JD’s top 3 IIFYM mistakes
Don’t eat any carbs. Only eat green vegetables. Don’t eat after 5pm. Only eat what a caveman would have found. For so long I wondered why people would choose these fad diets over a sensible, IIFYM type approach to dieting. I’m no psychologist, but I think I’ve figured it out… people like to be told exactly what to do. And the problem… IIFYM puts you in control and takes a little extra work. I’ll save the details of IIFYM for another article, but for those of you already taking the IIFYM leap of faith, I’ll share with you some of the most common mistakes I’ve seen made.
1. YOU DON’T PREPARE YOUR OWN FOOD
Preparation is the key to success in anything you do. Your diet is no different. If you want to meet your goals of gaining muscle, losing fat and everything in between you need to have a plan. How many calories are you consuming? What are your macros? What foods are you going to eat? When are you going to cook your food? If you’re eating at a restaurant how do you make that fit?
Develop answers to these questions in advance. Plan out your food intake like a work week. Write it down, plan it out, and hit your macros every day.
2. YOU DON’T TRACK YOUR DAILY INTAKE
I’ve seen this a few times. Don’t get how this happens either. IIFYM does not mean that you can eat whatever you want whenever you want. If you’re not preparing your food in advance and you’re searching for something to eat, you have to track your intake. The only way to figure out how many carbs you have left for the day is to know how many you’ve already eaten.
It’s called myfitnesspal. It’s free and it works brilliantly. Download it.
3. A CALORIE IS A CALORIE
A calorie is NOT a calorie. While your daily caloric intake is one of the most important parts of IIFYM dieting,
hitting your macros and planning your food is equally as important. IIFYM gets a bad name in the media from people that believe it’s all donuts, coffee, and cake. But realistically, each macro and micronutrient affects your body in a different way. Simple carbs like sugar, for example will spike your insulin and could promote fat storage. Protein on the other hand is very hard for your body to store as fat.
The bottom line here is that you need to do some planning. It’s a little harder to follow general guidelines than specific rules, but once you’ve mastered the IIFYM diet you’ll be set to live a very healthy lifestyle.
Author: JD
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