Any diet means prohibition. A kind of prison from which you want to get out as soon as possible. But on the IIFYM diet you can eat everything without restrictions… Or are there still restrictions? Is it possible to lose weight on it and what principles should you follow for this? We’ll tell you in detail!
What Is the IIFYM Diet and How Did It Come About?
The acronym IFYM stands for If It Fits Your Macros.
The detailed rules of this flexible diet were first described in the book of sports nutritionist and physiologist Lyle McDonald – A Guide to Flexible Dieting. In his writings, he advised adhering to the 80/20 rule: that is, allocate 80% of the calorie content of the diet to healthy foods and leave no more than 20% for “harmful” ones.
Tasty “harmful foods,” according to the expert, help you stay on your diet and survive it comfortably, as well as ensure the stable functioning of all body systems under temporary restrictive measures.
“In recommendations for Americans 2020-2025” describes a principle similar to Macdonald’s 80/20 rule. This is, first of all, a balance of basic and additional food, and not a balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Basic food should account for 85% of everything a person eats per day, and additional food should account for 15%.
Basic food includes vegetables, fruits, cereals, bread, pasta, legumes, fish and seafood, meat, eggs, dairy products, oils, nuts and seeds. In addition – all the sweets and “bad things” that we usually deprive ourselves of: candy, marshmallows, marmalade, cookies, cakes, sausage, chips, sweet soda.
Mark Haub proved by his own example that to lose weight, it doesn’t matter what food the body gets calories from, the main thing is to spend more of them than you receive. He consumed 1,800 calories a day from Twinkies, corn chips, and Oreos, compared to his daily requirement of 2,600 calories. After following the diet for two months, Haub lost 12 kg.
MacDonald’s idea was developed by entrepreneur and fitness enthusiast Anthony Collova. He founded the website IIFYM.com, where he outlined detailed nutrition principles and simplified the calculation of macronutrients by developing a special calculator.
By adhering to the principles of Flexible Diet IIFYM, you can savor your favorite treats guilt-free while still aiming for your weight loss goals, just like online casino slots, balancing enjoyment and discipline effortlessly.
How to Count Macros
The If It Fits Your Macros diet encourages you to track your daily intake of macronutrients (macros), depending on your goal to lose, gain, or maintain a healthy weight. They must enter the body in certain proportions.
There are three main macronutrients: protein, fat and carbohydrates. Each of them performs a specific job in the body and affects body composition. They all have different energy values and are needed by the body in different quantities.
Proteins should account for 10-35% of total calories per day. At the same time, 1 g of protein contains 4 kcal.
Carbohydrates should account for 45-65% of total calories per day. 1 g of carbohydrates contains 4 kcal.
Fats should account for 20-35% of total calories per day. 1 g of fat contains 9 kcal.
The IIFYM nutrition system allows you to eat anything as long as it meets your individual daily macronutrient requirements.
Have you been dreaming of fried chicken with potatoes? Please, you can eat it for lunch, the main thing is that it fits into your daily calorie intake.
Have you seen a stunning cream cake in a pastry shop window? A piece won’t hurt you, just subtract it from your daily calories and macronutrients.
Fact! For many people, the IIFYM nutrition system is a breath of fresh air after unsuccessful attempts to lose weight on restrictive diets. It gives you freedom in choosing foods and allows you to get rid of the fear of food, which is why it has gained such popularity.
Why Is It Better to Count Dietary Fat Rather than Calories?
Macronutrient ratios are very important for both health and building a healthy body. In a multi-year study involving hundreds of thousands of people, the effect of BJU percentage on weight change and overall body composition was studied.
The results showed that replacing a percentage of fat with protein resulted in weight gain, as did replacing carbohydrates with the same percentage of protein. Diets with 20-25% protein of total calories led to weight gain, compared to diets with 14% protein.
Therefore, depending on the goals of dieting (lose weight, gain weight, or maintain a healthy weight), you need to control not just the caloric content of the diet, but the ratio of macronutrients.
Until recently, in classical dietetics there were rules regulating the amount of dietary fat that should be consumed per day. If we talk about the classics, it is 50% carbohydrates, 25% proteins and 25% fats. Currently, there are many macronutrient intake regimens, and this is good. After all, there is no perfect balance for everyone.
We are all different, with our own level of physical activity, health status, and diseases. Individual parameters leave their mark on the optimal ratio of Carbohydrates, Proteins, and Fats. For example, with type 2 diabetes, you need to limit the amount of carbohydrates (in particular, simple ones). Everything is individual. What suits one may not suit another.
