IIFYM stands for If It Fits Your Macros
IIFYM is a diet strategy that says you can eat whatever you like as long as it fits within your macros.
Marcos are protein, carbs, and fats.
Each person has an amount of macros they should eat based on their size, weight, and activity level.
For instance….
A person who weighs 150lbs, works out 5 days per week, and walks 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day
Their macros for weight loss would be
150g of protein
150g of carb
50g of fat
Now this person could eat literally whatever they want as long as they hit those macro goals.
It will take some planning but its is definitely doable.
The Benefits of IIFYM
The main benefit of IIFYM is allowing you to eat foods that you enjoy while trying to lose weight. Often times when people go on diets they eliminate all the foods they love, only to return to them and overeat them because they do not know how to monitor how much is too much.
Another great benefit of IIFYM is you get specific goals to hit each and every day for your food. For some this gives them a ton of direction and makes planning their food for the day very simple, since it either fits into their macros or it doesn’t!
The Drawbacks of IIFYM
The main drawback of IIFYM is it can be easy to over do it on the junk food and when you do that you are left with two options… be very hungry the rest of the day because junk food tends to not fill you up very much, or you can go over your macros for the day causing you not to be inline with your goals for that day.
The sweet spot lies somewhere between these benefits and drawbacks. Keep the foods that you love in your diet while also being conscious to make sure you get the majority of your macros from lean protein, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.
I hope this puts another tool in your tool belt to help keep you successful on your health and fitness journey!
If you have any questions feel free to reach out and we can help guide you in the right direction!