Thoughts on IIFYM

August 27th, 2014 by

Question received today:

“Are you an IIFYM group or strict dieting and cardio?”

Is this really what this industry is being reduced to? IIFYM against the world? Either, or? This is just getting out of hand.

The question implies that an IIFYM approach is the antithesis to “strict dieting” and that IIFYMers don’t do cardio.

The whole thing is just getting bastardized now.

I like what Cole Drotman posted on SiouxCountry today where he said:

“Anyone else very disturbed by what appears to be happening to this industry? I’m surrounded by zealots all ranting and raving, many having good intentions, but going way off the deep end. It’s like a war between the guru led clean eaters and the science led IIFYM eaters, and both sides are looking to me a lot like zealots, regardless of whether science is on their side. What is worse, people with tons of followers who don’t understand the science are trying to fight the battle but getting it wrong (and misleading other people in the process). One person I see who has a huge following basically thinks LISS is the anti-christ (and makes up fake scientific information about why it’s so bad, like that it stops burning fat after a week) and instead advocates ridiculously high training volume and believes overtraining does not exist. A few people have really gone off the deep end and it looks eerily like a cult following to me…

Am I the only one noticing that we have two sides of the same coin here. Extremism but in opposite directions…”

I completely agree with Cole as I am observing the same thing.

Here is basically what LBC stands for:

The BEST approach is “If It Fits Your Calories and is REASONABLY Close To Your Macronutrient Goals”. That is the ultimate in dietary flexibility and is even MORE flexible than IIFYM. You do not have to obsess over perfectly hitting macronutrient goals for the day. It’s majoring in the minor. Whether you eat 225, 200, 250g carbs for example, doesn’t matter if at the end of the day you hit your caloric target. Same thing with protein and fat.

So you ate a bit more protein today? Eat a bit less carbs and/or fat to compensate for the extra calories. Ate a little more dietary fat? Same thing. Carbs? Same thing. The macros are “close enough” to not matter. Focus on being reasonably close.

This allows you to NOT have to be an obsessive number cruncher and calculator carrier. “Oh darn, I’m a few grams off from the macros my diet says I have to have, so I can’t have this.” Sure you can, who cares? It’s REASONABLY CLOSE. Adjust elsewhere in the day.

Hit your calories first and foremost. Get reasonably close to your macro goals. You do NOT have to perfectly “fit your macros”. Just as clean eating is not a fat-loss requirement, neither is perfectly hitting your macros.

As for cardio, the LBC philosophy here is generally well known and it’s been the same since Day 1. In the context of fat loss, do as LITTLE AS NECESSARY to achieve results.