any here practice IIFYM...flexible dieting?

krustus · Jul 29, 2016

i used the principals of IIFYM and flexible dieting and followed less frequent meals for my latest transformation.. it was much more enjoyable than a 6 plus meal of the same few items..

don't get me wrong ...to hit those macros ...i still had to eat a lot of the staples...grilled chicken, lean beef, etc... but i didn't worry at all about sugar... tried to get the majority of my carb calories from staples like rice, potatoes, etc.. but cookies and snacks were almost daily fit into my macros...

occasionally i would not worry about macros at all ...just calories... eat half a dominoes pizza and ice cream and still come in under my calories.

being in a calorie deficit still has some tough suck ass moments... but eating like this made it so much easier to stick it out... i dropped over 25lbs and gain some strength.

anyone else try this method? any thoughts or tips you've learned?

LittleTom · Jul 29, 2016

To a certain extent yes I do. Guys like you and me are not pros and dont compete so why the fuck kill ourselves with such restrictive diets. HOWEVER... there do come certain points when I want to get to that next level of lean, or break through a plateau were IIFYM does not work so well and I will eat a very strict diet. I notice a pretty dramatic change in my body composition when I eat very clean foods. What helps me is when my wife and I (who is in pretty damn good shape) will plan ONE night of the weekend to eat whatever we want. Usually pizza or burgers and a lot.. The rest of the week I will eat pretty damn clean but, I will not get upset if there are some ribs or steak or maybe even a pasta salad in there if it fits into the calorie and macro count. Your right that it makes life a bit easier for the guys who want to look great but are not going up on stage. I try to stay pretty damn lean nowadays so my diet reflects that but I am not eating chicken, rice and broccoli 24/7... maybe like 20/7 😉

LittleTom · Jul 29, 2016

My other train of thought on this is if I am on cycle and spending a few hundred dollars, busting my ass in the gym, why would i not fuel my body with the best possible fuel. Especially on cycle when the body is using what i put into it at an optimal level.

krustus · Jul 29, 2016

I feel you LT. .. but I honestly think I could have kept getting gains or fat loss with the IIFYM approach. .. I had just been on the cut so long I decided to take a break...

Now as for what it takes to get to contest ripped. . I wouldn't know...lol... never been that ripped... I did notice towards the end of my cut when calories were getting pretty low... there just wasn't much room for too much junk food if I was to hit my macros... so the lower I went the cleaner the diet had to be. ...

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LittleTom · Jul 29, 2016

For the most part i agree especially when it comes to gains. When I am trying to cut especially the hard parts (lower back love handles) I cant eat stuff with high carbs or carbs that are just junk like cereal or white breads. That shit just wants to live in those areas. I know everyone is different but i get better results the better I eat.

JuicedVenom · Jul 30, 2016

Diet is one of the most important things in gains, cutting or recomp

TSizemore · Aug 7, 2016

IIFYM works, but is by no means suitable for extreme goal setting. The biggest problem is in performance during hard workouts. If you're eating cheeseburgers and fries for lunch, it's extremely hard to put maximum effort into your lifts or routines.

Now, if you're just cruising with a goal of simple cutting, or maintenance, or even weight gain...then it can and will work. But, just like LT said, you'll find a much more dramatic affect with quality Macros as opposed to general macros. I've argued this point with Layne Norton, but, he didn't want to hear it.....and let's be honest; he has more initials associated with his name, so why would he.

jshredz · Aug 7, 2016

I agree with you Tsize. You can built a decent physique with IIFYM but it will be limited.
You can't expect to put on a great amount of quality mass or expect to be super shredded, unless your genetically predisposed to be so.

Think of it as sprinters vs long distance runners. Their physiques are quite different because of what they do, this also applies to dieting.
(I know its not the samething but just trying to convey a point)

R2D2 · Aug 7, 2016

i seem to get much better results when i eat clean. i've tried both approaches, although admittedly i rarely counted calories or tracked my food intake.

TSizemore · Aug 7, 2016

bossman said:
i seem to get much better results when i eat clean. i've tried both approaches, although admittedly i rarely counted calories or tracked my food intake.

This is just one of the Major problems with this regimen. Most people aren't disciplined enough to do it right. They over indulge, or misunderstand the calories in a food group, and before they know it, they're 20carbs over, or 15 fats high, or it's 5pm and they've officially run out of food!

My wife does IIFYM, and she does quite well at it. But, she tracks her food and inputs everything so she knows exactly what she has or has had.

Remember the phrase GIGO? It applies to dieting 100%

krustus · Aug 7, 2016

although admittedly i rarely counted calories or tracked my food intake.

calories and tracking are requirements for IIFYM

My wife does IIFYM, and she does quite well at it. But, she tracks her food and inputs everything so she knows exactly what she has or has had.

the tracking very meticulously is the key... a food scale is a necessity...

when you are in the last weeks of a diet and IIFYM will not allow you to eat junk and still hit your macros.... cheeseburgers and pop tarts won't fit much in a 2000 or lower cal situation

i think IIFYM works well for getting just in the lean condition... i have never been contest ripped... it may not work for that. a good approach might be IIFYM ... until the last of a cut then switch it up to keto...or carb cycling...or whatever is needed to get to the lower single digits

TSizemore · Aug 7, 2016

Getting contest ripped doesn't have to involve any "tricks" really. Remember contest shape isn't something one tries to maintain....it's something you do for a very short term goal. Pretty much it involves carb and fat depletion. Followed by maybe a day of carb allowance (for the majority). IIFYM is a lifestyle meal regimen that's flexible in the types of foods you eat as long as you hit your specific Macro counts. Flexible dieting is a just a method of eating. Any one of the different ways to consume calories in a specific manner will work to reach a reasonable goal, but you hit the nail on the head Krustus, they all have to be consistent in their application or no regimen will work.

HTFU · Aug 7, 2016

JuicedVenom said:
Diet is one of the most important things in gains, cutting or recomp

Couldn't agree more... Dieting is the most important followed by stretching... I agree with LT... Even tho I eat sleep and breath fitness if I'm spending all this money on juice and essential sups I'm going to train my hardest... Consistency is key.... Right now I'm on a keto diet fuck is it kicking my ass!

LittleTom · Aug 7, 2016

I think most of us are essentially saying the same thing. Some of you guys are just at different places in terms of competitions. Krustus has one thing absolutely right, consistency. Eating right consistently and then like others stated, pull out all the stops for a time to meet specific goals.