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Who wouldn't love to eat anything they want and still lose weight at the same time? For many, this sounds like a fantasy that just isn't possible. But with the help of the IIFYM diet, it's supposed to work.
The IIFYM diet relies on a very simple principle. If you implement it correctly, you can essentially eat any dish you feel like. In this article, I'll show you exactly how the IIFYM diet works and which pros and cons come with it. I'll show you everything you need to know about this type of diet.
Before we get started, let me briefly introduce myself: my name is Marco Laterza, I'm a personal trainer from Zurich. I offer my clients support in the areas of sport, nutrition and mindset. A holistic approach to health and fitness matters to me, and I want to pass this concept on to everyone. If you're interested in working together, feel free to reach out to me anytime.
What is the IIFYM diet?
The principle of the IIFYM diet is based on two fundamental principles. I'll go into these in more detail in the next paragraphs.
Calorie intake
The first is calorie intake. The theory behind it is simple: we humans have a certain calorie burn at rest. Depending on how heavy, tall and old we are, this calorie burn is higher or lower.
Through eating we take in calories, and through exercise we can burn additional calories. At the end of the day, we gain weight if we take in more calories than we burn. Conversely, we lose weight if we take in fewer calories than our body burns.
This is the first fundamental part of the IIFYM diet. As long as we take in fewer calories than we burn, we lose weight. Regardless of which foods we get those calories from.
Macronutrients
The second principle is macronutrients. All foods consist of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Not always in the same ratio, of course, but these are the three essential nutrients. There are also micronutrients like vitamins and minerals, but these are initially ignored here.
In any case, with the IIFYM diet you can't just eat sweets or fast food, since you also have to pay attention to the distribution of macronutrients. Of course, it's important that you get enough protein, since it supports muscle growth and is therefore very important. Fats and carbohydrates are also important for our body, and you should aim for a good ratio here. Fats in particular shouldn't be set too high, since they have a higher calorie density.
A standard plan will recommend a distribution of 40% protein, 40% carbohydrates and 20% fat. There are other variations too, but this is the most well-established split.
The IIFYM diet is derived from these 2 principles. You're allowed to eat anything to lose weight. BUT: you must not consume more calories than you burn, AND the foods have to fit your macronutrient distribution.
Who is the IIFYM diet suited for?
The keyword for this diet is simply flexibility. With the IIFYM diet, you do set boundaries within which you can lose weight, but you're not restricted by a nutrition plan or anything similar.
However, you can't just go by gut feeling when choosing your meals. You don't have a nutrition plan with a predetermined calorie count. Instead, you have to weigh your food yourself and track the calories. There are various tools you can use for this, such as MyFitnessPal. So you need to be aware that this freedom also demands quite a bit from you.
You have to be disciplined and really track every single dish, otherwise your results won't be as good as they could be. So if you don't want to be restricted in your choice of foods and you're willing to put in the effort, the IIFYM diet is definitely a good fit for you.
The pros and cons of the IIFYM diet
As already mentioned in the previous section, there are some pros and cons that come with the IIFYM diet.
The clear advantage is that you can eat whatever you want while on a diet. At least in moderation. If you enjoy chocolate in the evening or a burger every now and then, you can absolutely do that.
You just need to make sure that you eat healthily enough for the rest of the day, so that you don't exceed your calories and also stick to your macronutrient distribution. With this approach, you can still enjoy "unhealthy" foods and still lose weight.
On the other hand, there's the effort of tracking calories precisely. You have to weigh the individual ingredients for every dish and log the calories and macronutrient values. That's obviously quite a bit of work.
Eating out at restaurants is also difficult, since you don't always get nutritional information there. So you have to estimate the calories, which most people aren't very good at.
My conclusion: would I recommend this diet?
So let's get to my final conclusion: would I recommend the IIFYM diet? Well, I've already covered the most important points in the pros and cons. It also has to be said that with this diet, micronutrients are completely disregarded. If you only stick to the two basic principles of the IIFYM diet, you can develop a serious deficiency in vitamins and minerals.
So who would I recommend this diet to? Well, I find the principle interesting, but I'd only recommend it to people who already understand the basics of nutrition. You shouldn't just orient yourself around calories and macronutrients, but around micronutrients too. If you can manage that, you can definitely be successful with the IIFYM diet.