IIFYM help

kwaz29
kwaz29 Posts: 190 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I decided to give IIFYM a try after seeing so many people have success with it. I calculated my macros on iifym.com and got them as close as possible to the same in the MJFF system.

Then I planned out my whole day today and made sure I hit all the macros-However, when I input all my food and hit the macros, I still have about 200 calories left for the day. Should I ignore the calories and just hit the macros? Or since I hit the macros already, do I eat whatever to fill that last 200?

I've been tracking for 2 or 3 years now so have a pretty good idea of what I am eating, and weigh everything before I eat it. Went through my whole diary for today twice, checking to make sure all the nutritional info I have matches the actual labels and was not incorrectly inputted by someone.

Help please! Have tried looking this up on Google and on the forums but get conflicted answers and want to be sure.

Replies

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    I would eat more. Personally, i aim to get close. If you want carbs, just eat bread though.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,069 Member
    Some of the entries might be a bit out? But I'd still go ahead and eat the rest :/
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    As long as you're hitting your protein/fat minimums, you're fine. Eat up to your calorie limit for the day. The deficit is already built into that number.
  • bellaa_x0
    bellaa_x0 Posts: 1,062 Member
    i follow IIFYM and i aim to hit my macros (on point or within +/- 5) .. sometimes nutritional labels are off when taking into account the actual calorie count given the macros of a food (i.e. lawsuits involving Quest and their labels). if i have calories "left over", but have already met my macros, and decide to eat those calories my macros will then be off - so why eat them? eating them defeats the whole purpose of IIFYM.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Macros and calories never match up precisely due to rounding and such. I'd focus on why you chose the particular goals you did. IIFYM is not based on following a particular macro ratio, but one you selected as right for you, so I'd try to make sure the reasons you thought it was right for you are met, which for me would include hitting the calories and getting minimum protein and a good balance of fat and carb for the remaining calories (but your reasons and considerations may be different).

    However, the numbers shouldn't be as off as 200 calories, as you described, so that's a sign that one or more of the entries are wrong. I looked at the entries in your diary and most are just the close but not exact you always see. The exception is the ground beef entry, which is probably correct on calories but vastly overstates the protein. So I'd eat more calories and to meet your macros try to find a good protein source of the calories.
  • kwaz29
    kwaz29 Posts: 190 Member
    i follow IIFYM and i aim to hit my macros (on point or within +/- 5) .. sometimes nutritional labels are off when taking into account the actual calorie count given the macros of a food (i.e. lawsuits involving Quest and their labels). if i have calories "left over", but have already met my macros, and decide to eat those calories my macros will then be off - so why eat them? eating them defeats the whole purpose of IIFYM.

    This was my thought process-but the calorie total I ended up with just was so off compared to the total calorie goal that they suggested for me that I thought something must be wrong! I guess I will keep playing around with the numbers.

    The exception is the ground beef entry, which is probably correct on calories but vastly overstates the protein. So I'd eat more calories and to meet your macros try to find a good protein source of the calories.

    Thanks for the tip! I did take a look at the ground beef and it was pretty high-found another one that is the supermarket brand so I think that is closer to what I will eat....am now 36g under for protein now :(
  • KylaDenay
    KylaDenay Posts: 1,585 Member
    IIFYM is about counting macros not calories. Your total calories can show 1550, but if you add up your macros it may be over and under that amount.

    There are 4 grams of carbs and protein per 1 calorie and 9 grams of fat per 1 calorie.

    As someone else above mentioned its good to stay +/- 5 of your macro goal when following IIFYM. It is up to you though whether you want to go less or more on some days.
  • vs1023
    vs1023 Posts: 417 Member
    Are you using percentages for the macros or have you gone in and manually changed to grams?

    Sometimes my calories are off, but if you hit it within 5g either way it should align closely. You can double check it by multipying your carbs and protein x 4 and your fat by 9 and adding them together to get the calorie total.

    Your cals may be higher because labels can be wrong for cal counts which is why counting macros is helpful. Sometimes you can add the macros on the package and it won't equal the cals listed, but will be within 5-10 calories or something like that.

    I try as best as I can to cross reference whatever I'm eating with whatever I choose in the MFP system because it can be off. When searching meats, produce I search by USDA ____ and i get more accurate #'s and i weigh in grams.
  • taramccallen
    taramccallen Posts: 3
    Or if you really want to be specific for editing your amounts there is a Myfitness pal fix. It is a script that allows you to edit for percent or grams. To be 100% accurate! It has to be done on a computer not a phone or IPad.

    http://karoshiethos.com/2013/08/13/javascript-bookmarklet-for-enhanced-macro-goals-in-myfitnesspal/

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