IIFYM Diet Bodybuilding
Before you ask, it stands for If It Fits Your Macros (macros being macronutrients, obviously). It's a new craze that's taken the bodybuilding world by storm due to its lax and relaxed approach to overall nutrition.
Let's clear up some more myths whilst we're here, the first myth is about "clean" food. When you think of that you visualize skinless chicken breast and the like, other "healthy" foods. Now let's say someone eats nothing but healthy foods, and somebody eats chocolate all day. Who would lose weight faster? We can't say, simply because weight (note: I said weight and not fat) loss comes down to calories, simple as. Mean as long as you eat fewer calories than your BMR, you can have those cookies. (Fat loss has a whole lot of other attributes like protein intake etc).
Now, I'm all for eating healthy as you just feel better. But we all know the suffering of trying to be 100% perfect, not only that, but it's also extremely hard to bring clean foods with you everywhere you go(especially for busy people) and that where IIFYM comes in. You should know what macros you want to hit, usually something like 40/30/30(protein/carbohydrates/fats) is abided too. This means that as long as those cookies fit in your macros (and calories), you can have them.
IIFYM is not an excuse to ram your throat full of whatever junk food you can find, eating healthy should still be important to you. It's incredibly handy if my girlfriend drags me out to a restaurant or for thanksgiving dinner (I usually fast for 24 hours beforehand and absolutely MASSACRE the dinner table, but that's a story for another day) I can usually choose the healthiest looking thing, without having to be that awkward guy who's asking for nutritional values on everything, or even worse avoids social situations altogether because he's scared of breaking his diet.
Also, treating yourself most days rather than once a week gives me a huge piece of mind, I'm not constantly eyeing up everybody else's dinner. I know I've had my treat and that's that.
You'll get a lot of people who are against this method and believe eating fully clean is always the way to go, and there is some good points. It's up to you whether the pros outweigh the cons and whose side you'll eventually wind up on. The main 2 arguments are the GI of carbohydrates you'll be consuming and the feeling of hunger you'll get.
These are 2 very valid points. However, I believe that GI has miniscule meaning unless you're diabetic, and I fast every other day so hunger's nothing to me. I won't force my opinion on to you; it's up for you to decide for yourself!
