HELP! iifym/flexible dieting

ZBlueZ
ZBlueZ Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Today I started flexible dieting, convinced it would make me realize that losing weight is a lifestyle change, not just some quick fix. But I am really skeptical. Myfitnesspal and others suggests a 1200 cal diet to lose weight, and to be honest I feel pretty hungry at that (but I can live with it). Now, the iifym calculator says I should be eating 1500 cals to lose weight...I am skeptical because I am worried I will gain weight INSTEAD of lose it. They calculated this calorie amount based on my current weight (150), height (5'7) and activity level (I workout 3 times a week). I am also suppose to eat 96 grams of carbs a day, 60 grams of fat, 150 grams of protein, and 30-38 grams of fiber. The bad thing is, today I had about 50 extra carbs(yikes) only 48 grams of protein, and only 34 grams of fat. So carbs were 55% of my calorie intake! I feel like I should go back to 1200 calories because I feel I will gain weight on a 1500 cal diet. What do you guys think?

Also: What foods are high protein and low in carbs? and if you could add, are also high in fat?

For more info: I am about 150 lbs and 5'7. So I just want to lose a bit of weight and get toned.

Replies

  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
    If you are exercising regularly, 1500 cal/day should be just fine. I would recommend exercising 5-6 days/week. It doesn't have to be long, just intense. 30 minutes of intense, targeted exercise is enough. Also, since you don't have a lot of weight to lose, eating more and losing slowly is the best way to go, since it'll teach you how to maintain it. If you are hungry all the time, you should eat more. You need to fuel your body if you want it to function properly.

    Here's a great list of foods to pick from. If you can stick to the top 2 tiers, you'll be in awesome shape.
    http://www.teambeachbody.com/en_US/eat-smart/michis-ladder

    Allan
  • kayla1025
    kayla1025 Posts: 104 Member
    The increase in calories is scary! I went up from 1500 to 1790! BUT when I was sticking to it exactly to hit my macros I was losing weight- I havent stuck to it the last few weeks and went right back up-- give it a few weeks for your body to adjust but, agreed stick to the numbers and your workouts and it will work
  • h9dlb
    h9dlb Posts: 243 Member
    1500
  • TutuMom41
    TutuMom41 Posts: 278 Member
    You do not need to restrict to 1200 a day. I have suggested to people that they enter the weight that they want to weigh and make your goal maintain weight You will know the amount of calories you can eat for the weight you wish to be. It is a slower weight loss but you can work on living the lifestyle you will need to maintain to have a permanent weight loss. Good luck :)
  • davert123
    davert123 Posts: 1,568 Member
    you should be able to eat more than 1200 and still shed weight. My tactic now is to set mfp to 1400 (this is 2lb per week sedentary) (I'm 200 lb) and then book everything I do after the first 150 cals. 1400 is very low but as I progress through the day just walking around and taking a stroll at lunchtime I am usually up to 1800 before I do any proper exercise and then I will try and eat most of the calories back to meet my macros. As I lose more weight I will still try and eat about the same and see what happens - at the moment I'm guessing this will lose me 2lb a week but as I progress down the rate will reduce to between 1 and 1.5 lb per week. As for whats got what in. Meat, fish, eggs, some cheese, yogurts, quorn are high in protein, meat, cheese, dairy, bread, cakes, crisps (anything fried) etc. is high in fat and bread, pasta, potatoes, rice are high in carbs :-) you can hit your macros in any combination :-) For me Good old fashioned whey protein powder is the best source of protein as it doesn't contain anything and I used it as a supplement to my diet to boost the protein level . especially if I'm exercising
  • srogers89
    srogers89 Posts: 190 Member
    1500 is fine but the important thing about IIFYM is making a strong attempt to hit your macros, try to get that protein up!

    As long as you are exercising and hitting your macro targets the weight will come off. :)
  • RachelSteeners
    RachelSteeners Posts: 249 Member
    Also: What foods are high protein and low in carbs? and if you could add, are also high in fat?

    I eat a lot of fish. It's high in protein and has no carbs. It has fat and cholesterol, but its generally the good fats like Omega 3, which we need :D
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    1500 is a good starting point I'd say. Personally, I think that could be a bit low actually. (depending on job and NEAT)

    Just try and hit your protein. 150g is excessive. I'd say 100-120g as a minimum would be fine for preservation of LBM.

    You will NOT get that much fibre on those cals. A good general minimum is 10g/1000cals total so 15g minimum for you.

    Eat plenty of meat, fibrous veggies, dairy and don't waste calories on liquids. This should help with satiety.
  • Mischievous_Rascal
    Mischievous_Rascal Posts: 1,791 Member
    1500 is a good starting point I'd say. Personally, I think that could be a bit low actually. (depending on job and NEAT)

    Just try and hit your protein. 150g is excessive. I'd say 100-120g as a minimum would be fine for preservation of LBM.

    You will NOT get that much fibre on those cals. A good general minimum is 10g/1000cals total so 15g minimum for you.

    Eat plenty of meat, fibrous veggies, dairy and don't waste calories on liquids. This should help with satiety.

    I agree that 1500 may still be a little low and 150g of protein being a high. (I maintain at about 2400, and I'm older and shorter than you.)

    With IIFYM, hit your protein and fat goals (very important to get enough good fats as a woman), and fill in the rest with fruit, veg and whole grains for micronutrients. Then you can have "treats" in moderation. Also, getting closer to 25-30g of fiber will help you feel more satisfied, as well, along with helping in other ways. ;)

    Have you figured out your TDEE to see if even 1500 is a reasonable deficit for you? This is a good calculator, but it includes your exercise, so you wouldn't add anything to the amount it gives you, just eat that many calories. Best of luck!

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
  • levicrouch
    levicrouch Posts: 99
    Just to clarify though, you may not 'lose weight' right away or at all. Weight (scale weight) is the sum of your body fat and lean mass (bones, water, and muscle).

    To determine what you are losing\gaining i recommend taking body measurements consistently (once a week usually, but whatever works for you) (http://www.wikihow.com/Take-Body-Measurements).

    Over time, your scale weight may stay the same, or even go up but, your body measurements should go down as you lose body fat. Progress photos are good way to track as well.

    Also note that if you are tracking calories *AND* exercise through MFP, be sure to *NOT* enter any calories burned through exercise (cardio or strength). If you like, you can still track exercise time but be sure to enter no more than "1" for calories burned. MFP automatically adds those calories back to your calorie total for the day, and if you 'eat back' your exercise calories while doing IIFYM macros, you may end up consuming too many calories.

    Just remember to be consistent and be patient, IIFYM does work, but it may seem slow at times.
  • levicrouch
    levicrouch Posts: 99
    I ran you numbers through IIFYM.com and comes back pretty close to what you stated.

    Calories: 1638 (20% Deficit)
    Protein: (.8 grams per lb) = 120g
    Fat: (.40 grams per lb) = 60g
    Carbs: Remainder

    http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/
  • lbarbosa87
    lbarbosa87 Posts: 6 Member
    Thank you for sharing that link!
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,223 Member
    Today I started flexible dieting, convinced it would make me realize that losing weight is a lifestyle change, not just some quick fix. But I am really skeptical. Myfitnesspal and others suggests a 1200 cal diet to lose weight, and to be honest I feel pretty hungry at that (but I can live with it). Now, the iifym calculator says I should be eating 1500 cals to lose weight...I am skeptical because I am worried I will gain weight INSTEAD of lose it. They calculated this calorie amount based on my current weight (150), height (5'7) and activity level (I workout 3 times a week). I am also suppose to eat 96 grams of carbs a day, 60 grams of fat, 150 grams of protein, and 30-38 grams of fiber. The bad thing is, today I had about 50 extra carbs(yikes) only 48 grams of protein, and only 34 grams of fat. So carbs were 55% of my calorie intake! I feel like I should go back to 1200 calories because I feel I will gain weight on a 1500 cal diet. What do you guys think?

    Also: What foods are high protein and low in carbs? and if you could add, are also high in fat?

    For more info: I am about 150 lbs and 5'7. So I just want to lose a bit of weight and get toned.
    You don't need that much protein.
  • myrtille87
    myrtille87 Posts: 122 Member
    1500 calories seems perfectly reasonable.

    The recommended daily calorie intake (if you're not trying to lose weight) is 2000 calories for a "normal" woman (whatever that means") who is lightly active (like walking for half an hour a few days per week, not lots of intense workouts).

    So from that, 1500 is a 500 calorie deficit, which would mean losing a pound per week on average.

    Obviously the "normal woman" thing is a bit dogy and you're better off using online calculators to find out what calories you need, but just making the point that 1500 isn't high at all.

    I've been doing MFP for a month now. For the first 2 weeks I was aiming for 1,350 calories (actually eating more like 1,700 and doing lots of exercise because I had time for that in the summer holidays) and now I'm aiming for 1,550 calories (usually hitting the goal as it's more achievable to eat that, but I go over 2-3 days per week and exercise 2-3 days per week so it balances out). I've lost 11lbs.

    I know a lot of this will just be water weight and so on, and it's slowed down now, but as I've been consistently losing so far I'm happy that 1,550 calories is not a silly amount to eat (I'm 5,6 and currently 154 lbs, btw).

    No way could I get in 120g protein but I do try to get more than I did before (normally 70-100, when before I probably had 40-60).
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Re the discrepancy in calories. I assume that you put your activity level into the IIFYM calculator.

    Your question is not really an IIFYM question - its a TDEE/macro question. The IIFYM is just a site with a calculator included to set your macros. IIFYM is the application of the way of dieting to hit those macros.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    Today I started flexible dieting, convinced it would make me realize that losing weight is a lifestyle change, not just some quick fix. But I am really skeptical. Myfitnesspal and others suggests a 1200 cal diet to lose weight, and to be honest I feel pretty hungry at that (but I can live with it). Now, the iifym calculator says I should be eating 1500 cals to lose weight...I am skeptical because I am worried I will gain weight INSTEAD of lose it. They calculated this calorie amount based on my current weight (150), height (5'7) and activity level (I workout 3 times a week). I am also suppose to eat 96 grams of carbs a day, 60 grams of fat, 150 grams of protein, and 30-38 grams of fiber. The bad thing is, today I had about 50 extra carbs(yikes) only 48 grams of protein, and only 34 grams of fat. So carbs were 55% of my calorie intake! I feel like I should go back to 1200 calories because I feel I will gain weight on a 1500 cal diet. What do you guys think?

    Also: What foods are high protein and low in carbs? and if you could add, are also high in fat?

    For more info: I am about 150 lbs and 5'7. So I just want to lose a bit of weight and get toned.

    If you want to lose fast, yes you would go on 1200. But losing fast is not really necessary, you can take your time and still reach your goals without feeling like dieting is a hard chore (which may eventually lead to quitting).

    The good thing about flexible dieting is that it's, well, flexible. You don't have to eat at 1200, or 1500 for that matter. You also don't have to eat your weight in protein.

    Here is a suggestion: spend some time to find your "sweet spot" when it comes to calories and macros. Set your activity level to sedentary and log your exercise manually to get the calories added to your intake. Start at 1800 calories and lower them gradually by 50 or 100 every day. When you reach a point where it's not awfully hard, but still somewhat challenging you will know that's your sweet spot for calorie intake. Just set your calories at that. A bonus: the days you exercise may feel like a little break where you can eat more than usual.

    Now for macros: during the time you took to determine your sweet spot for calorie intake don't bother sticking to any macros. When you reach the day where you feel you've found your ideal calorie intake, take a look at how your macros trended during the past days. If you're averaging say 50 protein a day increase your target to about 75 and take that away from carbohydrates. try eating that way for a while and see if you can increase it further. If not, then it's fine. Sticking to a diet is better than stressing over macros then quitting.

    Really, just take the easiest and most comfortable route that would not overwhelm you but will still produce results.
  • fattymcbuttrpants
    fattymcbuttrpants Posts: 42 Member
    Hey! We have the same stats (5'7, 150)! I was scared too at first with the higher calorie intake. But after doing a lot of research (I'm a PhD student.... research is my life) I realized with exercise such as lifting weights and high intensity intervals training, etc. your body IS NOT MADE TO WORK ON 1200 CALS!!!! It just isn't healthy. I hit 1500 with my first calculation and now i'm up to almost 1800 calories a day AND STILL LOOSING WEIGHT. Do the research if you like. You have to fix your broken metabolism. So it's a process! The fat is not going to 'melt off over night'. email me if you have any questions along the way and also join a group on Facebook if you're looking for more support! good luck!

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