories
105 grams of protein
128 carbs
55 grams fat

So not much different than IIFYM suggestion in scenario #1 to maintain. Why? The key for me so far as being able to lose around 1400 calories was I used exercise to boost my calorie burn (more than the 30 minutes I plugged into scenario #1). Nothing intense but consistent (60-90 minutes of brisk walks or 60-90 minutes of aerobics or stationary recumbent. I generally threw in some squats and lunges and "girl" push-ups (on knees versus toes) or pilates. I have ample time in my days and eating very low calorie was not something I wanted to do. Been there, done that earlier in my dieting.

Now look what IIFYM recommends further into their site:
Step 1: get a free account on MFP
Step 2: get a food scale and use it
Step 3: weigh and enter your food intake in MFP
Step 4: review your log and adjust.

Unless paying for something is going to improve your compliance or increase your daily motivation, why pay for it? It appears to be very similar to MFP with the default macro allocation being different.

Set you calories in MFP and adjust your macros to your liking. Follow steps 1 through 4 above. I know I sound like a broken record but if weight loss is your primary interest and you have no complicating health issues...it is: calorie deficit for weight loss, macros for health, fitness goals, satiety.

As a side: I ran another scenario in IIFYM with 25 pounds added and desire to lose to 140. All it did was reduce my calories and increase protein/fat (119 and 67 respectively) and decrease carbs to 78.

TLDR: IIFYM appears to be a decent program. It will work only if you are honest about your intake/activity and follow Steps 1-4 above. That is true of most (if not all) weight loss programs.

kirkor

man, sidebar, but it kills me that someone was actually able to *brand* IIFYM

Sabine_Stroehm

kirkor wrote: »

man, sidebar, but it kills me that someone was actually able to *brand* IIFYM

Heh. I was just thinking the same thing.