Trying to officially start IIFYM

kyleekay10

Posted this in Food & Nutrition, but no response, so posting here.

***

After reading several threads about IIFYM, I realized that I (more or less) was following that plan in my own mind. I still eat treats and drink alcohol, and just do my best to fit my cals/macros. I'm in the process of upping my calorie intake after realizing 1,200/day was too low for me and my goals, so I figured now would be a good time to try and incorporate IIFYM "officially".

My diary is open and my stats are below. I just upped my calories today to 1,490. Before that (the past 2 weeks), it was at 1,390. If you go through my diary you'll notice I tend to leave extra calories Monday-Thursday because I eat them back (and more) on the weekends.

Height: 5'5"
SW: 142lbs
CW: 122lbs (first goal made, this was as of 2 weeks ago)
UGW: 120lbs
Fitness Goals: Eat at a slight deficit to continue to burn fat, get enough protein and do enough strength training to maintain current lean body mass. I'm not interested in gaining muscle mass (for now anyway) and would like to become stronger/look more lean.

Here's what the IIFYM calculator gave me. This is still at 20% deficit from TDEE. I'll reduce the deficit as I become more comfortable eating more calories (I admittedly still have a mental hurdle to overcome regarding that).

Calories: 1,539
Carbs: 166g
Protein: 122g
Fat: 42g
Fiber: 24g (minimum)

I do light cardio 5 days/wk by walking on the treadmill at 3.5 mph, 15% incline, for around 45 minutes. I plan to lift at least 3 days per week. I'm still trying to get a good grasp on strength training, this week will look better than last week hopefully.

To those who do IIFYM- does this all seem like a good start? Any areas you'd tweak? Do you have any tips for me? Tips can be about anything regarding IIFYM... though nutrient dense snack suggestions would be much appreciated. :flowerforyou:

kyleekay10

I feel like people are afraid of these threads now. Bump?

sassabella

Posted this in Food & Nutrition, but no response, so posting here.

***

After reading several threads about IIFYM, I realized that I (more or less) was following that plan in my own mind. I still eat treats and drink alcohol, and just do my best to fit my cals/macros. I'm in the process of upping my calorie intake after realizing 1,200/day was too low for me and my goals, so I figured now would be a good time to try and incorporate IIFYM "officially".

My diary is open and my stats are below. I just upped my calories today to 1,490. Before that (the past 2 weeks), it was at 1,390. If you go through my diary you'll notice I tend to leave extra calories Monday-Thursday because I eat them back (and more) on the weekends.

Height: 5'5"
SW: 142lbs
CW: 122lbs (first goal made, this was as of 2 weeks ago)
UGW: 120lbs
Fitness Goals: Eat at a slight deficit to continue to burn fat, get enough protein and do enough strength training to maintain current lean body mass. I'm not interested in gaining muscle mass (for now anyway) and would like to become stronger/look more lean.

Here's what the IIFYM calculator gave me. This is still at 20% deficit from TDEE. I'll reduce the deficit as I become more comfortable eating more calories (I admittedly still have a mental hurdle to overcome regarding that).

Calories: 1,539
Carbs: 166g
Protein: 122g
Fat: 42g
Fiber: 24g (minimum)

I do light cardio 5 days/wk by walking on the treadmill at 3.5 mph, 15% incline, for around 45 minutes. I plan to lift at least 3 days per week. I'm still trying to get a good grasp on strength training, this week will look better than last week hopefully.

To those who do IIFYM- does this all seem like a good start? Any areas you'd tweak? Do you have any tips for me? Tips can be about anything regarding IIFYM... though nutrient dense snack suggestions would be much appreciated. :flowerforyou:

I feel like thats a really good start. I have also gradually upped my calorie intake and I completely understand about the fear of increasing them and the fact that you're unsure of how thats going to affect everything. However, having increased from 1,300 to about 1,500 I feel alot better and I have not gained. Considering you exercise very frequently I think that its important you're upping your intake. I personally workout six times a week and I am pretty glad I upped my calories because my body is fueled enough I enjoy exercise so its been important for me to make sure it is getting what it needs to support that!

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I feel like people are afraid of these threads now. Bump?

More likely it looks fine so they don't see any reason to comment.

Looks fine. :flowerforyou: Try it for a bit and see how you get on, adjust if needed.

kyleekay10

Thanks you two!

I did get a very detailed reply via PM which was helpful, so I suppose I'm good to go.

BeachIron

Officially? Is there some sort of induction ceremony that I missed? :grumble:

sleepy35758

Bump your calories up to at least 1650, you'll feel a lot better and be less likely to break down and cheat on your diet. As far as hitting all your macros everyday, you're going to realize how hard it is to hit your protein macro everyday. I'm at maintenance now at 2900 calories with a 40 carb, 35 protein, and 25 fat macro split and am having to supplement with protein powder to even come close (250 grams of protein is a lot). If you're intent at going around 1500 though, egg beaters and tuna are a great way to hit your protein macro without getting a lot of calories.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Officially? Is there some sort of induction ceremony that I missed? :grumble:

That's when you get your first poptart ice cream sandwich.

BeachIron

Officially? Is there some sort of induction ceremony that I missed? :grumble:

That's when you get your first poptart ice cream sandwich.

Hey! I didn't get no stink'n poptart ice cream sammich! :sad:

*off to raid the fridge*

stumblinthrulife

The great thing about IIFYM is that there aren't really many rules to follow.

Set your deficit, set your macros, and then eat to meet them. Keep it relatively balanced, eat some veg/fruit everyday, and you're golden. Enjoy!

magerum

Officially? Is there some sort of induction ceremony that I missed? :grumble:

That's when you get your first poptart ice cream sandwich.

Hey! I didn't get no stink'n poptart ice cream sammich! :sad:

*off to raid the fridge*

Clearly you're doing it wrong.

Rayman79

I didn't get mine either!! Ripped off.

OP, nothing seems out of place here. Mostly wholesome diet with a few treats at what would seem to be a decent caloric intake, strength training, some cardio and LISS.

Give it a try for a while and make small adjustments if needed. At this point you are probably not best to measure your progress by the scale though. You have so little weight to lose, and if you are starting to get into strength training, your progress should be measured through pics and measurements and not solely on the scale.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I do think you should at least try a higher intake. Personally my TDEE is only around 1900 even with lifting for an hour 4 days per week and doing an hour of cardio once a week. But yours may be higher so you do want to get your calories has high as you can while still losing. But just do what you're doing for a bit. You can gradually up your cals and see where you end up.

mrs_jorgenson

Nonfat dairy really can't be beat. Nonfat kefir, greek yogurt, and cottage cheese are all fridge staples. More often than not, I eat without tracking all day, then do it all before dinner and tweak the rest of the food for that day to fit my macros. As an above poster mentioned, protein is the hardest to nail down. I found that IIFYM got way easier when I got used to eating around 30g per meal. It sounds like you already have the hang of it, though!

kyleekay10

Bump your calories up to at least 1650, you'll feel a lot better and be less likely to break down and cheat on your diet. As far as hitting all your macros everyday, you're going to realize how hard it is to hit your protein macro everyday. I'm at maintenance now at 2900 calories with a 40 carb, 35 protein, and 25 fat macro split and am having to supplement with protein powder to even come close (250 grams of protein is a lot). If you're intent at going around 1500 though, egg beaters and tuna are a great way to hit your protein macro without getting a lot of calories.

I actually generally don't have an issue with protein, surprisingly. I'll be getting ~140g today which is nearly 20 more grams than my goal. I do love Tuna, though.

RE: Upping my calories even more, mentally, I struggle with that. I just went from 1,390 to 1,500 today. Slowly but surely I'll get higher up. :flowerforyou:

Raiderxx

You're on the right path.