Hey, this is Sean Nalewanyj, of EliteImpactLabs.com. And today, I'm going to be talking about the
concept of "If It Fits Your Macros" of IIFYM for short. Now, this whole "If It Fits Your
Macros" thing has become a hugely popular topic in the online bodybuilding community
over the past couple of years. And it's led to huge debates on the discussion forums,
and chat rooms and YouTube videos between the proponents of "Clean eating" and the people
who side with "If It Fits Your Macros". The Clean Eaters will point at the IIFYM guys
and said, "They're lazy and unmotivated." And the IIFYM guys will accuse the clean eating
guys of being uninformed Bro scientists who don't understanding nutritional science. At
the end of the day, there's really not a whole lot to argue here. If It Fits Your Macros
is actually not a diet or a specific nutrition protocol. All If It Fits Your Macros really
means is this; as long as your overall macronutrient totals, so your protein, carbs and fats, as
well as your micronutrient needs, so your vitamins, your minerals, your antioxidants,
et cetera, as long as those are being met for the day, it doesn't really matter which
specific foods you consume in order to meet those totals. That's it. That's really all
If It Fits Your Macros means. As a side note, I actually think it would probably be more
accurate and cause less confusion if it was called "If it fits your macros and your micros",
but that's outside the point. At the end of the day, there's really no way to argue against
this. Your body does not view your nutrient intake within the context of individual food
items. One chicken breast, and one cup of rice and one bowl of Fruit Loops are not seen
as separate entities. The body can't say, "That's a chicken breast, that's rice, and
those are Fruit Loops." In addition, it doesn't look at the first two items and say, "Those
first two items are healthy and that last item is unhealthy." All the body really sees
is the overall amount of calories, the protein content, the carbohydrate content, the fat
content as well as assortment of fiber and micronutrients all mixed together in a giant
blob of chewed up goo. The truth is that bodybuilding nutrition is really just a numbers game. As
part of a diet designed to support muscle growth and overall health, you have specific
daily macronutrient and micronutrient needs in order to achieve optimal results. And your
goal is to meet those numbers at the end of the day, period. As long as the total mixture
of food that you consume throughout that day meets those numbers, it really makes no practical
difference at all what those exact food items are. Now, I'm sure a lot of you watching this
are shaking your heads, you know, shaking your head and thinking that -- I'm saying
that it's possible to eat nothing but pizza, and burgers, and ice cream and still maximize
your results. And that's definitely not what I'm saying, nor is it what people who actually
understand If It Fits Your Macros are saying. Even people who follow the overall philosophy
of If It Fits Your Macros, if that's what you want to call it, those people still get
the majority of their food intake from traditional clean bodybuilding foods like chicken breast,
and rice and then vegetables. Why? Well, it's because the diet still has to meet your macros
and your micros, and it's not possible to meet those totals by eating large amounts
of junk food. It's not possible to eat pizza and burgers all day without over-shooting
your fat totals. It's not possible to pig out on ice cream, and chug 7 Up all day and
still meet your fiber, and vitamin and mineral totals. It's not possible to eat low quality
protein all day, and still obtain the proper amino acids needed for maximizing protein
synthesis. So, those who stand behind If It Fits Your Macros still consume a diet mostly
comprised of healthy bodybuilding foods, since that's the only way to actually get your macronutrient
and micronutrient totals met in the first place. So whether you're a 24/7 clean eater
or If It Fits Your Macros guy, you're still going to be following a pretty similar diet.
The only real difference between the two is that If It Fits Your Macros people, usually
allow a small percentage of their total daily calories, typically 10% to 20% to come from
junk foods by fitting them into their daily totals. Whether they realize it or not, this
is really the only true disagreement between the Bros and the If It Fits Your Macros followers.
For example, if your daily calorie intake was 3,500, then 350 to 700 of those calories
could be derived from any foods you want as long as they fit into your macronutrient totals.
And this is really where the term "If It Fits Your Macros" is derived from. So to give a
specific example, if your carbohydrate intake was set at 325grams, and 260 of those, which
is 80% of the total amount is being derived from minimally refined, high fibers sources
like oatmeal, and sweet potatoes, and blueberries and broccoli, then the remaining 65grams can
be derived from any carb source you'd like. Whether it's cookies, or corn pops or a frozen
yogurt, the remaining 65grams is totally up to you. And when you really examine the issue
closely, it's pretty hard to argue that this would be counterproductive to your results
in any noticeable way. And there's a few reasons for this. First of all, as I stated earlier,
your body does not view your nutrient intake within the context of individual food items.
There's no such thing as a food that's inherently bad or inherently good. There's only a complete
overall diet that is good or bad. Secondly, 10% to 20% only represents a small chunk of
your overall diet. Having 80% of your food intake derived from high quality proteins,
minimally refined carbs and healthy fats is easily enough to meet your fiber and micronutrient
needs for the day. And third, so called "Junk foods" still contain perfectly usable protein,
carbs, fats and even vitamins and minerals. It's not that eating junk foods is bad. It's
that eating too many of them is usually bad. For example, you can't possibly say that cheeseburgers
make you fat. You can only say that too many cheeseburgers makes you fat. It's not the
cheeseburger itself that's bad. It's the excessive quantity. So, within the context of your entire
diet, you could argue that the term "Junk food" doesn't even have any real practical
application when we're dealing with a small number like 10% to 20%. And the final point
is that most traditional bodybuilders allow for a cheat day once a week anyway. And this
is always been considered perfectly acceptable practice. The only real difference between
that and those who following If It Fits Your Macros is that If It Fits Your Macros people,
typically consume a small amount of cheat foods every day as opposed to a large amount
of cheat food once a week. And in actuality, having a full on cheat day once a week could
actually be viewed as being potentially more harmful. And that's because people who do
a full of cheating once a week will usually just binge out without counting anything.
Whereas, people who follow If It Fits Your Macros, track everything to make sure that
they don't exceed their daily calorie totals. So, when it all comes down to it, not only
is If It Fits Your Macros or flexible diet, you know, some people might call it, not going
to have any noticeable negative effects on your results. But it provides a huge benefits,
because it gives you a chance to actually enjoy your diet rather than slaving away to
the same boring foods 24 hours a day. And you can do this while still achieving the
same results. Actually, you'll probably get even better results since this type of nutritional
approach is a lot easier to stick to over the long haul. Now, let me make this clear,
if you want to utilize this approach with success, you have to actually track your macros.
This isn't a free pass to just start aimlessly shoving Twinkies and donuts down your throat.
The entire point of If It Fits Your Macros is that you can consume these foods "If it
fits your macros". If you aren't tracking your diet, then you're missing the whole point.
You know, some people will point a finger at If It Fits Your Macros followers by saying
that they're lazy and that they lack discipline. But if anything, If It Fits Your Macros actually
requires more work and discipline than a standard bodybuilding diet, since you actually have
to track the specific foods, calories and macronutrients that you're consuming. But,
you know, as long as you know what your daily needs are, as long as you know what's in the
foods that you're eating, and how it fits into your daily totals and your goals, If
It Fits Your Macros is a perfectly legit concept that you can employ to get into really good
shape while enjoying your diet at the same time. So, I hope you found this information
useful. If you want to get a complete muscle building meal plan that you can use either
for 24/7 clean eating or for If It Fits Your Macros purposes, make sure to check out the
"No Fail" system over on EliteImpactLabs.com. The link is in the description bar for that.
There are 13 meal plans in total, ranging from 2,000 calories up to 6,000 calories that
you can get started with right away. Also make sure to join the Elite Impact Lab's Facebook
page, where we do free supplement giveaways every Sunday night. And make sure to subscribe
to stay up-to-date on all of our future videos. So, thanks again, for watching this video
lesson. And I'll talk to you again soon with more free tips.