IIFYM Practioners just eat “junk”?

quiksylver296 wrote: »

I am someone who follows IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros) as a way of eating. Many times, IIFYM haters state that all we eat is pop tarts, ice cream and cheeseburgers, and IIFYM is unhealthy.

That could be the case for some IIFYMers, I suppose. But I thought I’d give a quick visual representation of what my IIFYM life looks like.

Dinner last night (which was freaking delicious and satisfying):



Breakfast this morning (also delicious and satisfying):



All I’m saying - It isn’t all or nothing. Work the things you love to eat into your diet. I believe all “junk” isn’t healthy, but all “healthy” isn’t healthy, either. Mental health is important, too!

Dont ya know it's all pop tarts and protein shakes? 🤣

Exactly. When we say eat whatever you want as long as it fits your goal (calorie or macro), we don't actually mean "just eat a diet of pixie sticks and cake". Most of us who follow this way of eating do make an effort to incorporate nutrition and so called "healthy" foods into our diet. We usually eat a well balanced and nutritious diet. We just don't think that having a couple of cookies or a cheeseburger and fries "ruins" our diet.

I'd say I follow "if it fits your calories" with a focus on making sure I am close to my protein macro and not having my carbs vs. fats too far out of whack. I can eat whatever I want within that. What I want most of the time ends up being "healthy" food like lean chicken breast, fruits and vegetables, beans, whole grains, etc. But sometimes, what I want is burgers, wings, and pizza.

We should diet to live, not live to diet. Part of enjoying life is enjoying food, and we can still totally do that within the confines of losing weight and healthy living.

Yep, just because a way of eating doesn't specify what specific foods you need to eat, doesn't mean people who follow it don't make healthy choices for themselves.

And just because a food isn't stereotypically "healthy", doesn't mean it isn't or can't be healthy.

We had pizza for dinner last night.

I do love pizza and a few drinks when I'm watching the footy

And yes it fits into my weekly calories and my overall diet does not consist of just pizza and alcohol.

I actually eat more ice cream now that I'm dieting. Hey; I try hard to hit protein, generally tend to be under my fat target (note: I don't follow a low-fat diet, I mainly focus on protein, iron, and fiber and let the rest fall where it falls, which tends to be a little higher on carbs and maybe 22-25% fat instead of 30), and ice cream sandwiches are typically around 140-180 calories. I can fit at least one of those in daily.

Now, it's true I don't buy ice cream by the tub anymore and a single scoop from Baskin-Robbins is a rare treat when I've got room for something more decadent. But it's got a place in healthy eating and it's not really a stretch.