IIFYM and Calories are just calories question

Natmarie73

Sooooo, I have visited the IIFYM site and read all about this method of dieting and have one question...

If a calorie is just a calorie and you will lose weight as long as you eat less calories than you use as people following this method say, then why do individual macros matter? What would be the point of having X calories as Carbs or Y calories as Fat? Why wouldn't I be able to lose weight on 100% fat or 100% protein etc etc as long as I kept the total amount below my TDEE?

Not meant to be inflammatory at all I genuinely would like to know the relationship of the macros to the total calorie amount as when I had a fiddle with the calculator (out of curiousity) I had no idea of what to put in that part.

So why are the individual macros so important if the only thing that matters is you eat less than you burn to lose weight or eat more than you burn to gain.

abadvat

If a calorie is just a calorie and you will lose weight as long as you eat less calories than you use as people following this method say, then why do individual macros matter? What would be the point of having X calories as Carbs or Y calories as Fat? Why wouldn't I be able to lose weight on 100% fat or 100% protein etc etc as long as I kept the total amount below my TDEE?

Your approach is taking into consideration calories as opposed to Macro nutrients.
Your body requires a certain amount of P,C and F which are calculated from your TDEE, body composition and the goals you are looking into achieving.
Eating only P, only C or only F would eventually filling your daily macro requirements and the excess would be eventually transformed into fat. It would additionally deprive your body of required macro nutrients.

In my case I take into consideration my TDEE, body composition, physical activity and eventually goal i have fixed myself.
Basing myself on calories it would be difficult to achieve that target.
Calculating my P,C and F and monitoring it every 2 weeks ensures me i have fixed the right macro nutrients and they are aligned to my end goal.

David_AUS

Your body needs a fuel blend - Your goal might be to lose weight (hopefully mostly fat) but the body needs to replace cells all over the body all the time and it needs the right building blocks to re-build skin, hair, nails, blood cell, repair bruises and cuts etc... the body can build some blocks but not all - Protein is about half your "dry" body weight and needs to be in the diet for the body to repair itself, it is not the most efficient energy source for energy needed for muscles is where carbohydrates and fats kick in. Also all calories are not created equal the body is engineered to use the fuel it is given - lets say you load up with Protein - the body will see this as an abundant energy source and (inefficiently mind you) convert protein to glucose and burn this for body heat etc... you will spike insulin levels and convert at least some of this excess protein to energy stores. So as counter intuitive as it sounds you need to consume fat in your diet to burn fat stores. Without going into a full biochemistry lesson you can tweak the ratios to gear a certain result but you really need Fat, Protein and Carbs in a balanced diet - where and how you choose to consume these is a whole other topic.

HappyStack

All macros are needed in varying amounts for a healthy diet.

Moderate-high protein intake is good for controlling blood sugar, good for keeping you sated and is one of the essential blocks for building lean mass, as well as being protein-sparing.
Fat is essential, full stop.
Carbs are protein-sparing, they're great for energy and help you maintain workout intensity.

Overall calorie intake is more important for weight loss than the ratio of macros you take in... but for body recomposition, those macros are important.

hmaddpear

As HappyStack says, proteins are the building blocks of the body and, as such, we require a minimum amount in our diet to keep replacing cells that have died off. Fats are essential for hormone production, and there are a number of vitamins which are fat soluble - vitamins A, D, E and K - if your diet was completely devoid of dietary fat you would not be able to absorb meaningful quantities of these nutrients and you would get very sick.

Carbs are not strictly, in a biochemical sense, necessary. But they provide lots of energy, meaning that the body doesn't have to burn essential proteins or fats to get that energy. The energy release is also quicker, which is good if you need to run (or lift or bike... )

A balanced diet, therefore, is essential.


(ETA: proof read fail.)

Natmarie73

Thanks for the replies all,

So if I was looking to recomp ie lose some excess body fat and build muscle, or at least maintain muscle what would be the minimum recommended split between carbs and fat? I prefer to eat more fat than carbs and the recommended IIFYM carbs are I think way to high for me.

Achrya

Thanks for the replies all,

So if I was looking to recomp ie lose some excess body fat and build muscle, or at least maintain muscle what would be the minimum recommended split between carbs and fat? I prefer to eat more fat than carbs and the recommended IIFYM carbs are I think way to high for me.

Protein around .8g per pound of body weight
Fat around .4-.45g per pound of body weight
Fill the rest with carbs or more protein or more fat. Whatever floats your boat.

hmaddpear

Protein around .8g per pound of body weight
Fat around .4-.45g per pound of body weight
Fill the rest with carbs or more protein or more fat. Whatever floats your boat.

This.

Personally I do better with fat than carbs (to keep me from feeling hungry etc.), so I've adjusted my macros so I get approx equal grams of each. It's about 25% P, 25% C, 50% F. Doing well so far. Though some days I crave a more carb heavy diet. I blame hormones...

californiabella

:drinker: been wondering about this for so long now as well.
#saved for future reference

rocknlotsofrolls

I believe it goes like this:

You can lose weight eating whatever you want as long as you count calories, even if you want to blow the whole days worth of calories by eating chocolate cake, but you will suffer later on in life when you start having health problems.

On the other hand, you could eat your whole days worth eating tofu salads and carrot sticks, but I personally would be one mean son of a gun if that's all I could eat.

So I believe the best way to do it is to eat your macros, and include some indulging foods too, without going over your calorie limit.

fast_eddie_72

I thought it was confusing too. Still do. My admission of such was not met with the thoughtful explanations yours has been, however. I do love this thread, though, as it proves the point I was trying to make - it's a potentially misleading way of putting it. I do get the point it's intended to make, however, that you can lose weight without eliminating foods you love from your diet. Just work the rest of your diet around to make them fit. And I completely agree with that.

rocknlotsofrolls

I thought it was confusing too. Still do. My admission of such was not met with the thoughtful explanations yours has been, however. I do love this thread, though, as it proves the point I was trying to make - it's a potentially misleading way of putting it. I do get the point it's intended to make, however, that you can lose weight without eliminating foods you love from your diet. Just work the rest of your diet around to make them fit. And I completely agree with that.

right on!

FoxyLifter

It's weight loss vs body composition.

CICO means that you will lose weight as long as you eat less than what you burn.

IIFYM means you have protein and fat goals to help get/keep a leaner body composition.

Micros are important too for overall health.

If you have left over calories at the end of the day and you've met your macro/micros, feel free to have a treat as long as you are still within you calorie goal. :drinker:

Natmarie73

Protein around .8g per pound of body weight
Fat around .4-.45g per pound of body weight
Fill the rest with carbs or more protein or more fat. Whatever floats your boat.

Oh thanks for that! The way I read it was that if you follow the IIFYM guidelines you shouldn't have any spare macros left over?

Glad to know I'm not the only confused one about this.

CICO = calories in calories out I presume?

I have plugged in some data to the IIFYM macros and it has come back with the following: -

TDEE = 1790 cals (based on excersising 3 x per week - usually I will do 6 days but this is just in case...)
15% deficit for fat loss = 1520 cals
Protein = 75.9g based on 0.8g per pound
Fat = 42.7g
Carbs = 208.5g.

I think yhe carbs are too high and I might split carbs and fat 50/50 - would that still assist in losing fat and maintaining lean muscle as long as I excersise and keep the cals under control?

HappyStack

I thought it was confusing too. Still do. My admission of such was not met with the thoughtful explanations yours has been, however. I do love this thread, though, as it proves the point I was trying to make - it's a potentially misleading way of putting it. I do get the point it's intended to make, however, that you can lose weight without eliminating foods you love from your diet. Just work the rest of your diet around to make them fit. And I completely agree with that.

The problem arises when people don't ask more detailed questions. It's easy to give everyone the exact same advice; "eat IIFYM style, more calories, more protein, lift weights and do moderate cardio on off-days for recovery and general cardiovascular health."

But then you get, "I don't want to lift..." or "I prefer to run..." or "I have dietary restrictions..." or "I can't eat that much!" or the dreaded, "but I don't want to look bulky..."

Ask us how to lose weight and we'll tell you. Not everyone cares about their body composition, as long as their weight reads a specific number on the scale (women particularly). Is it unfortunate? yes. Is it silly? yes. But it's the bitter truth.

The people who are fortunate enough to have the wherewithal to read the stickies, and see the success women have had with lifting and developing incredible bodies, ask those questions and they get better answers.

I think yhe carbs are too high and I might split carbs and fat 50/50 - would that still assist in losing fat and maintaining lean muscle as long as I excersise and keep the cals under control?

Yes. Personally I think 0.8g is too little protein if you're going to lift, but see how you go.
Carb grams are calculated by what's left over in calories when your protein and fat needs are determined.

You don't have to hit this number, and the protein & fat numbers are just guidelines. You can go over those if you want to. I think you'll be surprised at how many grams of carbs are in things, though... 200g is a fairly moderate amount.

msf74

Your calorie level determines whether you gain, lose or maintain the same body weight and how you perform in training.

Your macros sit underneath this and ensures you get sufficient nutrition within that calorie level. Your macros are largely determined by the type of training you are doing and what you are hoping to achieve (so body recomp, endurance training, general health will have different macros)

IIFYM is a tool to help you make appropriate food choice within the structure above. That is all.

People make this waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too complicated.