"It doesn't matter what you eat, IIFYM."
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Yea...ya'll don't know what IIFYM really mean
Its not a case of ignorance it more of people knowing themselves and what works for them versus what triggers a bad habit.
I mean, after eating a healthy diet of lean meats, fruits and veggies a person is left with 150-250 calories to deal with is it possible to meet those remaining macros by eating 3/4 of a snickers bar or 2 1/3 oreos? Mathematically yes. However, for most people that's a slippery slope.
We can chide them for a lack of will, shame them for not being strong enough to throw away that 1/4 of candy bar away. Or they can simply make it a non issue and not tempt themselves.
If it were as little as 150 to 200 calories, I personally would not worry about filling them. I would just stop there and call it a day.0 -
So you witnessed them putting it in? Or are you just going off the label? Understand there's a difference of an actual measurement you do personally and one that's generalized on a package.
If you ate meals that weren't prepped by you, then how do you know how much sodium was actually in them?
So in other words, less sodium. Which is a water retainer.
So you either ate less, or worked out more to lose actual tissue weight. Or your sodium was probably reduced, which is what I'm assuming since you ate your meals.In my experience, it definitely does matter. For my first 50 pounds lost, I ate the same every day, Weight Watchers meals, low cal noodles, etc. Then I suddenly stopped losing.. So this week I tried something different, fruit smoothies in the morning, homemade chicken and vegetable soup for lunch, chicken and a plate of veg for dinner, fruit smoothie in the evening, and plenty of water. I have lost over 5 pounds this week alone..
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
I don't ever work out. And I haven't been eating less, just cleaner
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Nope, I've always watched my sodium, and never even come close to reaching my daily sodium limit
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
From the sodium content.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Hey, know-it-all. I never actually asked for your advice or opinion. I was answering the OP's question, so wrap it up sodium police..0 -
Nutrition Professor lost 27 lbs. on "TWINKIE DIET" here's the link:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html0 -
Why does this logic come up in these discussions? Where did anyone say you IIFYM translates to "living off of ice cream"?That thought process leads to over eating ( empty carbs ) and fatness
I'm sorry but you wont see well conditioned athletes living off of ice cream as long as it fits with in their numbers..
Do they have a bowl every now and then I am sure they do .. But they don't go from eating syrupy pancakes from ihop to mc donalds for lunch to nachos for dinner and be able to perform/look like they do .
^^^
Exactly.
The whole FYM part - Fits Your Macros - will dictate that you simply cannot meet your dietary needs from ice cream alone. Or, in fact from a whole lot of ice cream. You'll go over in fat and carbs really fast.
As you said yourself, eating a bowl every now and then is fine. That's kind of the point - not getting too obsessed on "bad" foods (or "good" foods, either), but simply eating meals that are relatively balanced (and not necessarily each meal - relatively balanced could mean relatively balanced for the week) and within calorie and macro goals.
Some people need (or think they need) very strict definition of what foods to eat. If that method works for them, that's fine. But it is incorrect to assume or propagate that idea is the best method for all.0 -
QFT. People's ratio for macros are different, but IIFYM people do what it takes to hit them and most do it by eating 80/20.I haven't read every post, so this might have already been said, but "IIFYM" isn't the same as "It doesn't matter what you eat."
If you're hitting your macros, especially if they're not the default MFP macros, you're eating pretty darn good. You're getting the right balance of macronutrients. It's in the name.
You're not going to hit your macros eating nothing but Twinkies.
The macros on the half a pizza I love so much is about 60% carbs, 25% fat and 15% protein (which is MFP's defaults). That's doesn't fit my overall goals of 50-25-25, so I have to watch what else I eat that day or week to balance it out.
When I get more protein and less carbs in my other meals of the day, the pizza does fit my macros.
If I had a bagel for breakfast and PB&J for lunch, pizza wouldn't fit my macros.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
However the majority of those on here that are trying to lose weight and are fighting that daily struggle I think is bad advice to give out..
I think it's bad advice to tell people they can't fit the occasional treat into their diet. There are a lot of people that end up binge-eating because of craving things they think they can't have. It's better to teach people how they can still eat things they enjoy in a way that is healthy.
You're assuming over complicating what I said .. I never said that.. Nothing wrong with a treat now and then but treats are double edge swords..
Either strictly clean or IIFYM its all mind over matter, and you need to be informed and know the difference between good and bad decisions..
I gave a direct quote of what you said. An occasional treat is NOT a bad decision. A whole package of Oreos (or even just a sleeve) is a bad decision.0 -
Actually you'd be surprised. If a competitive athlete trains for 5 hours a day for their sport, and another hour or so with strength training or endurance training of some type, they CAN'T have their stomach full (really no one can when intensely training). So if their intake was say 8,000 calories a day (not unusual) they would have to be eating ALL throughout the day if just eating "clean" foods and realistically that's not happening. Foods that are less dense but contain high calories suffices so they don't go around all day stuffed.That thought process leads to over eating ( empty carbs ) and fatness
I'm sorry but you wont see well conditioned athletes living off of ice cream as long as it fits with in their numbers..
Do they have a bowl every now and then I am sure they do .. But they don't go from eating syrupy pancakes from ihop to mc donalds for lunch to nachos for dinner and be able to perform/look like they do .
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Yep, athletes I know make sure to hit their protein macro every day and try to eat as much as they can without being stuffed. Which means A LOT of simple carbs.
Eating clean as a concept breaks when the daily calorie burn rate goes high enough.0 -
So you witnessed them putting it in? Or are you just going off the label? Understand there's a difference of an actual measurement you do personally and one that's generalized on a package.
If you ate meals that weren't prepped by you, then how do you know how much sodium was actually in them?
So in other words, less sodium. Which is a water retainer.
So you either ate less, or worked out more to lose actual tissue weight. Or your sodium was probably reduced, which is what I'm assuming since you ate your meals.In my experience, it definitely does matter. For my first 50 pounds lost, I ate the same every day, Weight Watchers meals, low cal noodles, etc. Then I suddenly stopped losing.. So this week I tried something different, fruit smoothies in the morning, homemade chicken and vegetable soup for lunch, chicken and a plate of veg for dinner, fruit smoothie in the evening, and plenty of water. I have lost over 5 pounds this week alone..
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
I don't ever work out. And I haven't been eating less, just cleaner
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Nope, I've always watched my sodium, and never even come close to reaching my daily sodium limit
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
From the sodium content.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Hey, know-it-all. I never actually asked for your advice or opinion. I was answering the OP's question, so wrap it up sodium police..
Wow.
You said "it definitely does matter". It doesn't. You gave an example of why you believed it mattered. But, you missed some very important things when you gave that example. You don't need to get all bent out of shape when others point out the things you missed.0 -
I haven't read every post, so this might have already been said, but "IIFYM" isn't the same as "It doesn't matter what you eat."
If you're hitting your macros, especially if they're not the default MFP macros, you're eating pretty darn good. You're getting the right balance of macronutrients. It's in the name.
You're not going to hit your macros eating nothing but Twinkies.
The macros on the half a pizza I love so much is about 60% carbs, 25% fat and 15% protein (which is MFP's defaults). That's doesn't fit my overall goals of 50-25-25, so I have to watch what else I eat that day or week to balance it out.
When I get more protein and less carbs in my other meals of the day, the pizza does fit my macros.
If I had a bagel for breakfast and PB&J for lunch, pizza wouldn't fit my macros.
I understand your point, but I've seen many posts asking for nutritional advice answered with "as long as it fits your macros don't worry about it", which is ridiculous advice as a stand alone statement.
I could hit my macros with nothing other than vegetable oil, protein powder and table sugar.0 -
Sorry if it offended you, but your post was that you didn't change anything but your food choices and kept the calories the same. If what I post helps to inform people, or you for that matter you shouldn't take it offensively.
So you witnessed them putting it in? Or are you just going off the label? Understand there's a difference of an actual measurement you do personally and one that's generalized on a package.
If you ate meals that weren't prepped by you, then how do you know how much sodium was actually in them?
So in other words, less sodium. Which is a water retainer.
So you either ate less, or worked out more to lose actual tissue weight. Or your sodium was probably reduced, which is what I'm assuming since you ate your meals.In my experience, it definitely does matter. For my first 50 pounds lost, I ate the same every day, Weight Watchers meals, low cal noodles, etc. Then I suddenly stopped losing.. So this week I tried something different, fruit smoothies in the morning, homemade chicken and vegetable soup for lunch, chicken and a plate of veg for dinner, fruit smoothie in the evening, and plenty of water. I have lost over 5 pounds this week alone..
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
I don't ever work out. And I haven't been eating less, just cleaner
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Nope, I've always watched my sodium, and never even come close to reaching my daily sodium limit
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
From the sodium content.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Hey, know-it-all. I never actually asked for your advice or opinion. I was answering the OP's question, so wrap it up sodium police..
Correct information is that YOU DO exercise, where in a previous post you stated you never exercise. Zumba is exercise and you do it according to your profile. So a little more "energy" that you're expending during them would definitely have an effect on calorie burn.
Just sayin'
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
Yea...ya'll don't know what IIFYM really mean
Its not a case of ignorance it more of people knowing themselves and what works for them versus what triggers a bad habit.
I mean, after eating a healthy diet of lean meats, fruits and veggies a person is left with 150-250 calories to deal with is it possible to meet those remaining macros by eating 3/4 of a snickers bar or 2 1/3 oreos? Mathematically yes. However, for most people that's a slippery slope.
We can chide them for a lack of will, shame them for not being strong enough to throw away that 1/4 of candy bar away. Or they can simply make it a non issue and not tempt themselves.
If the only way to lose weight was to never again even try things like candy bars or fast food I would never have started this. And it would never have worked.
Luckily that isn't the case. People in fact CAN have a candy bar and not become food monsters who eat everything in sight and give up exercising. There's a word for it...
Oh yeah! Moderation.
YES. This is the reason I have been able to LET GO of my worry over food, and constantly thinking about it.
Now that I know I can fit things I enjoy into my day, I am not as obsessed with them because I know they are not forbidden.
I consider myself eating better now that I pay attention to hitting my macros. I was way way low on protein in the past... so yeah, I will be fitting my yums in.
Jules:flowerforyou:0 -
If only I could survive on peanut butter, potato chips and chocolate chip cookies. What a great thing it would be. I am 6’ 2”, and started at 230 pounds 4 weeks ago. I am down to 221 today and did it by the simple adage: eat less, do more. Since my BP and cholesterol are excellent, I eat the same foods. I like them, because my body wants and needs them. I just eat less of them. People gorge themselves because of unfulfilled cravings. I avoid those cravings by not starving myself of the foods my body wants.
This fits my situation as well! Good post!0 -
I understand your point, but I've seen many posts asking for nutritional advice answered with "as long as it fits your macros don't worry about it", which is ridiculous advice as a stand alone statement.
I could hit my macros with nothing other than vegetable oil, protein powder and table sugar.
Maybe it's a flaw of mine, but I like to assume that people aren't complete idiots and have a basic grasp of decent nutrition. 0 -
Sorry if it offended you, but your post was that you didn't change anything but your food choices and kept the calories the same. If what I post helps to inform people, or you for that matter you shouldn't take it offensively.
So you witnessed them putting it in? Or are you just going off the label? Understand there's a difference of an actual measurement you do personally and one that's generalized on a package.
If you ate meals that weren't prepped by you, then how do you know how much sodium was actually in them?
So in other words, less sodium. Which is a water retainer.
So you either ate less, or worked out more to lose actual tissue weight. Or your sodium was probably reduced, which is what I'm assuming since you ate your meals.In my experience, it definitely does matter. For my first 50 pounds lost, I ate the same every day, Weight Watchers meals, low cal noodles, etc. Then I suddenly stopped losing.. So this week I tried something different, fruit smoothies in the morning, homemade chicken and vegetable soup for lunch, chicken and a plate of veg for dinner, fruit smoothie in the evening, and plenty of water. I have lost over 5 pounds this week alone..
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
I don't ever work out. And I haven't been eating less, just cleaner
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Nope, I've always watched my sodium, and never even come close to reaching my daily sodium limit
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
From the sodium content.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Hey, know-it-all. I never actually asked for your advice or opinion. I was answering the OP's question, so wrap it up sodium police..
Correct information is that YOU DO exercise, where in a previous post you stated you never exercise. Zumba is exercise and you do it according to your profile. So a little more "energy" that you're expending during them would definitely have an effect on calorie burn.
Just sayin'
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
I should change that, I did Zumba in the first few weeks I did MFP, you didn't offend me, I am just being honest in what I say about the food changes. I AM eating the same amount of calories. I don't know what else you want me to say... but I think you are over analysing this!0 -
So many people arguing a strict side of the argument, failing to see that what works for one may not work for another - that is to say on the mental side of it.
Illnesses/allergies etc aside, IIFYM at an appropriate calorie level will get you where you need to be.
If you are the sort of person who, upon having one piece of junk food will then gorge themselves, then clearly you need to only eat clean to avoid temptation altogether.
If you are the sort of person who, if disallowing yourself to eat any 'bad' food, will ultimately break and gorge yourself, then clearly you should allow yourself 'a little of what you fancy'.
The whole point is that all of this works IF IT FITS YOUR MACROS.
The second you start gorging, you are no longer following the IIFYM rules.
If eating junk means you will skip workouts, then clearly that way is not for you, if it makes you feel tired, sluggish, bloated, ill or anything else, then perhaps it is not for you and you should keep eating 'clean'.
However, there are those who it doesn't impact and they should clearly stick with what works.
The whole point of IIFYM is you can fill that up however you choose. As long as the numbers match at the end, then it's all good...within that, you should do what makes you feel best.0 -
I understand your point, but I've seen many posts asking for nutritional advice answered with "as long as it fits your macros don't worry about it", which is ridiculous advice as a stand alone statement.
I could hit my macros with nothing other than vegetable oil, protein powder and table sugar.
Maybe it's a flaw of mine, but I like to assume that people aren't complete idiots and have a basic grasp of decent nutrition.
Seriously? You've been on MFP since Dec 2010 and still think most people have a basic grasp of decent nutirtion? I've only been here since last year and it was quite an eye-opener for me to find how many people are basically clueless when it comes to nutrition.0 -
Fair enough point, and perhaps where some of the problem lies. It's true that a lot of people are on MFP specifically because they don't know very much about nutrition. Sounds like the explanation should include more information.I haven't read every post, so this might have already been said, but "IIFYM" isn't the same as "It doesn't matter what you eat."
If you're hitting your macros, especially if they're not the default MFP macros, you're eating pretty darn good. You're getting the right balance of macronutrients. It's in the name.
You're not going to hit your macros eating nothing but Twinkies.
The macros on the half a pizza I love so much is about 60% carbs, 25% fat and 15% protein (which is MFP's defaults). That's doesn't fit my overall goals of 50-25-25, so I have to watch what else I eat that day or week to balance it out.
When I get more protein and less carbs in my other meals of the day, the pizza does fit my macros.
If I had a bagel for breakfast and PB&J for lunch, pizza wouldn't fit my macros.
I understand your point, but I've seen many posts asking for nutritional advice answered with "as long as it fits your macros don't worry about it", which is ridiculous advice as a stand alone statement.
I could hit my macros with nothing other than vegetable oil, protein powder and table sugar.
One of the many good explanation already posted:The practical reality of following IIFYM is that in order to reach your calorie & macro goals that you will be eating nutrient dense, whole foods most of the time.
It does leave wiggle room for items that are considered "junk" but not as much as people would imagine - perhaps 10 - 20% of your calorie intake I would calculate.0 -
I understand your point, but I've seen many posts asking for nutritional advice answered with "as long as it fits your macros don't worry about it", which is ridiculous advice as a stand alone statement.
I could hit my macros with nothing other than vegetable oil, protein powder and table sugar.
Maybe it's a flaw of mine, but I like to assume that people aren't complete idiots and have a basic grasp of decent nutrition.
Seriously? You've been on MFP since Dec 2010 and still think most people have a basic grasp of decent nutirtion? I've only been here since last year and it was quite an eye-opener for me to find how many people are basically clueless when it comes to nutrition.
your example of vegetable oil, protein powder and table sugar isnt at all ridiculous, is it?0 -
I haven't read every post, so this might have already been said, but "IIFYM" isn't the same as "It doesn't matter what you eat."
If you're hitting your macros, especially if they're not the default MFP macros, you're eating pretty darn good. You're getting the right balance of macronutrients. It's in the name.
You're not going to hit your macros eating nothing but Twinkies.
The macros on the half a pizza I love so much is about 60% carbs, 25% fat and 15% protein (which is MFP's defaults). That's doesn't fit my overall goals of 50-25-25, so I have to watch what else I eat that day or week to balance it out.
When I get more protein and less carbs in my other meals of the day, the pizza does fit my macros.
If I had a bagel for breakfast and PB&J for lunch, pizza wouldn't fit my macros.
I understand your point, but I've seen many posts asking for nutritional advice answered with "as long as it fits your macros don't worry about it", which is ridiculous advice as a stand alone statement.
I could hit my macros with nothing other than vegetable oil, protein powder and table sugar.
Yes, but you would be hungry for the rest of the day, and also feel pretty ill. You would eat more food and would no longer be sticking with the IIFYM principle.
For full clarity maybe it should be called 'If it fits your macros and fills you and you don't feel like crap' but I don't think IIFYMAFYAYDFLC has the same ring to it.0 -
I understand your point, but I've seen many posts asking for nutritional advice answered with "as long as it fits your macros don't worry about it", which is ridiculous advice as a stand alone statement.
I could hit my macros with nothing other than vegetable oil, protein powder and table sugar.
Maybe it's a flaw of mine, but I like to assume that people aren't complete idiots and have a basic grasp of decent nutrition.
Seriously? You've been on MFP since Dec 2010 and still think most people have a basic grasp of decent nutirtion? I've only been here since last year and it was quite an eye-opener for me to find how many people are basically clueless when it comes to nutrition.
your example of vegetable oil, protein powder and table sugar isnt at all ridiculous, is it?
The ridiculousness was the point.0
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