If it fits your micros IIFYM

What is the meaning of “macros?”  How does it help you?  Is it a good tool for weight loss?

Macros are short for macronutrients.  Bodybuilding groups have used it to calculate calories. However, in recent years calorie counting has become mainstream — primarily as a tool to change body composition.

Counting macronutrients is also referred to as “flexible dieting” or “If It Fits Your Macros” (“IIFYM”), which is to track what you eat that focuses on counting grams of the three macronutrients that provide calories: protein, carbohydrates, and fat.

All of these components impact overall health and body composition in different ways. The diet does not make specific recommendations like eating lots of healthy food or whole grains. Instead, you calculate your macros to tailor the diet to your specific metabolic demands. Based on the calculation, people are allowed to eat whatever foods they would like as long as it fits their individual macronutrients. 

All foods, from beef to vegetables, are made up of protein, carbohydrates, and/or fat, often a combination of more than one macronutrient. Each macronutrient provides a different function within our body, and all three macronutrients are essential to our health.

The total amount of calories you eat in one day is just one factor in achieving a fitness or weight loss goal.  The macronutrient profile, which means the percentages of protein, fat, and carbohydrates you consume are all important. 

Diet guidelines for Americans normally recommend most people eat around 45-65 percent of calories from carbohydrates, 15-25 percent from protein, and 20-35 percent from fat.  However, the typical American eats more calories from carbohydrates and fat than protein.

To get the best out of it, you should eat all macros in the right amounts that fit the best for you, which can be different from person to person. Some people get benefits from eating more healthy fats or whole grains, depending on their lifestyle. Changing the amount of each macro that you eat on a regular basis impacts both lean muscle mass and fat mass.

With the goal of weight loss in mind on the IIFYM method, people will have to limit their intake of calories, and they may need to eat 30% of calories from protein, 30% from fat, and 40% from carbohydrates. 

On the other hand, another person who wants to conduct weight training may wish to consume different percentages of macros.

With macro counting, each person’s total calories and their macronutrient profile are tailored to their individual goals.  The appeal of macro counting for many people is that they are free to choose whatever foods they’d like to have as long as it fits into their daily macronutrient totals of calories, no matter if that’s cabbage or steak.

Let’s talk about how to start with the IIFYM diet.  There are three main steps to follow IIFYM diet: 

1. Calculate how many calories you need to maintain your current weight;

2. Determining how many calories to cut for the desired weight loss;

3. Distribute these calories by the three macros: proteins, carbohydrates, and fats

There are many factors in the calculations including age, sex, weight, height, and activity levels, etc.

For the first step, you can use the IIFYM calculator on the IIFYM website to do the calculations of how many calories you need to maintain your current weight.  After you have that number, the second step is to factor in the average physical activity level.  Your activity level affects the number of calories that the body uses. This procedure is called Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE).

You can calculate your TEDD using the IIFYM website’s TDEE calculator.  After you have your TEDD, the next step is to adjust calorie needs for your desired weight.

According to the IIFYM website, you will subtract 15 to 20 percent of the TDEE to get the number of how many calories you should eat per day to achieve your weight loss goals.

In the final step, you will decide your daily macro needs.   You will divide the calory value into what the website calls “adjusted macros.” This will determine how many macros a person needs, based on their current body weight. Visit IIFYM website to obtain the macros figures to develop a IIFYM meal plan.

Like calorie counting, “if it fits in your macros” doesn’t take into consideration the healthfulness of a food, or important nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. So although it may result in weight loss for some, it can still be an unhealthy diet if followers choose highly processed foods over whole foods that offer more nutrition.

IIFYM may work well for those who want to choose the types of foods they want as long as the  calories intake are within limit. However, it’s important to note that not all calories function the same.  500 calories of beef does not provide the same nutrients as 500 calories of fish or vegetables.  In that words, there are other things to consider in addition to calories, such as healthy food and food quality, which are important matters. 

For example, a diet that includes a variety of vegetables, whole grains, fish and plant-based proteins, and healthy fats is a far better choice than junk foods, even if it is within the limit of your macros.

Advantages of IIFYM

The IIFYM method of dieting is more flexible than other dieting because it allows choices of more types of foods as a combination, as long as the combination of foods do not exceed their macro targets.

This way it is less stressful to follow the diet, and so it is more enjoyable.  When you enjoy something, it is more likely that you will stick to it and be successful.

Disadvantages of IIFYM

Although IIFYM is more flexible comparing to many other directing programs, you still have to do the macronutrients counting with accuracy. For track the macronutrients of each meal will take efforts and persistency.  It can be time consuming and cost your energy.  If you dine out, it can be difficult to accurately take down the amounts of all the foods you eat.

Another disadvantage is that simply following IIFYM does not mean you are eating healthy.  As mentioned above, although with the same total calories, the choices of the foods you consume makes a difference.  Choosing the right foods can help you lose weight, but also promote your health in general.