Transitioning from Full Bro to Flexible Dieting

Brett Sodie

GymTrainLift.com

Nothing has sparked more confusion and heated debate in the bodybuilding and fitness community than If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM) / Flexible Dieting. IIFYM is still a pretty fresh concept in the scene of fitness and bodybuilding, gaining mainstream popularity just 2 to 3 years back. Most people find themselves split into one of two camps, those that adamantly hate IIFYM, and those that fully embrace it. Ironically many of IIFYM’s biggest advocates were once vehemently opposed to this flexible style of dieting. In a nutshell the idea behind IIFYM is this: Meet your macronutrient requirements for the day regardless of food source or “cleanliness”. Now most people exercise common sense while using the flexible dieting approach, taking into consideration things like fiber and micronutrient requirements, but there are those reckless IIFYM’ers out there dieting only on cakes and whey. This is where the 80/20 rule comes into play; get 80% of your macronutrients from healthy, whole foods (chicken breasts, oats, sweet potatoes, etc.) and fill in the last 20% with foods you enjoy eating.

So why should YOU dabble in the Flexible Dieting lifestyle?

IIFYM Benefits

– Enjoy “cheat foods” without cheating

– Eat out at restaurants with friends and family

– Reduce time spent on meal preparation

– Feel like a normal person while dieting

– Helps Maintain a healthy relationship with food

– All the cool kids are doing it (but actually…)

So you’re intrigued, but still a little wary of eating pop tarts and cheeseburgers, understandable; there are a few things you need to be aware of before you begin IIFYM. First and foremost you MUST be comfortable with tracking your macros to the T. If you’re dieting on clean healthy foods, keeping a somewhat watchful eye on your overall calories, you are NOT ready for IIFYM. If you’re calorie counting but not paying attention to your proteins, fats and carbohydrates, you are NOT ready for IIFYM. I’m not saying it’s impossible to start tracking your macros and start flexible dieting all at once, but it’s much easier once you’ve adjusted to tracking macros with foods you’re familiar with.

Once you’ve become familiar with tracking macros and have a general idea of what foods contain what macros, you’ll be ready to implement some flexibility into your eating. If you’ve become accustomed to a “bro” or clean style of eating, you should look to make small changes in one or two of your meals each day. Look for foods that are relatively easy to fit in your meals. For example, one Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich has nearly identical macros as a half cup of oats, simply swap the oats for a Skinny Cow and you’ve successfully fit a delicious desert into your macros, congratulations! Once you become comfortable with adjusting food choices based on what you feel like eating you can start tracking macros on the fly, giving you a practically endless meal plan. (Apps like My Fitness Pal will make life much simpler when tracking your macros on the fly)

Keep in mind “dirty” foods will typically be much more calorically dense, so while you will be satisfying your cravings when you fit something in your macros like a pop tart, it may not give you the same satiety as something like a bowl of oats or a sweet potato. People dieting on a very low level of calories, someone in the final weeks of contest prep for example may not find IIFYM to be an optimal form of dieting for this reason. When you start getting below the 2000 calorie mark it becomes harder to fit those “dirty” foods into your diet without sacrificing fiber and micronutrients.

Successfully implementing IIFYM into your diet and nutrition is all about balance. Bodybuilding and fitness should enhance ones overall health; getting vital micronutrients and fiber plays a huge role in this. If you can eat to hit your goals, nourish your body with vitamins and minerals AND enjoy some of the not so healthy foods you love, then you’ve truly leveraged IIFYM to its max potential.