IIFYM... Your Opinions Please??
Replies
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My pics are my results. I'm fat! :glasses:0
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IIFYM is not really a theory. it's just a clearer explanation of the reasons one should eat certain foods.
IIFYM focuses on what your body NEEDS for health. you need protein and fats for health. so you choose foods to help you meet those daily goals while still meeting your calorie goal.
all of the other "diets" obscure this basic fact by focusing on demonizing particular foods. they focus on the idea that you CANNOT eat certain foods and be "healthy". that's all they do. their false assumption is that just by avoiding the foods that they consider "bad " or "unhealthy", you will automatically give your body everything it needs w.r.t. macronutrients. this is nothing more than a leap of faith on their part. you don't really know unless you track your macros, and once you start doing that, you are following IIFYM, only with extra rules about of avoiding certain foods.
i put clean, paleo, primal, low card, low fat, gluten free, etc. into this latter category of "diets".
you can follow these "diets" if it makes you feel better (mentally) or if you have a medical condition that would benefit from their food restrictions, but you don't have to do so if you don't have a compelling reason to do so.0 -
I am hear for more than weight loss. Increasing my fitness and improving my health overall is more important to me than figuring out how to eat junk and look good.
Oh dear... It is really sad that people still misunderstand IIFYM... You should really do some research.
OP: IIFYM worked for me! To meet my macros I have to eat mostly clean, but when I make homemade peanut butter chocolate chip cookies I can eat them in moderation. I had an easy transition into maintenance (2 years maintaining). Honestly IIFYM was the only method I have tried where I could lose weight and MAINTAIN that loss.0 -
I have a hard enough time eating 70g of protein in a day, forget 157g! Nor do I see me eating 63g of fat and still losing weight. Wish I could make it work though.
Here's what you need to understand. Eating at a deficit makes you lose lean body mass. Eating protein and strength training helps to maintain lean body mass. 70g of protein is not adequate for these purposes. You need the extra protein. Drink a protein shake if you can not get enough in your daily diet.
Dietary fat does not create body fat. This is something that many people struggle with. Getting enough fat is necessary. Many vitamins and minerals are fat soluble. Without adequate dietary fat you will not absorb the vitamins and minerals that you need to be healthy.
You can make it work. Be careful, eat foods you enjoy, and try hard to meet your macros.
Yeah... I'm not so convinced on the super high protein anymore. Don't think it's bad, but don't think there is evidence it helps either.
Just because something is important and good, and not enough of it is bad, does not mean more of it is better.0 -
I have a hard enough time eating 70g of protein in a day, forget 157g! Nor do I see me eating 63g of fat and still losing weight. Wish I could make it work though.
Here's what you need to understand. Eating at a deficit makes you lose lean body mass. Eating protein and strength training helps to maintain lean body mass. 70g of protein is not adequate for these purposes. You need the extra protein. Drink a protein shake if you can not get enough in your daily diet.
Dietary fat does not create body fat. This is something that many people struggle with. Getting enough fat is necessary. Many vitamins and minerals are fat soluble. Without adequate dietary fat you will not absorb the vitamins and minerals that you need to be healthy.
You can make it work. Be careful, eat foods you enjoy, and try hard to meet your macros.
Yeah... I'm not so convinced on the super high protein anymore. Don't think it's bad, but don't think there is evidence it helps either.
Just because something is important and good, and not enough of it is bad, does not mean more of it is better.
Here's some research, more where this comes from indicating that higher protein intakes are beneficial:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/823505-research-on-protien-intake0 -
I clicked on here just to find out what IIFYM was, and it's totally my philosophy! It's all about portion control and planning for me. Yep, I counted out 21 Doritos today. Realistically I'm going to eat chips, ice cream, sunflower seeds, popcorn and birthday cake for the rest of my life..... I can plan a little, be happy with portioning, and never be angry with my healthy choices. I can have my cake and eat it too....sometimes
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I had a hard time with protein at first, also with going over carbs. It turns out carbs are my favorite thing ever. So I went from vegetarian to pescetarian and meet my protein with fish and occasional protein powder with water.
I like IIFYM because I like crap food, and I can fit in one or two small treats with the healthy stuff with this method. Today my treat is a serving of tater tots(frozen, way less cals when I bake them than fast food fried ones). My rule is to be within 10 grams of fat and carbs either way, and no more than 10 grams under protein but over is fine if I'm in the green on calories.
I stopped tracking sugar because it freaks me out and 90% of my sugar comes from fruit, so I'm seeing if I can lose weight without tracking that and so far it works. Still working on sodium intake lol, 2500 doesn't happen often but it's easy to drink more water when I track in advance and see that my sodium for the day is high.
It is also worth mentioning that you have to change MFP's default macro amounts because they aren't at the best ratio. Not that there is one "best" ratio that works for everyone but some starting points I have heard mentioned repeatedly are 40:40:20 or 40:30:20 for protein:carbs:fat.0 -
Track fiber instead of sugar.I had a hard time with protein at first, also with going over carbs. It turns out carbs are my favorite thing ever. So I went from vegetarian to pescetarian and meet my protein with fish and occasional protein powder with water.
I like IIFYM because I like crap food, and I can fit in one or two small treats with the healthy stuff with this method. Today my treat is a serving of tater tots(frozen, way less cals when I bake them than fast food fried ones). My rule is to be within 10 grams of fat and carbs either way, and no more than 10 grams under protein but over is fine if I'm in the green on calories.
I stopped tracking sugar because it freaks me out and 90% of my sugar comes from fruit, so I'm seeing if I can lose weight without tracking that and so far it works. Still working on sodium intake lol, 2500 doesn't happen often but it's easy to drink more water when I track in advance and see that my sodium for the day is high.
It is also worth mentioning that you have to change MFP's default macro amounts because they aren't at the best ratio. Not that there is one "best" ratio that works for everyone but some starting points I have heard mentioned repeatedly are 40:40:20 or 40:30:20 for protein:carbs:fat.0 -
I have a hard enough time eating 70g of protein in a day, forget 157g! Nor do I see me eating 63g of fat and still losing weight. Wish I could make it work though.
Here's what you need to understand. Eating at a deficit makes you lose lean body mass. Eating protein and strength training helps to maintain lean body mass. 70g of protein is not adequate for these purposes. You need the extra protein. Drink a protein shake if you can not get enough in your daily diet.
Dietary fat does not create body fat. This is something that many people struggle with. Getting enough fat is necessary. Many vitamins and minerals are fat soluble. Without adequate dietary fat you will not absorb the vitamins and minerals that you need to be healthy.
You can make it work. Be careful, eat foods you enjoy, and try hard to meet your macros.
Yeah... I'm not so convinced on the super high protein anymore. Don't think it's bad, but don't think there is evidence it helps either.
Just because something is important and good, and not enough of it is bad, does not mean more of it is better.
Here's some research, more where this comes from indicating that higher protein intakes are beneficial:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/823505-research-on-protien-intake
I am not finding any info in those links, just abstracts that don't quite state what the list claims they state, and certainly no methodologies or sample sizes.
Sigh...
And it only occurred to me to question this dogma because its hard to get as much protein as I used to now that I'm in Japan, and I have been cutting harder than normal, and I've been doing fine in the lean mass and strength retention department.0 -
It really depends on how you classify 'high' protein and 'benefits'.
The American Dietetics Association recommendation of 0.8g/kg of BW is for a sedentary individual. Regular exercises will likely see benefits from about 50% more protein (1.2g/kg) and serious athletes can easily double that (1.7g/kg).
People seem to forget that skeletal muscle protein synthesis is driven by gene expression, NOT protein intake. You have to train hard to cause muscle growth and repair. Having a supply of amino acids can come from a high protein intake, but it can also come from a protein intake that matches the requirements for athletes and enough fat and carbohydrates to spare the protein so it isn't used for energy. That's also why you generally need a bit of an excess of calories to build muscle or a very modest deficit to lose fat while maintaining muscle. That's another reason training is so important--your body will put those amino acids to use in protein synthesis rather than shunting them away to gluconeogenesis or the Krebs cycle to make energy.
What are the benefits? Increased satiety and improved bone density (as long as you have adequate calcium). Notice that this list does not include magically bulging biceps.
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It really depends on how you classify 'high' protein and 'benefits'.
The American Dietetics Association recommendation of 0.8g/kg of BW is for a sedentary individual. Regular exercises will likely see benefits from about 50% more protein (1.2g/kg) and serious athletes can easily double that (1.7g/kg).
People seem to forget that skeletal muscle protein synthesis is driven by gene expression, NOT protein intake. You have to train hard to cause muscle growth and repair. Having a supply of amino acids can come from a high protein intake, but it can also come from a protein intake that matches the requirements for athletes and enough fat and carbohydrates to spare the protein so it isn't used for energy. That's also why you generally need a bit of an excess of calories to build muscle or a very modest deficit to lose fat while maintaining muscle. That's another reason training is so important--your body will put those amino acids to use in protein synthesis rather than shunting them away to gluconeogenesis or the Krebs cycle to make energy.
What are the benefits? Increased satiety and improved bone density (as long as you have adequate calcium). Notice that this list does not include magically bulging biceps.
Those figures are lower than the oft cited 1-2 grams per POUND BW, or even the 1g per pound lean mass figure.
Eminently reasonable.0 -
It really depends on how you classify 'high' protein and 'benefits'.
The American Dietetics Association recommendation of 0.8g/kg of BW is for a sedentary individual. Regular exercises will likely see benefits from about 50% more protein (1.2g/kg) and serious athletes can easily double that (1.7g/kg).
People seem to forget that skeletal muscle protein synthesis is driven by gene expression, NOT protein intake. You have to train hard to cause muscle growth and repair. Having a supply of amino acids can come from a high protein intake, but it can also come from a protein intake that matches the requirements for athletes and enough fat and carbohydrates to spare the protein so it isn't used for energy. That's also why you generally need a bit of an excess of calories to build muscle or a very modest deficit to lose fat while maintaining muscle. That's another reason training is so important--your body will put those amino acids to use in protein synthesis rather than shunting them away to gluconeogenesis or the Krebs cycle to make energy.
What are the benefits? Increased satiety and improved bone density (as long as you have adequate calcium). Notice that this list does not include magically bulging biceps.
Those figures are lower than the oft cited 1-2 grams per POUND BW, or even the 1g per pound lean mass figure.
Eminently reasonable.
1g/lb lbm isn't too far off from double the RDA in people who aren't already lean. 2g/lb bw is ridiculous IMO, I agree with you there. I'd consider checking out the protein Roundtable videos as its basically a discussion going over research examining protein intakes and it also covers contextual differences that would raise or lower protein requirements.0 -
I read on the site that you have to eat all of the fat carbs and protein..... how do you eat all of the protein without using a protein shake?
Tuna, salmon, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, eggs, chicken, turkey, beef... and so on0 -
It really depends on how you classify 'high' protein and 'benefits'.
The American Dietetics Association recommendation of 0.8g/kg of BW is for a sedentary individual. Regular exercises will likely see benefits from about 50% more protein (1.2g/kg) and serious athletes can easily double that (1.7g/kg).
People seem to forget that skeletal muscle protein synthesis is driven by gene expression, NOT protein intake. You have to train hard to cause muscle growth and repair. Having a supply of amino acids can come from a high protein intake, but it can also come from a protein intake that matches the requirements for athletes and enough fat and carbohydrates to spare the protein so it isn't used for energy. That's also why you generally need a bit of an excess of calories to build muscle or a very modest deficit to lose fat while maintaining muscle. That's another reason training is so important--your body will put those amino acids to use in protein synthesis rather than shunting them away to gluconeogenesis or the Krebs cycle to make energy.
What are the benefits? Increased satiety and improved bone density (as long as you have adequate calcium). Notice that this list does not include magically bulging biceps.
Those figures are lower than the oft cited 1-2 grams per POUND BW, or even the 1g per pound lean mass figure.
Eminently reasonable.
The 1-2g/lb BW was perpetuated by professional bodybuilders long before steroids became illicit in the competition world. When you are using steroids, you increase gene expression to a maximum so you will actually utilize a majority of those amino acids for protein synthesis. In a normal person, whatever isn't used for p.s. will just be used for energy
That being said, the 1.7g/kg is close to the 1g/lb, but that is for serious athletes. They really do need more carbohydrates than the average person as well.0 -
It really depends on how you classify 'high' protein and 'benefits'.
The American Dietetics Association recommendation of 0.8g/kg of BW is for a sedentary individual. Regular exercises will likely see benefits from about 50% more protein (1.2g/kg) and serious athletes can easily double that (1.7g/kg).
People seem to forget that skeletal muscle protein synthesis is driven by gene expression, NOT protein intake. You have to train hard to cause muscle growth and repair. Having a supply of amino acids can come from a high protein intake, but it can also come from a protein intake that matches the requirements for athletes and enough fat and carbohydrates to spare the protein so it isn't used for energy. That's also why you generally need a bit of an excess of calories to build muscle or a very modest deficit to lose fat while maintaining muscle. That's another reason training is so important--your body will put those amino acids to use in protein synthesis rather than shunting them away to gluconeogenesis or the Krebs cycle to make energy.
What are the benefits? Increased satiety and improved bone density (as long as you have adequate calcium). Notice that this list does not include magically bulging biceps.
Those figures are lower than the oft cited 1-2 grams per POUND BW, or even the 1g per pound lean mass figure.
Eminently reasonable.
The 1-2g/lb BW was perpetuated by professional bodybuilders long before steroids became illicit in the competition world. When you are using steroids, you increase gene expression to a maximum so you will actually utilize a majority of those amino acids for protein synthesis. In a normal person, whatever isn't used for p.s. will just be used for energy
That being said, the 1.7g/kg is close to the 1g/lb, but that is for serious athletes. They really do need more carbohydrates than the average person as well.
Used for energy, and also used to feed some pretty raunchy gut flora. Protein overload farts are the worst!0 -
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I eat mostly IIFYM I think (well, sometimes I'm a bit over on carbs, but still under MFP's default goal). It works much better for me than when I was trying to eat clean.0
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Here is a great video imo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6H2edyPLU8
Lane Norton IIFYM vs Clean eating
For me IIFYM is all about not depriving myself of those things I love. Of course in order to hit my macros I do have to eat certain thing daily people may consider "clean" but at the same time I have so much room for those other things I love daily like bacon, ice cream, tons of pb, pizza, tacos etc....
I consider it a lifestyle not a diet.
I agree with all of this. So many people seem to think IIFYM means eat whatever you want which is simply not true. The video you cite does a good job in clarifying what IIFYM means.0 -
I ascribe to this method, because I've found I do better when allowing myself the things I like. In the past, when I've said I'm not going to eat food x anymore, I only crave it more, and ultimately end up caving, which for me creates a vicious cycle. I feel like IIFYM dovetails nicely with "all things in moderation". That being said, there are certain foods I just try to stay away from, because I can't stop at a serving.
Also, with using IIFYM, you don't have the guilt associated with eating something forbidden.0 -
IIFYM.com has a decent IIFYM calculator. I am not sure about the rest of the site, although the macro calculator does not seem to work properly unless I am inputting something wrong.
IIFYM itself - this does work and works well for me.0 -
IIFYM.com has a decent IIFYM calculator. I am not sure about the rest of the site, although the macro calculator does not seem to work properly unless I am inputting something wrong.
IIFYM itself - this does work and works well for me.
Are you talking about the protein/pound not working right? If so, are you using the bodyfat % option to calculate TDEE? If so, it does 1 gram/lb of lbm instead of per lb of body weight.0 -
IIFYM.com has a decent IIFYM calculator. I am not sure about the rest of the site, although the macro calculator does not seem to work properly unless I am inputting something wrong.
IIFYM itself - this does work and works well for me.
Are you talking about the protein/pound not working right? If so, are you using the bodyfat % option to calculate TDEE? If so, it does 1 gram/lb of lbm instead of per lb of body weight.
Correct. That is odd as it does not indicate that - but yes, the math works if I take my LBM instead. If I do not put my BF%, the TDEE comes out way too low, but the protein number works.
Thanks0 -
I have figured this out! and LOVE it!!! At first I was putting in my current weight and putting that I workout 5 days a week and my protein intake was 243g.... which is way tooooo much I think.... when I put in my body fat percentage instead the numbers that I came up with were way more realistic!! Can't wait to see how my body reacts to this 0
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