I’ve been approached a lot regarding how I lost weight. I get statements like, “You must eat like nothing.”  Most people assume I ate salads and boiled chicken and almonds like a regular old bodybuilder. Truth is: I didn’t. I followed a new(er) method called IIFYM, short for “If it fits your macros.”

Don’t get me wrong, I worked my ass off. My workouts were tough, but what we all know is that 80% of weight loss happens in the kitchen.  Sure, I had to make some adjustments, but IIFYM was a great move for me.

What does it mean? It means that rather than eating rabbit food, you can eat the things you want vs. eat the things that are gross. IIFYM is designed to base your food on what your body needs vs breaking it up into five pre-planned meals of chicken breast and broccoli.

For example, right now my caloric needs are 1180 a day.  My coach will have me eat 141 grams of protein, 100 grams of carbs, and 24 grams of fat. This was during a show diet, so understand that this is pretty aggressive for the average person starting out.  Now that I have these numbers, I can eat whatever I want to fit in there. For example on this day, here are a few of the things  I had

1/2 cup of cheerios= P: 1.5 C:10.00 F:1.00

1st Phorm Vanilla Whey: P: 12 C:2 F: 1.5

Light String Cheese: P: 6 C: 1 F:2.5

Zucchini Chips (4 cups): P: 6 C:15.4 F: 1.59

A snapshot of tracking macros. Tracker is MyMacros+ (available in the app store)

Of course this isn’t everything I ate in a day. Flexible dieting is great for those that want to live a fit lifestyle, but also moderate their food in a way that still allows for every day activity.  On an off season we eat 80/20, which means 80% of our daily intake is “clean” food (vegetables, whole grain, fruits) and 20% is what we want. (In my case it’s poptarts, donuts, pizza, whatev.)

Sound overwhelming? It is. This is a tough thing to learn, but it is something you will have for the rest of your life. If you want some jacked up meathead to tell you to eat six pieces of tilapia and some asparagus, be my guest. But let me tell you, if you don’t understand the methodology, you are screwed the second you stop that diet.    Your metabolism will slow down, so if you want to stay lean, you’d better like chicken breast. So yes, this is a lot of work on the front end, but you are going to learn how to live healthy for life.

Also, here is a little tough love for you. (I had someone tell this to me). This is only going to work if you try hard and really learn what you are doing. You can eat lean cuisine, or bro diet, but I don’t really think that shit is fun to eat. SORRY NOT SORRY. I like drinking wine, I like eating pizza, and I like having a social life. This works for me. There are times during competition where I bro diet, but most of the time I eat what I want (in moderation).

“You can continue to do 30 day squat challenges or crash diet, but I’m telling you now…you are setting yourself up for failure. In 30 days, you’ll have a better ass and a flatter stomach, but 30 days later you’re back where you started because you binged on poptarts. “

If you are interested in learning IIFYM, my amazing trainers are teaching online classes! A 90 minute class gets you your own personalized set of macros, and the basics on how to track. I suggest this for new folks, and think it’s a great tool to start the process. Otherwise, you can learn more information at IIFYM.COM.

What questions do you have? Drop them below!