Confessions of a recovering clean eater

Yes, I do believe everything is good in moderation. I said that bodybuilders are well suited for that diet because they need the daily macros, not that no one else is suited for it. To each his own, and IIFYM is a great thing, ONLY if it is performed right. I myself am a vegan, and I get my daily macros from fruits and veggies, yes, it's possible. Not everything works for everyone, that is my point, IIFYM works for some, paleo works for a few others, and so does vegan/raw vegan. By the way, i am not a professional nutritionist, i am just a 17 year old guy.

I do think that people don't have to eat "clean" all the time, I eat only an abundance of fruits and veggies, and sometimes I can have something other than that on reward day. IIFYM is a great thing for some people, only if they do it right. People have been using IIFYM as an excuse to eat tons of nutritionally deficient foods, and thus, most people are doing IIFYM "wrong", in my opinion, IIFYM is only a stable diet for bodybuilders. Also clean eating doesn't have to be boring, and that's why most people switch to IIFYM. If somebody wants to partake in IIFYM, the right way to do it is by eating a paleolithic diet, not the modern american diet. Don't hate on me, this is just my opinion, and if anyone doesn't accept it, just move on.

you don't understand nutrition.

IIFYM... eat whatever you want within a varied diet while meeting your macro- and micro-nutritional needs.

clean eating... ignore your nutritional intake and concentrate on eating from an arbitrarily created list of allowable foods and assume/hope that your nutritional needs are met.

by DEFINITION IIFYM > clean eating from a nutritional point of view. if you do IIFYM correctly, then you are guaranteed to meet your nutritional needs. if you do clean eating correctly, you can only hope to meet your nutritional needs - but you never really know because you are simply trusting that the foods you eat will do that for you without making any effort to verify that to be the case. the minute you make the effort to track and verify that your nutritional needs are being met, you are doing IIFYM.

you don't understand nutrition.

IIFYM... eat whatever you want within a varied diet while meeting your macro- and micro-nutritional needs.

clean eating... ignore your nutritional intake and concentrate on eating from an arbitrarily created list of allowable foods and assume/hope that your nutritional needs are met.

by DEFINITION IIFYM > clean eating from a nutritional point of view. if you do IIFYM correctly, then you are guaranteed to meet your nutritional needs. if you do clean eating correctly, you can only hope to meet your nutritional needs - but you never really know because you are simply trusting that the foods you eat will do that for you without making any effort to verify that to be the case. the minute you make the effort to track and verify that your nutritional needs are being met, you are doing IIFYM.

To be fair, I'd say it's fair to suggest that most people following IIFYM are worried about macronutrients - not their RDA's of micronutrients. So, if you hit your macros (which, aside from the protein macro, can be fairly arbitrarily set), are you guaranteed to "meet your nutritional needs?" No, you aren't.

Now, of course, if you expand it to IIFYM&M to include hitting all of your recommended macronutrients and micronutrients, then sure. But most people in my experience are not following this plan.

If you are hitting your macronutrients, it's VERY difficult to NOT hit your micronutrients. Micronutrients are in everything, and the variety of foods you need to eat to actually reach your macronutrients and calorie goal pretty much makes hitting your micronutrients automatic.

I disagree entirely. It's quite easy to hit your macros and it lets you eat a wide variety of foods, while it's incredibly hard to hit your RDA's in your micronutrients each day without supplementing and/or eating very specific foods. While some micronutrients are in everything, that doesn't mean the recommended quantity of micronutrients is in everything you eat to reach your macros. That's like me saying macronutrients are in everything, so just hitting your calories just about guarantees you'll hit your macros. Doesn't make a lot of sense, does it?

If you are hitting your macronutrients, it's VERY difficult to NOT hit your micronutrients. Micronutrients are in everything, and the variety of foods you need to eat to actually reach your macronutrients and calorie goal pretty much makes hitting your micronutrients automatic.

I disagree entirely. It's quite easy to hit your macros and it lets you eat a wide variety of foods, while it's incredibly hard to hit your RDA's in your micronutrients each day without supplementing and/or eating very specific foods. While some micronutrients are in everything, that doesn't mean the recommended quantity of micronutrients is in everything you eat to reach your macros. That's like me saying macronutrients are in everything, so just hitting your calories just about guarantees you'll hit your macros. Doesn't make a lot of sense, does it?

How are you (general you) tracking micronutirents? It drives me nuts that MFP doesn't give us this option :grumble:

I do think that people don't have to eat "clean" all the time, I eat only an abundance of fruits and veggies, and sometimes I can have something other than that on reward day. IIFYM is a great thing for some people, only if they do it right. People have been using IIFYM as an excuse to eat tons of nutritionally deficient foods, and thus, most people are doing IIFYM "wrong", in my opinion, IIFYM is only a stable diet for bodybuilders. Also clean eating doesn't have to be boring, and that's why most people switch to IIFYM. If somebody wants to partake in IIFYM, the right way to do it is by eating a paleolithic diet, not the modern american diet. Don't hate on me, this is just my opinion, and if anyone doesn't accept it, just move on.

If you are hitting your macronutrients, it's VERY difficult to NOT hit your micronutrients. Micronutrients are in everything, and the variety of foods you need to eat to actually reach your macronutrients and calorie goal pretty much makes hitting your micronutrients automatic.

I disagree entirely. It's quite easy to hit your macros and it lets you eat a wide variety of foods, while it's incredibly hard to hit your RDA's in your micronutrients each day without supplementing and/or eating very specific foods. While some micronutrients are in everything, that doesn't mean the recommended quantity of micronutrients is in everything you eat to reach your macros. That's like me saying macronutrients are in everything, so just hitting your calories just about guarantees you'll hit your macros. Doesn't make a lot of sense, does it?

How are you (general you) tracking micronutirents? It drives me nuts that MFP doesn't give us this option :grumble:

On the app there is a spot where you can see them.

The biggest issue with this is not everything is always added in the database. Also, something like Potassium, are not required on labels so it often looks like you are deficient in it when it may not be the case.

Ah, I'm not using the app-wish they would add it to their site!

I do think that people don't have to eat "clean" all the time, I eat only an abundance of fruits and veggies, and sometimes I can have something other than that on reward day. IIFYM is a great thing for some people, only if they do it right. People have been using IIFYM as an excuse to eat tons of nutritionally deficient foods, and thus, most people are doing IIFYM "wrong", in my opinion, IIFYM is only a stable diet for bodybuilders. Also clean eating doesn't have to be boring, and that's why most people switch to IIFYM. If somebody wants to partake in IIFYM, the right way to do it is by eating a paleolithic diet, not the modern american diet. Don't hate on me, this is just my opinion, and if anyone doesn't accept it, just move on.

what is IIFYM?