Does IIFYM work for people NOT lifting heavy weights??

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danipals1
danipals1 Posts: 16 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I strictly followed MFP CICO for 3 weeks and lost nothing (yes I weighed my food etc.) so am wanting to try IIFYM. I am wondering if this works just for body builders or anyone? I attend group fitness classes 5-6 mornings a week before work. I do Pump (high rep weights-- think a song for each body part) 3x per week trying to continue to up my weights as I progress and Combat (cardio kickboxing) or Spin 2-3x per week. I choose this routine as it is what I actually enjoy and find myself more accountable with rather than lifting on my own. I'm just wondering if it is a routine that would work with the IIFYM idea?

TIA!

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,116 Member
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    I agree 100% with rainbowbow.

    I think three weeks at a recommended calorie level should be long enough to know if you are set at an appropriate calorie level. Decrease your calories by 250 per day and try that for a month. If you aren't losing weight and you are logging accurately, you're simply eating too much.
  • danipals1
    danipals1 Posts: 16 Member
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    I'm sure you are right about needing to adjust my calorie levels after not seeing results. I was recalculating which was what made me look at IIFYM in the first place. I have my Fitbit linked and am curious if that has caused my numbers to be inaccurate. I don't log any exercise- just allow the FB to make adjustments. I think I am going to disconnect it and log my deliberate exercise manually and see if that helps.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    danipals1 wrote: »
    I'm sure you are right about needing to adjust my calorie levels after not seeing results. I was recalculating which was what made me look at IIFYM in the first place. I have my Fitbit linked and am curious if that has caused my numbers to be inaccurate. I don't log any exercise- just allow the FB to make adjustments. I think I am going to disconnect it and log my deliberate exercise manually and see if that helps.

    I think it's probably a good idea. Here's what i'd do:

    1.) disconnect fitbit
    2.) look at your past 3 weeks to see how many steps you're averaging per day.
    3.) adjust your MFP activity level to the step level you're doing based on your fitbit info.
    4.) If you *DO* intentionally exercise beyond your normal daily activity try and log that in MFP as accurately as possible and eat back 50-75% of those calories; otherwise stick to your calorie goal MFP gives you every single day.


    Then of course make sure you're being accurate with your logging, but give it 4-6 weeks and see what happens.
  • danipals1
    danipals1 Posts: 16 Member
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    I appreciate the suggestions and will do just that!
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,554 Member
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    Disconnecting sounds like a good idea! How many extra calories does your Fitbit give you, and does it have an HR sensor? I'm asking because if it does, and if your heartrate just happens to be higher than average then your Fitbit would count more calories than you burn. On the plus side: you seem to have found a number close to your maintenance calories at your current weight. Not bad :)
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,116 Member
    edited July 2017
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    I didn't use any electronic device when I lost all my weight, just logged my food and I used the exercise calories given by MFP.

    The key to all this is keeping good records. Whatever you use to calculate calories out, be consistent with it and your food logging for a long enough period of time to know what needs to be tweaked. So if you're going to start over completely that's one thing, but don't jump around on how many calories to use for your exercise - just decide to use them all or not (if you're going to disconnect your device.) Pick a calorie goal, pick a realistic and honest activity level. Use 100% or 50% of your calories earned by exercise - it doesn't matter - but stick to it for a month.

    Your own numbers are your guide, always. It is an experiment for each of us to run. The calculators get you in the general ballpark. It takes time for your body to respond so try to be consistent. I use a flat 300 calories per hour of moderate exercise regardless of what kind of exercise it is. I came to that number by using an average of several calculators, and then my own results over time.
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,222 Member
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    My fitbit overestimates my burns by 300cals.

    If you haven't lost weight, your calculations must be wrong (must, not might) because cico is not something which works for some but not for others.

    I hope you don't get discouraged but instead find what has gone wrong so that you can achieve yor goals!

    (macros are made of calories: 1gr fat is 9cals and 1gr of carb or prot is 4cals. So it doesn't matter if you count macros or calories. You should be getting the same amount.)
  • danipals1
    danipals1 Posts: 16 Member
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    I had my activity level set to sedentary- thinking that would be on the safe side for adding fitbit adjustments. I ended up with a 400-900 calorie adjustment most days (depending on whether I did a cardio class or weights and I also do a fast 35 minute walk with a neighbor) and always meet my 10,000 step goal. I didn't log any exercise, just used my Fitbit Charge 2 to register my classes. I'll try to drop by 300 calories and see if I can get that stupid scale to budge!

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