Can someone familiar with "IIFYM" help me?

mrsblakedavis
mrsblakedavis Posts: 13 Member
edited May 2016 in Health and Weight Loss
Trying to get my macros for fat loss. All the calculators vary. My impression is that the "standard" ratio for IIFYM is:

40% carbs
40% protein
20% fat

Is 40/40/20 the recommended for beginners?


When I go to the official iifym.com, and fill out the calculator with my stats it automatically sets my macros to:

1760 calories
40% carbs (176g)
20% protein (77g) - I am female and weigh 217-220, so wondering if this is enough for me...
40% fat (91g)

it allows me to manipulate percentages on the results screen....so I am not sure if I should go by their recommendations or change the percentages to be a flat 40/40/20....


When compared to another IIFYM Flexible Dieting calculator, the allocations differ to the above (but are closer to the 40/40/20) :

1703 calories
32% carbs (138g)
43% protein (181g)
25% fat (47g)


Is one more correct than another? I know macros can be tailored to individuals but outside of paying for someone to set my macros, I am left to figure it out myself.

Any ideas?

Replies

  • itsbasschick
    itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
    edited May 2016
    what are your goals and btw, how tall are you?

    if you want to lose fat, eat less calories than you burn. unless you have a thyroid issue or something of this nature, for weight loss' sake, it doesn't matter if you eat a balanced diet or all twinkies as long as you're within your calories.

    the food and macros won't alter your weight loss one bit, although they may affect your health. if you strength train, more protein is useful. if you're diabetic or pre-diabetic, less sugars and carbs can be helpful. if you're normal and healthy, don't strength train or do lots of cardio, 40/40/20 could be fine.
  • joncooper1980
    joncooper1980 Posts: 96 Member
    I agree. 40/40/20 is a good split if you are of normal health. You could play around with your protein and carbs a little. Protein can provide more satiety throughout the day whereas carbs can provide more energy and can even quash cravings. I personally don't see the need for anyone of normal health to eat 90+ grams of fat - but that is my personal opinion.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    More fat, less protein. 40% protein is overkill.
  • mrsblakedavis
    mrsblakedavis Posts: 13 Member
    My goals are fat loss and I'm 5'9, 220 lbs. female, early 30s.
  • singletrackmtbr
    singletrackmtbr Posts: 644 Member
    In case you didn't notice, you first said you were using a 40C/40P/20F ratio. But when you calculated you did 40C/20P/40F, hence the discrepancy.

    That said, I think 40P is too much and 20F too little. Depending on your goals and how much strength training you're doing, I would keep the protein around 30 (maybe 35) and fat 25-30. Good luck!
  • mrsblakedavis
    mrsblakedavis Posts: 13 Member
    Right - that's the issue exactly. According to my research the protein and carbs should both 40% and fat 20% - but the calculator reversed the output and put fat at 40% - so I'm questioning if I should manipulate the values back to the "standard" way or go with what they gave me.

    In other words, if it's true that 1700 cals is 1700 cals and the makeup of the food doesn't matter, then what do others recommend - higher fat diet or higher carb diet or higher protein diet? One of the three nutrients has to be set 20%...
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    The whole idea of setting your macros yourself is that it's flexible, which means that you can adjust to your own needs and preferences. There are no macros for weight loss. Calorie deficit is for weight loss. Unless you are sick (including diabetes, hypothoroid, PCOS, allergies, morbid obesity) or an athlete, you can eat normally. Normal is a fuzzy term anyway. What's normal for me may not be for you. Fat 25-50, protein 20-30 and carbs 20-55 is within normal ranges in my opinion.
  • mrsblakedavis
    mrsblakedavis Posts: 13 Member
    Ok thanks - perhaps I was misunderstanding the whole concept of macros
  • shinycrazy
    shinycrazy Posts: 1,081 Member
    I agree with @kommodevaran, it's the calorie deficit that matters. You haven't mentioned any underlying health issues, so I would pick a set of ratios and see how it goes. How does the food you like to eat fit in those ratios. How do you feel? If you feel good and are losing, carry on! If not, tweak it until you get to what you want. Personally, I follow IIFYM and am a type 2 diabetic, so my ratios are higher for fat and protein than carbs. I eat what I like and make it fit within a prescribed amount of carbs per meal/snack. I've lost over 100lbs this way. Just was taken off my blood pressure meds and will likely reduce my diabetes meds at the end of summer. Best of luck!!
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Yes, it's flexible. It usually starts with protein, and a good amount for protein is .8 g/lb of GOAL weight (to preserve muscle at a deficit). Beyond that, you don't want to cut fat too low, but fat vs. carbs is really personal preference.

    I lost most of my weight on 40 (carbs)-30-30.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    macros are irrelevant for weight loss.

    Calories are what you need to watch.

    If you are concerned with getting in enough protein because you are doing resistance training try 0.8 grams of protein for each lb of weight...and for fat 0.35 grams..the rest carbs.

    That is usually a good place to start and tweek from there.

    Protein and fats help you feel fuller longer but carbs are great for energy.

  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    -Total calories affect weightloss
    -Macro breakdown affects body composition
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    The first time I used MFP, in 2012, I just used the default macros: 50% from carbohydrates, 20% from protein and 30% from fat.. This time around, I reduced my carbs and upped my protein and found this combo fills me up better, thus making it easier for me to stick to a calorie deficit.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Key thing is to monitor how you feel and experiment.
  • maeggggan
    maeggggan Posts: 71 Member
    my macros are 213Carbs/57Fat/85Protein but i eat about 1700 calories a day! it took some time and you just have to play with the numbers. start with the 40/20/40 and see how your body reacts, then adjust accordingly :)

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