IIFYM – Eat What You Want and Still Lose Weight
3 min
©foodspring
Can you indulge in pizza, pasta, and other pleasures and still lose weight? That’s what the concept of IIFYM promises. Let’s break down what IIFYM is all about and whether you can really slim down your body without sacrificing your favorite foods.
For anyone who wants to lose a few kilos without giving up their favorite goodies, the concept of IIFYM seems quite appealing. With “If It Fits Your Macros,” you don’t have to limit yourself – everything is allowed on your plate as long as it fits your ideal macronutrient distribution.
What is IIFYM?
“If It Fits Your Macros,” or IIFYM for short, refers less to a diet and more to a new nutritional approach. The aim is to be able to eat what you want and still achieve weight loss, or maintain a healthy weight. Is IIFYM an excuse for eating snacks on the daily? Unfortunately not, because the key to success here lies in the right macro(nutrient) distribution.
Macronutrients are comprised of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, and they each have a different energy density. As your main sources of energy, they form the basis of any nutritional plan. Try our nutrition plan with its own macro calculator to give you a sense of what food balance your body needs daily. To achieve your weight loss goal with IIFYM, it’s essential to consider the energy density (the calories and macros per volume) of the different foods you eat.
1g Protein = 4.1 calories
1g Fat = 9.3 calories
1g Carbohydrates = 4.1 calories
The Concept
You’ll soon discover that with IIFYM there is no way around counting calories! If you want to lose weight, you need to consume fewer calories per day than you burn in a day. If you want to gain weight, you need to consume more calories than you burn. Using our free calorie calculator, you can easily find out how many calories your body needs daily, whether you want to lose weight, gain weight, or maintain a steady weight. But there’s more to it than that.
IIFYM also focuses, as the name suggests, on the distribution of the macros you eat. That means you need to consider what kind of macronutrients make up the food you are eating. Your consumed calories are divided into proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. The ideal macro needs will vary from person to person based on their goals, gender, and body type. A popular breakdown for IIFYM is 40/40/20: 40% protein, 40% carbohydrates and 20% fats.
IIFYM Calculator
So, not only is it important to stick to your individual calorie requirements but also to make sure that your food actually fits your macros. If, for example, you want to treat yourself to a pizza for dinner, you can reduce your fat and carbohydrate intake earlier in the day and then make up for it with the fats and carbs from the pizza.
Once you have calculated your macronutrients, you should also know how many calories you need to eat daily to reach your personal weight goal. Unlike conventional calorie counting, though, IIFYM lets you do just about anything! “Clean eating” is not a must. We nevertheless recommend that you eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, because it’s not only the macro- but also the micronutrients in your food that matter.
Our Tip: Proteins keep you feeling full longer than carbohydrates do. Have you already eaten your cheat meal, but still feel like eating a snack? Then try one of our healthy foods as an alternative. How about a delicious Chocolate Protein Brownie?
IIFYM Recipes
Even if you control your macros, not every meal has to become a cheat meal. Healthy and balanced eating should always be the major focus of your diet. But when you’d like to treat yourself, feast away with our easy recipes. We have tons of ideas for delicious food that ties right in with IIFYM.
Crepes with chocolate cream
Have a sweet breakfast with fluffy crepes topped with raspberries and chocolate cream. Thanks to our Protein Cream, you’ll be able to savor this chocolate dream with no regrets. Pure indulgence with 85% less sugar.
Creamy Noodles with Salmon
Then for lunch, load up on pasta, served best with our recipe for creamy salmon sauce. The best thing is that you can prepare this recipe in only a few minutes. So you”ll have even more time to enjoy this delicious pasta.
Tarte Flambée
Having friends over for dinner? No problem. With our Tarte Flambée for Fitness you can even enjoy an extra slice or two.
Summary
IIFYM is not just about counting calories but has you consider your intake of macros, i.e. the ratio of calories you consume from proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
- IIFYM stands for “If It Fits Your Macros.”
- Your macros are divided into carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.
- You can eat any foods you like as long as it fits into the appropriate daily distribution of calories and macros.
- Of course, you should always focus on eating a healthy and balanced diet.
Sources for this article
We at foodspring use only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial policy to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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