Considering starting IIFYM/Flexible Dieting..?
Bellchick91
Posts: 148 Member
Heyo!
So the amazingly large world of flexible dieting is very appealing to me.. I am a recovering anorexic, and I REALLY think it could help with my RELATIONSHIP with food, and all the benefits that go along with that. (NOTE: I am doing well with respect to my recovery, gaining muscle and working out 4x week. NOT seriously underweight anymore etc. Just to clarify!)
Whats stopping me from starting is..well, how do you start? I know that my macros should be (approxmately) 55% carbs, 20% fat and 25% protein (not a fat lover, but love my protein!), and my current daily calorie GOAL is about 2300-2400 (hitting about 2200 daily - due to healthy food obsession and fear of some foods - hence why I think this flexible dieting might help!). So, how do you know how much of your food should be "whole/clean" foods and the remaining should be your "as long as it fits your macros" foods (chocolate, etc..)
Would LOVE any advice and/or beginner tips?
Thanks!!
So the amazingly large world of flexible dieting is very appealing to me.. I am a recovering anorexic, and I REALLY think it could help with my RELATIONSHIP with food, and all the benefits that go along with that. (NOTE: I am doing well with respect to my recovery, gaining muscle and working out 4x week. NOT seriously underweight anymore etc. Just to clarify!)
Whats stopping me from starting is..well, how do you start? I know that my macros should be (approxmately) 55% carbs, 20% fat and 25% protein (not a fat lover, but love my protein!), and my current daily calorie GOAL is about 2300-2400 (hitting about 2200 daily - due to healthy food obsession and fear of some foods - hence why I think this flexible dieting might help!). So, how do you know how much of your food should be "whole/clean" foods and the remaining should be your "as long as it fits your macros" foods (chocolate, etc..)
Would LOVE any advice and/or beginner tips?
Thanks!!
0
Replies
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I think its a great idea for you! My macros are the standard 40-30-30, but do whatever works best for you!
After playing around with it, you'll be able to see what will work best for your lifestyle! I don't follow a "80% whole foods 20% fun foods " type of thing, I just go with what works for me. I'm not suggesting eating just cookies all day , every day though . I'm just saying that you'll find your groove once you play around with it. Some days I can fit in two servings of ice cream, other times I cant0 -
IIFYM works great for loads of people. Like all diets that work for weight loss it's just about eating in a calorie deficit.
How you set your macros is personal choice. As long as you get your protein right (rule of thumb 0.7 - 1g per lb of lean mass). After that split your carbs and fat to suit your tastes.
As long you're eating a diet of food you enjoy, you've got a better chance of sticking with it.
Regards whole food, if you have a particular interest in trying it then go for it, if not then just eat the food you enjoy and count your calories.0 -
Thank you! But I really am brand new - any tips on how to start? Im currently stuck in a TOO clean eating regime, the same foods ALL the time with no variety and complete obsession over every little thing. I already have been counting macros (but seriously suck with fat...I don't eat enough fat at all) but NOT flexible in the slightest.
How do you get into the habit of being more...flexible?0 -
EmmaRichards91 wrote: »Thank you! But I really am brand new - any tips on how to start? Im currently stuck in a TOO clean eating regime, the same foods ALL the time with no variety and complete obsession over every little thing. I already have been counting macros (but seriously suck with fat...I don't eat enough fat at all) but NOT flexible in the slightest.
How do you get into the habit of being more...flexible?
You just start by eating whatever...
I think too many people confuse IIFYM with being a diet. It is not a diet.
You eat what you want. Most importantly, you hit your micros and your macros.
0 -
IsaackGMOON wrote: »EmmaRichards91 wrote: »Thank you! But I really am brand new - any tips on how to start? Im currently stuck in a TOO clean eating regime, the same foods ALL the time with no variety and complete obsession over every little thing. I already have been counting macros (but seriously suck with fat...I don't eat enough fat at all) but NOT flexible in the slightest.
How do you get into the habit of being more...flexible?
You just start by eating whatever...
I think too many people confuse IIFYM with being a diet. It is not a diet.
You eat what you want. Most importantly, you hit your micros and your macros.
I don't consider it a diet, I thought it to be more of a lifestyle. Since it's simple to continue for life, and stick to - if you know what I mean?
Im in a caloric excess at the moment, and according to my weight I only need 220g carbs/day (2g per pound of body weight), 110g protein per day (1g/pound body weight) and 45g fat (about .4g per pound of body weight). So does this mean once I hit these numbers, the rest doesnt matter so much?
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EmmaRichards91 wrote: »IsaackGMOON wrote: »EmmaRichards91 wrote: »Thank you! But I really am brand new - any tips on how to start? Im currently stuck in a TOO clean eating regime, the same foods ALL the time with no variety and complete obsession over every little thing. I already have been counting macros (but seriously suck with fat...I don't eat enough fat at all) but NOT flexible in the slightest.
How do you get into the habit of being more...flexible?
You just start by eating whatever...
I think too many people confuse IIFYM with being a diet. It is not a diet.
You eat what you want. Most importantly, you hit your micros and your macros.
I don't consider it a diet, I thought it to be more of a lifestyle. Since it's simple to continue for life, and stick to - if you know what I mean?
Im in a caloric excess at the moment, and according to my weight I only need 220g carbs/day (2g per pound of body weight), 110g protein per day (1g/pound body weight) and 45g fat (about .4g per pound of body weight). So does this mean once I hit these numbers, the rest doesnt matter so much?
Well the most important thing about IIFYM is hitting your micronutrients. You may not have specific targets, but hitting your micronutrients is important. This will happen along side hitting your macros.
If you have 100 calories of cake compared to 100 calories of apples... what is going to win for the higher micronutrient profile? The apple. Is there any reason from stopping you having both? No.
Hit your micros. Hit your macros. Enjoy.0 -
IsaackGMOON wrote: »EmmaRichards91 wrote: »IsaackGMOON wrote: »EmmaRichards91 wrote: »Thank you! But I really am brand new - any tips on how to start? Im currently stuck in a TOO clean eating regime, the same foods ALL the time with no variety and complete obsession over every little thing. I already have been counting macros (but seriously suck with fat...I don't eat enough fat at all) but NOT flexible in the slightest.
How do you get into the habit of being more...flexible?
You just start by eating whatever...
I think too many people confuse IIFYM with being a diet. It is not a diet.
You eat what you want. Most importantly, you hit your micros and your macros.
I don't consider it a diet, I thought it to be more of a lifestyle. Since it's simple to continue for life, and stick to - if you know what I mean?
Im in a caloric excess at the moment, and according to my weight I only need 220g carbs/day (2g per pound of body weight), 110g protein per day (1g/pound body weight) and 45g fat (about .4g per pound of body weight). So does this mean once I hit these numbers, the rest doesnt matter so much?
Well the most important thing about IIFYM is hitting your micronutrients. You may not have specific targets, but hitting your micronutrients is important. This will happen along side hitting your macros.
If you have 100 calories of cake compared to 100 calories of apples... what is going to win for the higher micronutrient profile? The apple. Is there any reason from stopping you having both? No.
Hit your micros. Hit your macros. Enjoy.
Thank you! By micros, you mean fiber/iron etc?0 -
EmmaRichards91 wrote: »IsaackGMOON wrote: »EmmaRichards91 wrote: »IsaackGMOON wrote: »EmmaRichards91 wrote: »Thank you! But I really am brand new - any tips on how to start? Im currently stuck in a TOO clean eating regime, the same foods ALL the time with no variety and complete obsession over every little thing. I already have been counting macros (but seriously suck with fat...I don't eat enough fat at all) but NOT flexible in the slightest.
How do you get into the habit of being more...flexible?
You just start by eating whatever...
I think too many people confuse IIFYM with being a diet. It is not a diet.
You eat what you want. Most importantly, you hit your micros and your macros.
I don't consider it a diet, I thought it to be more of a lifestyle. Since it's simple to continue for life, and stick to - if you know what I mean?
Im in a caloric excess at the moment, and according to my weight I only need 220g carbs/day (2g per pound of body weight), 110g protein per day (1g/pound body weight) and 45g fat (about .4g per pound of body weight). So does this mean once I hit these numbers, the rest doesnt matter so much?
Well the most important thing about IIFYM is hitting your micronutrients. You may not have specific targets, but hitting your micronutrients is important. This will happen along side hitting your macros.
If you have 100 calories of cake compared to 100 calories of apples... what is going to win for the higher micronutrient profile? The apple. Is there any reason from stopping you having both? No.
Hit your micros. Hit your macros. Enjoy.
Thank you! By micros, you mean fiber/iron etc?
Yes.
Micrountrients includes vitamins and minerals.0 -
I do an IIFYM/Flexible thing myself and I don't try to hit any particular ration of whole to highly-processed food, but I probably end up eating a decent percentage of my calories in whole food just because that's my taste. Of course, I have no problem shoving some Wendy's in my facehole from time to time. I'm in a deficit right now, so it's harder to work those higher calorie meals into my diet at the moment.
If you're really looking to get away from "clean" eating (and I think that's awesome, by the way) and have the calories to play with, why not try some experiments? Here's some I thought of off the top of my head:- Try to work 3 fast food value meals into your macros each week. Do this for 4 weeks. See what you think.
- Pick 1 day a week where you go to a destination and pick 3 of the "dirtiest" things you can think of from the menu and eat them. Log them and work the rest of your macros for the day around that meal. Try places you've never been for the added bonus of having new experiences.
- Pick a week and plan your menu using only foods you'd find in the inner aisles of the grocery store. Pre-log the week and make the meals fit your settings. See how that makes you feel.
Congratulations on your recovery and best wishes going forward. It sounds like you've got a good handle on it and a great mindset.0 -
IsaackGMOON wrote: »EmmaRichards91 wrote: »IsaackGMOON wrote: »EmmaRichards91 wrote: »IsaackGMOON wrote: »EmmaRichards91 wrote: »Thank you! But I really am brand new - any tips on how to start? Im currently stuck in a TOO clean eating regime, the same foods ALL the time with no variety and complete obsession over every little thing. I already have been counting macros (but seriously suck with fat...I don't eat enough fat at all) but NOT flexible in the slightest.
How do you get into the habit of being more...flexible?
You just start by eating whatever...
I think too many people confuse IIFYM with being a diet. It is not a diet.
You eat what you want. Most importantly, you hit your micros and your macros.
I don't consider it a diet, I thought it to be more of a lifestyle. Since it's simple to continue for life, and stick to - if you know what I mean?
Im in a caloric excess at the moment, and according to my weight I only need 220g carbs/day (2g per pound of body weight), 110g protein per day (1g/pound body weight) and 45g fat (about .4g per pound of body weight). So does this mean once I hit these numbers, the rest doesnt matter so much?
Well the most important thing about IIFYM is hitting your micronutrients. You may not have specific targets, but hitting your micronutrients is important. This will happen along side hitting your macros.
If you have 100 calories of cake compared to 100 calories of apples... what is going to win for the higher micronutrient profile? The apple. Is there any reason from stopping you having both? No.
Hit your micros. Hit your macros. Enjoy.
Thank you! By micros, you mean fiber/iron etc?
Yes.
Micrountrients includes vitamins and minerals.
If you're eating a varied diet, you'll come pretty close to the recommended micros and, if concerned, you can take a multivitamin to cover yourself. A multivitamin's importance is proportional to the amount of nutrient-sparse food (like the cake) in your diet.0 -
If you don't like fat, consider; avocado, nuts, olives and salmon.
Fats are necessary for good health so try working in foods with a natural high fat content, but don't have a fatty taste.
Don't worry about whole, clean, healthy, dirty, etc. these are all very Individual/personal labels.
Work on building a repertoire of foods that you like, that fit your macro and micro balance.
Try introducing a new food every week. It takes a while for the palate to acquire a new taste so do try something 6-10 times before you write it off.
Different ways of cooking can alter the taste too.
I dislike boiled carrots, but like raw, and love roasted.
Start by just logging what you are eating now, progress to covering your macros, then your micros, then expanding your palate.
Take it slow.
Cheers, h.
Edited for auto-correct. It spells worse than me.0 -
EmmaRichards91 wrote: »Thank you! But I really am brand new - any tips on how to start? Im currently stuck in a TOO clean eating regime, the same foods ALL the time with no variety and complete obsession over every little thing. I already have been counting macros (but seriously suck with fat...I don't eat enough fat at all) but NOT flexible in the slightest.
How do you get into the habit of being more...flexible?
I think changing your way of eating likely isn't enough if you are struggling with what sound like orthorexic thoughts (not surprising with the ED background). You will need to keep working on this with therapy and so on.
But what helped me (I tend to be a little bit all or nothing, and had a past history of being super obsessed with eating only "natural," making everything myself), was to think about what my goals were and what was healthy. I focused on mainstream sources, and decided on really broad and simple rules that I thought defined a good diet (the kinds of recommendations I'd give others, nothing over the top). These included goals for protein and fat consumption and for carbs too (I do a lot of cardio so to me carbs help performance), and also general ideas about getting protein at breakfast when possible, eating a good amount vegetables with all meals (when possible), as well as making meals enjoyable -- and with the last I thought about how people in Blue Zones do tend to have enjoyable lifestyles and not a lot of stress about eating as part of the overall culture.
So my new goals are to have a diet that meet my broad goals (including the macro goals), and to have an enjoyable non-stressful diet, not sweat the small stuff. When I'm eating I try to think not about whether the food is "good" or "bad," but how it fits my goals. Something like white rice, which I used to avoid, might well further my exercise goals (and same with a cookie on occasion, although I don't use that as an excuse to ignore the many other foods that would be helpful to eat). Once my other goals are met, the big goal is to not waste energy on stupid stuff, so if I want some ice cream in the evening and have the calories and had a generally healthy day with nothing significant lacking, then the issue is "will I enjoy it." If so, I have it.
What I like about this approach is that it focusing on doing what you can to meet goals, not avoiding things.
So for things like the fat goal, you might seek out foods that would help you get it up, as you'd understand it would help you meet your overall goal. If at first you feel uncomfortable with some sources of fat, maybe start with things like nuts and avocado and olive oil (on other foods, of course) or fatty fish and work from this, although I'm less comfortable here as this does seem like something to work on with a therapist and I'm not experienced with ED.
0 -
tincanonastring wrote: »I do an IIFYM/Flexible thing myself and I don't try to hit any particular ration of whole to highly-processed food, but I probably end up eating a decent percentage of my calories in whole food just because that's my taste. Of course, I have no problem shoving some Wendy's in my facehole from time to time. I'm in a deficit right now, so it's harder to work those higher calorie meals into my diet at the moment.
If you're really looking to get away from "clean" eating (and I think that's awesome, by the way) and have the calories to play with, why not try some experiments? Here's some I thought of off the top of my head:- Try to work 3 fast food value meals into your macros each week. Do this for 4 weeks. See what you think.
- Pick 1 day a week where you go to a destination and pick 3 of the "dirtiest" things you can think of from the menu and eat them. Log them and work the rest of your macros for the day around that meal. Try places you've never been for the added bonus of having new experiences.
- Pick a week and plan your menu using only foods you'd find in the inner aisles of the grocery store. Pre-log the week and make the meals fit your settings. See how that makes you feel.
Congratulations on your recovery and best wishes going forward. It sounds like you've got a good handle on it and a great mindset.
Hey! Thank you so much for your lovely reply - you put a lot of thought into it. Thank you! About your list of suggestions though - I like to stay optimisitc but its important to be realistic. Considering my background, I realistically won't be able to do any of those things just yet. Fast Food is something I may not ever be able to do, but eating out is something I can do but wont do, so that's something! I can't just pick the "dirtiest" things either, I just wont be able to do that. Right now, anything that hasnt been made by me or the ground ("whole" foods) is a challenge. That's how my head is right now. But I AM on the right track in knowing I need to change. Adding in a new food and trying that a few times is a good idea, like Quest bars. They are a challenge for me - but I've been having them a bit more often. And bread, and cereal (non-oatmeal cereal, like Cheerios (or the gluten-free alternative that don't taste like cheerios AT ALL but sure what can ya do! - Im Coeliac by the way, not just avoiding gluten for the craic!)
But thank you so much for your reply - you really did make me smile!
And!lemurcat12 wrote: »EmmaRichards91 wrote: »Thank you! But I really am brand new - any tips on how to start? Im currently stuck in a TOO clean eating regime, the same foods ALL the time with no variety and complete obsession over every little thing. I already have been counting macros (but seriously suck with fat...I don't eat enough fat at all) but NOT flexible in the slightest.
How do you get into the habit of being more...flexible?
I think changing your way of eating likely isn't enough if you are struggling with what sound like orthorexic thoughts (not surprising with the ED background). You will need to keep working on this with therapy and so on.
But what helped me (I tend to be a little bit all or nothing, and had a past history of being super obsessed with eating only "natural," making everything myself), was to think about what my goals were and what was healthy. I focused on mainstream sources, and decided on really broad and simple rules that I thought defined a good diet (the kinds of recommendations I'd give others, nothing over the top). These included goals for protein and fat consumption and for carbs too (I do a lot of cardio so to me carbs help performance), and also general ideas about getting protein at breakfast when possible, eating a good amount vegetables with all meals (when possible), as well as making meals enjoyable -- and with the last I thought about how people in Blue Zones do tend to have enjoyable lifestyles and not a lot of stress about eating as part of the overall culture.
So my new goals are to have a diet that meet my broad goals (including the macro goals), and to have an enjoyable non-stressful diet, not sweat the small stuff. When I'm eating I try to think not about whether the food is "good" or "bad," but how it fits my goals. Something like white rice, which I used to avoid, might well further my exercise goals (and same with a cookie on occasion, although I don't use that as an excuse to ignore the many other foods that would be helpful to eat). Once my other goals are met, the big goal is to not waste energy on stupid stuff, so if I want some ice cream in the evening and have the calories and had a generally healthy day with nothing significant lacking, then the issue is "will I enjoy it." If so, I have it.
What I like about this approach is that it focusing on doing what you can to meet goals, not avoiding things.
So for things like the fat goal, you might seek out foods that would help you get it up, as you'd understand it would help you meet your overall goal. If at first you feel uncomfortable with some sources of fat, maybe start with things like nuts and avocado and olive oil (on other foods, of course) or fatty fish and work from this, although I'm less comfortable here as this does seem like something to work on with a therapist and I'm not experienced with ED.
Again, thank you to you also. Yes I am in therapy and have been discussing the orthorexic tendency I have developed in the last few years. Thank you for your kindness
You make some good points - but one thing, whats a Blue Zone?? For me, I think thinking LESS about food and more about "do I like it?" will help me really. I overthink everything, and it's making eating a complete mess. I thought that flexible dieting would help with changing my attitude towards food - but STARTING it, breaking the habits etc. is going to be the hard part.
Thank you all for your comments, and any more are welcome!
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How do you calculate your macros for weight and fat loss? Any advice?0
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EmmaRichards91 wrote: »You make some good points - but one thing, whats a Blue Zone?? For me, I think thinking LESS about food and more about "do I like it?" will help me really. I overthink everything, and it's making eating a complete mess. I thought that flexible dieting would help with changing my attitude towards food - but STARTING it, breaking the habits etc. is going to be the hard part.
I think you have good insight into what your issues are.
Blue zones = areas where people live longest. The commonalities are more about lifestyle than diet, and they definitely don't worry overmuch about avoiding "bad" foods.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Zone
I'm an overthinker, so I'm sympathetic. Flexible dieting, as I understand it, has helped me a lot with that, and I hope it helps you.0 -
Completely understandable, OP, and cheers to you for knowing your limits! Maybe a "dirty" side with your "clean" meal the next time you eat out, and just take a bite or two? Setting up little things that take you just a bit out of your comfort zone could help, with maybe some stretch goals that take you further afield.0
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