Another IIFYM question

Nedra19455
Nedra19455 Posts: 241 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Do you try to hit your macro goals as they are at the start of the day or the end? My protein macro goal is 87g when I wake up, but with exercise throughout the day when total calories are added, it goes up. I feel like I'm working with a moving target here . . . But lots of people don't even eat back their exercise calories (like they log their exercise as 1 cal or whatever) so that makes me wonder if I should just shoot for 87g regardless of how much I exercise?

Replies

  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Hmmmm... maybe I just don't fully understand IIFYM, which totally may be the case. But the way I've always seen it done you don't add in exercise calories so your target for the day would always be the same.... But that's doing TDEE minus a percentage.

    If you're just doing IIFYM using MFPs numbers and eating back your exercise calories than I would think it would be the goals at the end of the day.
  • Cortelli
    Cortelli Posts: 1,369 Member
    I will not try to speak with any authority on IIFYM -- I like to think I am philosophically in the same boat, but I really don't adhere (or know precisely how I should adhere).

    But here's what I do if it helps you at all: I set a protein and a fat goal -- each of these is based in grams, and is calculated based on my bodyweight and/or lean body mass. I intend each day to reach these protein and fat goals at a minimum (and don't mind if I go over). The rest is a free-for-all, except if I ever get the feeling I am not eating enough carbs and my activity / workouts feel like they're suffering, I will consciously up my carbs.

    Even though there's no way of setting MFP targets for the macronutrients on fixed-gram basis rather than percentage basis (as far as I know) -- so that the customized targets I set increase (in pure grams) if I log any exercise into MFP -- I still know in my head what number I am looking for in protein and fat, whatever my MFP guide is telling me for that day. My carbs can range from pretty low to pretty high and I don't much care unless I feel it - though I have been more conscious of adequate carb intake while consciously trying to gain weight recently.
  • queenbea77
    queenbea77 Posts: 404 Member
    I am currently doing IIFYM ( or at least trying!). My numbers are 1585 calories, 120 carbs, 65 fat & 130 protein. I preplan as much as possible and I try to hit my numbers as follows - protein, fat, carbs and last calories. Ideally I want to get as close to the numbers a possible and stay under the calories but sometimes it isn't possible. When I enter my exercise here I just add 1 calorie as the number I burned because my exercise calories are already figured into my goal numbers. There is a formula that you can use to change the increments from 5% to 1% but I can't get it to work with my new computer so I just change my goal numbers to the closest I can and manually do the math. I actually have my goal numbers above written into the note section of the food diary so at the bottom I can see what I am trying to match.
  • digitalyssa
    digitalyssa Posts: 112 Member
    I actually finish all my macros and calories for the day and add in my exercise at the very end as to not change my original numbers if that makes sense.
  • thenewmanda
    thenewmanda Posts: 189 Member
    I actually finish all my macros and calories for the day and add in my exercise at the very end as to not change my original numbers if that makes sense.

    ^ This. I do this too. I just hit my initial numbers because the calculation for IIFYM should include working out so there is no need to eat back your exercise calories, etc.
  • dieselbyte
    dieselbyte Posts: 733 Member
    iifym.com Calculate your TDEE. Set up your macros, using the sites prescribed minimums if you like. Hit your macros, but understand that you may need to tweak certain numbers, as your calculated TDEE is just a rough estimate. Don't eat exercise calories back. Your TDEE takes that into account. There are ways to change your MFP macros to your calculated goals. Use the search function for help. Not to knock anyone, but the answers given here are way off. Be sure to set a fiber goal as well. I recommended reading up on IIFYM.

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