Clean eating vs Flexible dieting : As told by funny memes

“Those “IIFYM girls” just sit around and eat pop tarts all day, that’s stupid”.
“If you compete, you can only eat meat and vegetables.”

“You can’t lose weight if you eat all that. That’s stupid.”
“I never eat junk, ever ever. I only eat clean/healthy.”

Ok, OK.. OK..

Let’s break it down:
Clean eating:  What is clean? There is no such thing.
Vegans think meat isn’t clean.  Paleo folks think grains aren’t clean.  Clean eaters say “clean foods are non, or  minimally processed foods.  Yet they drink beer or take supplements which are certainly processed.   Some people only eat non- GMO and grass fed because anything else is not clean. What is clean to one.. may not be clean to another. That’s ok, though. You’ll see.

But..how much should you eat of that clean food to lose weight?

Potential clients are proud to tell me that they ‘only eat healthy and clean’. Yet.. they still, somehow, are overweight  or have belly fat. Why is that?

1. I sometimes learn that they “eat clean” all week then binge on the weekends.

That’s going to be a mess that is going to be so hard to clean up!
We can store unlimited amounts  of fat, so a cheat meal gone bad
can really do damage.

2. Or, on examination of their actual food journals, they eat very little nutrient dense food at all.  Eating 1 yogurt, 2 protein bars and a salad with fat free dressing is a lot of food to some people.

How’s anyone going to stick to this?

3. Sometimes clients over eat their macros. I had a client who had a 1800 calorie salad. She went far over her macros with one meal..  We re-worked that salad and made it fit. Oh..this bowl of cereal is way above what the ‘serving’ size is on the box. I can tell you that. It looks menacing on this meme from a popular bikini model. Food is not bad. Eating a whole box of anything is probably not going to be ‘healthy’.

This ‘could’ fit, if you make it. Food is not all bad! Probably just need a lot less of this one.

Flexible Dieting or IIFYM (IF IT FITS YOUR MACROS) MACRO COUNTING gives you the exact amounts of the Protein, Carbs and Fats you need. But.. you must also track your micro nutrient Fiber.

I’ll be honest. When I get a food journal from a  new client who swears she eats totally clean, I typically see very little protein and no fiber to speak of.  More likely than not, I’ll see too much fat and not nearly enough carbs.

How does it work?  Keep it simple.
Macros are calculated  on what you need to simply get through your day to day then calculate in your workouts, general energy expenditures (or lack there of-sedentary). They are also based on your physique goals.
You need to eat all the macros . And BTW, your macros are not going to be right for your BFF. She needs her own.  Macros can be changed to fit every scenario of your life. If you are lifting, not training at all, running a half, or just being a busy mom.. you can be successful on IIFYM because you are feeding your body just what it needs!!

Remember.. fiber is key!

Years ago, I had a client who did Weight Watchers. WW uses a point system. Items are given points and you have  a certain amount of points to consume.  Cool.

This client consumed all   24 points of her day in  vodka. I’m sure WW did NOT recommend that, but she told me  that her weigh-ins were honest.
She did not lose weight on that plan.  She clearly had NO nutrition from the vodka but she was within her points.

The basis of flexible dieting (iifym) is NUTRITION.

“Those “IIFYM girls” just sit around and eat pop tarts all day, that’s stupid”.
You cannot meet your macro nutrients if you only eat poptarts all day.
Remember, it’s called “If it fits YOUR macros”.  My macros allow me to have a small percentage of ‘fun’ foods.  Not everything I WANT to eat, fits. I still have to reach my nutrient goals.

The ROCK.. probably could probably eat 12 huge pancakes.
.Oh wait,  he did. Did he get fat?  NOPE.

“You can’t lose weight if you eat all that. That’s stupid.”

Oh dear.. science.

You can lose weight, get lean!
Yes, you can. Because remember, YOUR macros are set for your physique goals. To lose weight, you must be in a caloric deficit. Your macros will reflect that. You must reach all your macros so the basis of your day will be eating nutrient dense foods (that YOU like) to hit them. Yes.. Paleo, ‘clean’, vegan, it is all good! If you can make fun foods fit, do it if that makes you happy.

Do you need help getting your macros set up for your physique goals?
A good trainer will not only set them up, but the magic comes in the tweaking.  I will help you with your macros set up and help you reach your goals!
Go here!!  Our classes and online training will get you fixed up!
LEARNIIFYM.COM