IIFYM or What method/plan do you follow? Just looking for options

I'm bulking but it's relatively the same. When cutting your P should be at least .8 of your LBM.

Mine...
One gram of P per lb of body weight.
Roughly .4 X BW= fat grams

You can view.my diary, but it's pretty simple.

The best thing about IIFYM is that you can work with the foods you like to meet your macro goals. The ability to customize your eating plan with foods you like means that you should have an easier time sticking to a calorie goal.

I aim for 80% of my calories from nutrient-dense foods and 20% from treats. No food is off limits but treat foods get eaten in smaller portions or less often.

You might want to log your normal way of eating for a week or two so that you have some data. You can then look back through to see where you might adjust your portion size and/or make satisfying substitutions.

I found just planning my meals to start with was a big help, I use Pinterest & some second hand cook books, for recipes that I can make that from ingredients I like. I've never restricted my meals by calorie amount, but that's because I've been doing MFP for so many years that I know what most of my recipes are calorifically, if you're not a that point you can split you calories for the day by meal and search for "x calorie recipes" or meal ideas.

I plan in my breakfasts first because these rarely change - I normally have powdered greens with orange juice and a bowl of weetabix with a little fruit during the week. On a weekend I will normally have poached eggs and pancetta on toast for Brunch (I skip breakfast to give myself a bit of a cushion for a couple of pints and some bar food).

Then I will plan my lunches for weekdays, usually pasta/soup/wrap/leftovers from previous weeks batch cooked dinner. I prep the soups and pastas on a Sunday.

I normally plan a batch cooked dinner on a Sunday night that I can use during the week for 2-3 nights such as Chilli, Curry, Strogonoff, Falafel, Fishcakes, etc. Then have Chicken & Veg the weekday nights in between.

Friday nights if I have nothing planned I might make myself some sort of Fakeaway.

I pre-portion snacks into little tupperware tubs that vary from 100-170 calories and throw a couple of these into my packed lunch during the week.

I pre-log my food a day or two in advance in my MFP diary.

The other bonus I've found from this method, is cost saving, I only buy what I need for the following week or two's plan and don't end up throwing a bunch of fresh stuff out that seemed like a good idea but I didn't end up eating.

DISCLAIMER: not saying this will work for you, it's just what I find has worked for me.

I may attention to macros but am not formally doing IIFYM.

I started with what I normally ate and removed or reduced foods that provided a lot of calories for little satiety. I've learned that protein and fiber fill me up, but fast carbs do not. So I eat less bread and pasta, and more protein and veggies. I reduced baked goods, and increased fruit. I get plenty of sweetness from fruit, for a lot less calories.

IIFYM - approx. 1300 calories per day - even spread of protein/carbs/fat - 35/30/30 - and I eat clean / follow a competition diet meaning lean chicken, turkey, beef and fish and leafy greens, limited raw oats, brown rice, sweet potato, limited healthy fats (nuts / avocado) Low/no sodium, ACV and/or rice vinegar for dressings, plenty of fresh herbs and spices, no sugar, no fruit, a good whey protein supplement along with glutamine, carnitine, creatine and aminos. Papaya enzyme as a pro-biotic.

I like IIFYM because I can eat what I want as long as it fits in, great for weight loss. Right now I am being overly strict because I am on a lean to clean bulk

cushman5279 wrote: »

IIFYM - approx. 1300 calories per day - even spread of protein/carbs/fat - 35/30/30 - and I eat clean / follow a competition diet meaning lean chicken, turkey, beef and fish and leafy greens, limited raw oats, brown rice, sweet potato, limited healthy fats (nuts / avocado) Low/no sodium, ACV and/or rice vinegar for dressings, plenty of fresh herbs and spices, no sugar, no fruit, a good whey protein supplement along with glutamine, carnitine, creatine and aminos. Papaya enzyme as a pro-biotic.

I like IIFYM because I can eat what I want as long as it fits in, great for weight loss. Right now I am being overly strict because I am on a lean to clean bulk

You are bulking on 1300? How tall are you? Or maybe I missed something

livingleanlivingclean wrote: »

cushman5279 wrote: »

IIFYM - approx. 1300 calories per day - even spread of protein/carbs/fat - 35/30/30 - and I eat clean / follow a competition diet meaning lean chicken, turkey, beef and fish and leafy greens, limited raw oats, brown rice, sweet potato, limited healthy fats (nuts / avocado) Low/no sodium, ACV and/or rice vinegar for dressings, plenty of fresh herbs and spices, no sugar, no fruit, a good whey protein supplement along with glutamine, carnitine, creatine and aminos. Papaya enzyme as a pro-biotic.

I like IIFYM because I can eat what I want as long as it fits in, great for weight loss. Right now I am being overly strict because I am on a lean to clean bulk

1300 cals is a bulk?
.... It also sounds like you've cut out a lot of things, and have a restrictive diet...

Please read again... I said it's a lean to clean bulk.
Traditional bulking is antiquated. We don't need to get fat to bulk...
Anyway, it's totally 100% restrictive but only until show time. Then I'll reverse diet back.

And let's not hijack this persons original post. It was about IIFYM and diet plans I believe? Not me

mrsnattybulking wrote: »

1300cal lean bulk... r u 4'6"?

Please see above, thank you

TavistockToad wrote: »

cushman5279 wrote: »

livingleanlivingclean wrote: »

cushman5279 wrote: »

IIFYM - approx. 1300 calories per day - even spread of protein/carbs/fat - 35/30/30 - and I eat clean / follow a competition diet meaning lean chicken, turkey, beef and fish and leafy greens, limited raw oats, brown rice, sweet potato, limited healthy fats (nuts / avocado) Low/no sodium, ACV and/or rice vinegar for dressings, plenty of fresh herbs and spices, no sugar, no fruit, a good whey protein supplement along with glutamine, carnitine, creatine and aminos. Papaya enzyme as a pro-biotic.

I like IIFYM because I can eat what I want as long as it fits in, great for weight loss. Right now I am being overly strict because I am on a lean to clean bulk

1300 cals is a bulk?
.... It also sounds like you've cut out a lot of things, and have a restrictive diet...

Please read again... I said it's a lean to clean bulk.
Traditional bulking is antiquated. We don't need to get fat to bulk...
Anyway, it's totally 100% restrictive but only until show time. Then I'll reverse diet back.

And let's not hijack this persons original post. It was about IIFYM and diet plans I believe? Not me

Please can you start a new thread and explain what a lean to clean bulk is? (As you don't want to derail this one)

Sure! but give me some time so I can point to the right sources.

I eat food. Mostly whole, unprocessed. Meat, chicken, fish, nuts & seeds, vegetables (both green & root) & fruit, eggs & Greek yogurt. Some oats & rice. I don't track or worry about macros, I try to put as little thought into food as possible, other than what tasty concoction to cook for dinner each day.

I don't do meal planning and the only macros I look at are protein and fiber. Everything else just falls into place around those. If I am low in protein for the day, dinner tends to be high protein.