Flexible Dieting/IIFYM: If It Fits Your Macros

       If you decide to adopt an eating plan and it is an exclusionary diet, that is, if it says you cannot eat this or you cannot eat that OR if you only eat a certain type of food…back away slowly. You should NEVER adopt an eating plan that excludes a food group or macro group. You should also NEVER adopt an eating plan that tells you to eat only a certain type of food.

As humans, we need a percentage of each macronutrient in order to healthily function. The macronutrient groups are carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Fiber is also an important part of any eating plan. What I LOVE about IIFYM, is you can eat anything!!! Yes, you heard that right ANYTHING!!! However, if you use up all your grams of one macronutrient group for the day eating something, you will have to adjust the rest of your food for the rest of the day. It’s a give-and-take, balancing act. I do not like calling this a diet because the word diet has very negative connotations. It also denotes something that is temporary. I like to think of IIFYM as a change in eating habits that will keep you healthy for the rest of your life. So I am going to rename this Flexible Eating Habits.

In order to figure out how many grams you should each of each macronutrient, you should first figure out your BMR, or basal metabolic rate. This is the amount of calories you need to function each day…breath, move, work, etc. See the equation below to figure out your BMR:

For men: BMR = 10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (years) + 5

For women: BMR = 10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (years) – 161

Here is link that can calculate your BMR for you

Once you have that number, multiply it using the equation below according to your activity level during the day:

▪ Lightly Active = BMR x 1.3-1.4

▪ Moderately Active = BMR x 1.5-1.6

▪ Very Active = BMR x 1.7-1.8

Add those calories for your activity levels to your BMR, and then divide those calories into 40% carbohydrates, 40% protein and 20% fat. Your goal is to fit your meals into this 40/40/20 set-up. If it fits your macros (IIFYM), you can eat it. You should also get about 25-30 grams of fiber also.

If you burn even more calories exercising, you can do one of three things. If you want to maintain your current weight, you add the calorie amount that you burn when working out onto the your BMR + activity level calories. If you want to lose weight, do NOT add the exercise calorie amount onto the total. If you need to gain weight, add the exercise calorie burn amount + even more calories.

To figure out how many grams you should have of each macronutrient, divide: the carbohydrate calorie % number by 4, the protein calorie % number by 4 and the fat calorie % number by 9. There are a lot of great apps out there where you can enter your macros and then enter the food you eat and will keep track of how many macros you have eaten/have left to eat in a day. I have had great success with this program. You will too if you stick to it☺

Healthy, happy eating to you.  I will be writing more posts on this topic.  What would you like to know about IIFYM??