Have you ever come across the diet plan known simply as IIFYM means?
Do you know how to calculate your macros? Is tracking your macros hard for you?
IIFYM is not a newly formed diet plan. As a matter of fact, IIFYM is quickly becoming a preferred diet choice of a number of gym buddies. But what is this diet all about and why are people so interested in it. We will try to breakdown this deitary plan for newbies to understand better.
IIFYM – What is this Diet Plan?
IIFYM is an acronym that simply means – ‘If It Fits Your Macros’. IIFYM is a flexible dieting plan designed to target primarily your day-to-day macronutrient requirements regardless of what you eat instead of an emphasis on achieving your daily macronutrient target through the consumption of specific types of foods.
With IIFYM you don’t have to bother about following a rigid nutrition plan that may deny you the comfort of eating foods that you actually like rather than those that are deemed to be well suited to a specific dietary plan. IIFYM comes with three (3) major pointers, namely;
- Having a daily plan for your macros is essential.
- Keeping proper track of the food(s) you eat is crucial.
- There is no limit to what types of food you can eat. All you need to be concerned with is not exceeding your macros for the day.
Let’s say for example that your total macros for today is 2,500 grams (g) with 400g of healthy fat, 1,200g of carbs, and 900g of protein, you may decide to make up these numbers by eating any food you like provided your total macros (2,500g) for today is not exceeded.
How to Calculate Your Daily Macros
To calculate your daily macros the first thing you need to do is to figure out your Total Daily Energy Expenditure or “TDEE” for short. TDEE is basically the total amount of calories that you require in order to sustain your present body weight.
With TDEE, both your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and current level of activities including normal bodily functions like your heartbeat, breathing and digestion as well as physical activities like your daily movement and workouts are vital components for consideration.
Where your fitness goal is cutting, you simply need to consume less food in a calorie deficit diet compared to your TDEE. On the other hand, where your fitness goal is bulking, then you have to consume more food in a calorie surplus diet compared to your TDEE. If your goal is to maintain your present body weight, then your TDEE and caloric intake should be at par.
To calculate your respective macros, you can follow the plan below:
For Proteins:
You should consume between 0.8g-1.2g per pound of body weight. Proteins help in promoting the quick repair as well as growth of muscles.
For Healthy Fats:
For your fat intake, it should consist of between 20-35% of your respective caloric intake. Healthy fats support the production of hormones in the body leading to improved general health.
For Carbs:
Carbs should make up the remainder of your caloric intake. If you want sustained energy throughout your training session, you should take your carb intake seriously.
Imagine that you have a TDEE of about 2,500 calories with your expected bodybuilding goal being to maintain the weight you are presently on. You can get a better understanding of your respective calories from the example below.
Protein:
1g/lb of a body weight of 150 Ib will be 150g of protein or 600 calories.
Fats:
You get 625 calories for 25% of 2,500 calories. 625 calories divided by a factor of 9 will give you approximately 70g of fat.
Carbs:
To calculate the calories that remain, deduct 600 calories of protein and 625 calories of fat from the TDEE of 2,500 calories to give 1,275 calories. Divide 1,275 calories by a factor of 4 to give approximately 320g of carbs.
To track your macros you can make use of popular tracking apps such as “Lose It”, “Cronometer”, and “MyFitnessPal.” You should also try to get a food scale as this will help you to measure the right portions of food in order to hit respective macros.
When buying foods take time out to read through the nutrition facts on the labels to be sure of what you are buying. Make sure to consistently track your food consumption in order to achuebe your respective macros target.
You can halt your fitness progress with inconsistent or poor tracking. Be sure to review your respective progress on occasion and make adjustments to your respective macros to keep you on the path of your fitness goal(s).
The Benefits of an IIFYM Diet
IIFYM is Sustainable
IIFYM is a diet plan tgat ebabkes you to decide on which foods to consume which makes it a sustainable, as you can switch from one set of food choices to another since this diet plan is flexible and not restrictive in your food preferences.
IIFYM can be Personalised
The flexibility of the IIFYM diet ensures that your plan is fully customised to your food preferences and unique to you.
IIFYM helps Promote Moderation
By keeping to a targeted daily calorie count, you will be in a better position to eat foods you like, but within a caloric constraint ensuring that you do not overindulge, overeat or engage in binge eating.
IIFYM Promotes Proper Nutrition
When you hit your targeted macronutrients, you are more likely to provide your body with proper nutrition for good health, especially when you consume clean, unprocessed, healthy foods a majority of the time.
IIFYM Diet Plan Tips
Prepare a List of Foods
If you want to run a successful IIFYM diet plan, you should be prepared to have anlist of foods that you would want to include in your daily meal plan. By preparing a food list before you commence with the diet, you will be able to know which foods help in meeting your required caloric intake for the day in question.
Vary Your Food List
Remember that IIFYM allows you to eat just about any food thst you prefer, so feel free to vary your food list to make your diet plan interesting. While it is advisable to have a food list consisting mainly of healthy foods, you can add a little spice to your food list with snacks.
Make Hydration a Priority
You should not play around with dehydration as it can cause a myriad of health issues. Therefore, make sure you prioritize your hydration by drinking sufficient amounts of water daily to help with your metabolism, digestive system and mental faculties.
Be Mindful of Your Progress
Your progress should be your driving force. But without knowing much about your weight, physical measurements and/or general attitude, you are less likely to know if you are progressing or not.
So, keep a record of your program by way of progress photos to show how far you have come.
Be Patient
The results you expect to achieve may or may not take time. So, you should try as much as possible to exercise some patience when you start your IIFYM diet.
Conclusion
It is possible for you to meet your expected bodybuilding goals when you draw up an IIFYM plan. However, you increase you chances of success when you learn how to properly keep track of your macros as well as caloric intake considering that you are free to choose the foods you want under IIFYM.
It is always better to eat healthy, unprocessed, clean meals rather than processed foods that may seriously hinder your fitness progress and general health. Finally, we will like to hear from you, so feel free to send us a message here about your preferred diet plan. Our experts will promptly respond to any enquires as well as comments.
