# If it fits your macros (IIFYM)



## QuadFather94 (Jul 26, 2010)

Like to know what your guys thought are on if it fits your macros? I'm a beliver personaly.


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## AK-26 (May 29, 2011)

if it fits why not.


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## badly_dubbed (Nov 21, 2011)

Yup I go with IIFYM too.

Check out Alan Aragons stuff on the subject.


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## Lockon (Nov 21, 2011)

Yeah man it works but I personally wouldnt use it as an excuse to always eat junk. I'd still eat reasonably clean and get a more balanced diet but if in moderation then it is fine.


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## Phez (Sep 2, 2009)

Do you reckon your results would be the same if all of your protein came from broccoli, your carbs from Haribo and your fat from palm oil?

IIFYM works up to a point, but if believe that the finer tunings of nutrition are needed for optimal results.

My two cents.


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## badly_dubbed (Nov 21, 2011)

Agree. I usually amend macros so I can get a tub of Ben and Jerry's froyo in PWO every now and then, not every day however!


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## ConstantCut (Apr 21, 2011)

Think I filled my calorie intake with my cheat meal of kebab tonight, certainly filled my macros!


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## QuadFather94 (Jul 26, 2010)

Yeah I like Alan Aragons stuff on it. Any one seen Ian Mcarthys videos on the subject, very good imo. I personaly use IIFYM ide say I eat 90% "Clean"


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## badly_dubbed (Nov 21, 2011)

Phez said:


> Do you reckon your results would be the same if all of your protein came from broccoli, your carbs from Haribo and your fat from palm oil?
> 
> IIFYM works up to a point, but if believe that the finer tunings of nutrition are needed for optimal results.
> 
> My two cents.


But breaking it down really, the body doesn't see junk or clean, it sees aminos,glucose etc etc...obv eating **** will affect micros...but cho is cho...regardless where it originated from


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## badly_dubbed (Nov 21, 2011)

diixxy said:


> Yeah I like Alan Aragons stuff on it. Any one seen Ian Mcarthys videos on the subject, very good imo. I personaly use IIFYM ide say I eat 90% "Clean"


Just watched a video not the other day by ian and Alan debunking lustigs keynote on sugar! Very good stuff.


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## Jak3D (Jan 21, 2012)

it is definitely a great starting point,


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## badly_dubbed (Nov 21, 2011)

Here it is for anyone interested...


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## Phez (Sep 2, 2009)

badly_dubbed said:


> But breaking it down really, the body doesn't see junk or clean, it sees aminos,glucose etc etc...obv eating **** will affect micros...but cho is cho...regardless where it originated from


Ah, but then you have the problem of fructose preferentially restoring liver glycogen (making in non-optimal if your shooting for muscle glycogen re-compensation).

The main problem with IIFYM though is most likely the foods you would eat instead of eating "clean" will have lower micro-nutrients and more additives and what have you (show me some Sweets that have the vitmain/mineral profile of blueberries and i will be all over that sh!t :thumb: ).


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## badly_dubbed (Nov 21, 2011)

Of course, processed foods will have lesser micro profiles, I'll always agree clean is better, for an optimal health POV, for aesthetics, I doubt it'll make much difference


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## ki3rz (Sep 12, 2011)

I think it works for sure. But IMO if you follow IIFYM majority of the time, it will encourage you to eat junk when IT DOESNT FIT YOUR MACROS.


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## Phez (Sep 2, 2009)

badly_dubbed said:


> Of course, processed foods will have lesser micro profiles, I'll always agree clean is better, for an optimal health POV, for aesthetics, I doubt it'll make much difference


Don't suppose you could hook us up with some articles on the matter?

Tried clicking the link already posted, but the f*cker wouldn't work lol.


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## badly_dubbed (Nov 21, 2011)

Here's the original from Alan on the lustig review

http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/01/29/the-bitter-truth-about-fructose-alarmism/


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## badly_dubbed (Nov 21, 2011)

And there's a little on here about specific carbs being optimal, which he debunks.

http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/04/16/are-you-a-real-t-man/


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## badly_dubbed (Nov 21, 2011)

Another good thread on the subject where Alan hammers in some information, along with some client pictures who ate "dirty" and actually got leaner....

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=130611163&page=1


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## Phez (Sep 2, 2009)

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/hormonal-responses-to-a-fast-food-meal-compared-with-nutritionally-comparable-meals-of-different-composition-research-review.html

Bottom line (I think, way too tired to read the entire article): the odd IIFYM meal isn't going to make or break your diet, but having an entire diet based around junk that hits your macros is probably not a good idea.


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## QuadFather94 (Jul 26, 2010)

Type LiftingForLife on Youtube, Ian Mcarthys channel, very good information about IIFYM and nutrition in general.


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## badly_dubbed (Nov 21, 2011)

Phez said:


> http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/hormonal-responses-to-a-fast-food-meal-compared-with-nutritionally-comparable-meals-of-different-composition-research-review.html
> 
> Bottom line (I think, way too tired to read the entire article): the odd IIFYM meal isn't going to make or break your diet, but having an entire diet based around junk that hits your macros is probably not a good idea.


Lyles stuff is strong, I admire him a lot. Quite a small study though, but interesting stuff would be great on a large scale long term...


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## badly_dubbed (Nov 21, 2011)

OP,

Here's a 30 page thread on the subject over at bb.com

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=133634471&highlight=iifym


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## Phez (Sep 2, 2009)

Btw if anyone here is looking for nice "little" treat to fit into their macros, then Tesco value ice cream is pretty awesome.

At 1100 calories, 20g PRO, 140g CHO and 40g Fat (approx) for the entire 2 L tub I was loving life. Just need to eat broccoli and chicken breast for the rest of the day.

:thumb:


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## bayman (Feb 27, 2010)

Phez said:


> Do you reckon your results would be the same if all of your protein came from broccoli, your carbs from Haribo and your fat from palm oil?
> 
> IIFYM works up to a point, but if believe that the finer tunings of nutrition are needed for optimal results.
> 
> My two cents.


This is not IIFYM though. A little dose of realism needs to be applied, for one, it would be nigh on impossible to get all your protein from broccoli. This is not what Alan is advocating.


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## bayman (Feb 27, 2010)

Phez said:


> Ah, but then you have the problem of fructose preferentially restoring liver glycogen (making in non-optimal if your shooting for muscle glycogen re-compensation).


Although fructose restores liver glycogen this is preferential PWO as it's part of the anabolic signal to grow. Restoring liver glycogen levels is massively important.


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## Dux (Nov 29, 2011)

You couldn't eat junk all day, because ultimately it wouldn't fit your macros.

You'd probably get a crappy meal in, or possibly 2 but the rest of your day would have to be ultra clean to allow a high fat, high carb low protein meal (pizza and ice cream).


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## ConstantCut (Apr 21, 2011)

I've been eating good and doing cardio most of the week, but I'm craving some naughty scran right now grrr!!!

Think a new tub of jack3d and some cardio sessions will be needed after this weekend of what will probably be well of the decent diet! :/


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## Fat (Jan 2, 2010)

Badly_dubbed how do you calculate a kebab and other fast foods lol


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## Malibu (May 13, 2010)

I use this in a way. Although I eat clean 90% of the time, just when the craving get a bit much Ill sub out some meals and sub in a nice 'cheat'


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## Guest (May 3, 2012)

those little pizza express pizzas are amazin post work out, 600 cals, that an 2 chicken breasts.......poifect

yeah i definitely believe in ifiym.


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## Fat (Jan 2, 2010)

diixxy said:


> Type LiftingForLife on Youtube, Ian Mcarthys channel, very good information about IIFYM and nutrition in general.


Why is this guy small?


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## badly_dubbed (Nov 21, 2011)

Fat said:



> Badly_dubbed how do you calculate a kebab and other fast foods lol


Just like Malibu said, tend not to split hairs when it comes to take away foods, if you wanted to be anal and limit the damage as best as you could, then 24hours prior to the planned cheat/feast I would totally fast or if you can't handle abstaining for that long, then eat only proteins on the cheat day (least amount of cals as possible)

This way glycogen stores will be lowered, insulin more sensitive, allowing less spillover onto fat stores (effectively)


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## Dorian Gray (Dec 5, 2011)

The way in which i look at it is, instead of using just brown rice, chicken breast, steak and sweet potato etc for my meals, i just use the IIFYM mind set and use any cards, protein and fat as long as it fits my daily requirements.

So in my daily diet will be things that some might stay away from because they are trying to eat "healthy foods", none the less i try to select my carbs, proteins and fats from decent whole sources, and not crisps etc ha it just allows you to be slightly more open in what you eat. I can have bread, butter etc that some on more traditional diets would shy away from


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## badly_dubbed (Nov 21, 2011)

Butter, especially grassfed like kerrygold is one of the healthiest sources of fat on the face of the planet I don't think anyone dieting or not should neglect it 

Certainly compared to chemical ridden shi.t like margerine!!


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## Dorian Gray (Dec 5, 2011)

Yes mate, kerry gold i use also, some good decent Irish butter that ha! Keep on promoting it for us, might get us out of this fuucking recession


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## PHMG (Jun 15, 2010)

yep, pizza or burgers every night....its the cheesecake i eat after that takes me over fitting the macros :lol:


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## Fat (Jan 2, 2010)

I can't believe I actually wasted months eating low GI **** and eating 'clean' lol I have learnt quite a bit the last few days from reading Alan Aragon's stuff


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## Sharp161 (Jan 31, 2010)

As far as i take this is maybe swapping oats for new potatoes equal to same carbs or chicken for red meat or summat. Seems like an excuse to eat crap to me


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## badly_dubbed (Nov 21, 2011)

Fat said:


> I can't believe I actually wasted months eating low GI **** and eating 'clean' lol I have learnt quite a bit the last few days from reading Alan Aragon's stuff


AA is the MAN.


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## ConstantCut (Apr 21, 2011)

My evening snack just now fits my macros for about 3 days! 2 x double cheeseburgers and 5 pc chicken selects meal!


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## Malibu (May 13, 2010)

On this diet you still need to eat clean... It just allows you a few times a week to have a treat. Eat 'dirty' everyday youll end up retaining water


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## Matt 1 (May 8, 2010)

badly_dubbed said:


> Of course, processed foods will have lesser micro profiles, I'll always agree clean is better, *for an optimal health POV*, for aesthetics, I doubt it'll make much difference


important


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## dtlv (Jul 24, 2009)

Phez said:


> Ah, but then you have the problem of fructose preferentially restoring liver glycogen (making in non-optimal if your shooting for muscle glycogen re-compensation).
> 
> *The main problem with IIFYM though is most likely the foods you would eat instead of eating "clean" will have lower micro-nutrients and more additives and what have you (show me some Sweets that have the vitmain/mineral profile of blueberries and i will be all over that sh!t* :thumb: ).


This is the one point I think makes a difference in respect of an 'eat anything' IIFWYM and a mostly clean IIFWYM diet.

In a general sense IIFWYM is fine for calorie balance and general body composition changes, but two diets with exactly the same overall macro composition but differing micro-nutrient content can potentially have profoundly differing health effects long term.

A little bit of junk is always ok if diet is mostly clean... the 80/20 clean/junk rule is a pretty good if simplistic way to look at it imo.


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