clean eating vs iffym

EvgeniZyntx

People who are clean eaters focus on eating whole foods… lean meats, healthy fats, veggies, fruits. They typically don't eat processed foods like cookies, chips, fast food, etc.

People who follow IIFYM focus on hitting their macros all while incorporating foods like cookies, chips, and fast food into their diet.

*Edited because of the MFP police.*

Actually, most 'clean eaters' diaries and the diaries of IIFYM'ers actually following IIFYM (rather than people's percieved notion of what IIFYM is) will be very similar.

IIFYM is not only about hitting macros.

Yes, I am aware that many clean eaters also follow IIFYM.

You should probably tell that to cwolfman.

That was not my point.

Don't know what your point is then.

Most clean eaters also follow IIFYM because they are tracking calories, staying under their calorie goal, and still hitting macros.

Wut? Perhaps most clean eaters that track calories on MFP or with other tools follow a macro approach. But in the real world, outside of MFP, most "clean" eaters don't track and if you don't track in some way (even if it is guesstimating in your head) you aren't following IIFYM.

Or are you now magically defining that "clean" eating includes macro tracking? Because it doesn't.

OP - "clean" eating considers ice cream is bad but yogurt and cheese might or might not be. (I still haven't had that one explained - I should start a thread). IIFYM is neutral on the question with a specific caveat - it focused on a calorie range for weight loss or gain and was initially a response to a "clean" eating style that would denigrate "bad" food. It isn't telling you that eating X is healthy or not - you actually have to add a more thinking.

Eating only fast food might fit IIFYM (but it isn't what IIFYM is recommending) - not very healthy with regards to micronutrients.
Eating "clean" means you can't have pizza or bread or hot dogs or noodles - eating only chicken might fit a "clean" definition but that too would not be very healthy (and it isn't what "clean" eating is recommending, either).

Reasonable approaches include a large food variety of fresh produce. One tells you never eat pizza, the other one tells you it matters less. One has an inconsistent definition of what is "clean".



The dietary style that is the most effective is the one that allows you, personally, to have long term adherence.

amusedmonkey

Both restrict calories and produce weight loss. iifym focuses on hitting certain macro targets regardless of their source (more freedom to fit in vanity foods, unless your chose to restrict something) and clean eating focuses on restricting certain types of food (different for every version of clean eating) but mostly try to stick to minimally processed varieties. Basically you can do both at once because the only thing about iifym is that you should hit your targets. You can do so by choosing to add processed foods or choosing to eliminate them.

For weight loss the one that is best is the one that works for you and you can stick to.

RWTBR

That is incorrect. Not everyone who does "clean eating" counts their calories or tracks macros. However, the counting is an essential principle of IIFYM. Duh.

Edit: And what you said about you following clean eating and IIFYM means that you follow BOTH. Not everyone who does clean eating follows IIFYM.

Clean eating means calorie counting as well. :huh:

No, IIFYM is not superior. Neither is clean eating. One is not better than the other. It's all personal preference.

Serah87

In.

Serah87

OP; I do 80% healthy foods, making sure I hit my macros and 20% of chocolates, ice cream, cookies, etc. :bigsmile:

J72FIT

The one that you'll stick with. :flowerforyou:

^^This...