The “Sugar” dilemma and IIFYM

I’m a binge eater.  Started that terrible habit as a child. Sugar is my crack. I’m a sugar crackie to the bone.

I’ve been in fitness for 33 years and ran into, oh.. 1 or 2 binge eaters.. OMG.
Binge eating is so common and with it come world of hurtful conditions.

UNLIMITED FAT GAINING POTENTIAL
Our bodies can store an unlimited amount of fat!
Unlimited!  So that means all the work I do busting workouts, cannot erase the zillion calorie damage of a binge.  The cycle of binge eating plus over training, just ruined my physique.

In the past,  while on  bro-diets from my coaches.. I’m was bad ass. I am straight arrow with zero to  just a few binges. NEVER close to show time!
Post shows, I’ve written about. this. I struggled with bad binges. Sadly, in 2013 I broke a 20 year ‘no -purge’ streak. 😦

I knew post show in 2014 I did not want a bro-food coach and switched to IIFYM for my year round food.

Struggles while learning

With  IIFYM, Flexible Dieting you can eat what you want as long as you hit your macros. You couldn’t really eat cupcakes all day because you have to hit fiber numbers.

Sugar, lactose, honey, maple syrup, fructose, sucrose, dextrose reads as CARBS in  your body. For me, too much of even fruit (fructose) will trigger a binge.  Bananas: trigger!   Berries, apples  no trigger=just feel awesome.

For whatever reason..My body does what it does!

I know IIFYM very well.   I flew too close to the sun when I got serious with IIFYM. While, it’s true, I CAN fit  lots of sugary treats into my macros and hit them spot on, sugary treats just make me binge.

I have figured out that while some fit girls can rock loads of snacks, it’s not in my best interest to do so.

Too much sugary foods..
My immune system is weakend by sugar.  I figured that out that 9 years ago.  I started getting sick again this year after adding in more fun foods, each day.
In my attempt to rehab my immune system, I’m dropping snacky treats and eating 90/10 for my cut this year.
What that means is about 90 percent of my daily foods are “whole” foods.
To me.. that does not include candy, cookies or snack treats.
Ten percent can be more fun foods.
I ‘could’ do my 90 percent all week and take 10 percent of my weekly carbs as fun.

I’ve realized also, that my skin looks so much better without snacky ,sugary treats. I’m filling my meals with  berries and other non- inflammatory foods.

OH NO, What you are saying  goes against IIFYM!
hmmm… no, I don’t believe so.

In actuality, the origin of IIFYM was  about eating nutrient dense foods with the ability to add things in you might like that were not the typical TCF (turkey chicken fish) diet.
Macro counting  tells you the amounts of Protein, Carbs, Fats,  & Fiber to eat to reach your physique goals. It doesn’t dictate how you fulfil them. I love this concept! Some people feel better on no dairy, and some people have issues with gluten. IIFYM allows you to eat well and still make YOURSELF happy. No judgments needed. Thank you.

I make  sugar work for me.
What I have discovered in this personal learning process is that I can use 10 percent of my carbs to fuel my lift.  On leg day I can use 20g carbs of Captain Crunch Powdered Donut cereal plus 10g of oatmeal to give me an insane  workout without  triggering a binge.  I have tried other combinations of  quickie carbs and slow carbs to fuel.  Those carbs are used up during heavy lifting .  This is very different than just sitting on the couch eating poptarts.  One is positive.. the other…:(

I do love the concept of Donuts and Deadlifts. Deadlift day for me is a higher carb day and I can use the insulin spike pre workout to give me some awesome lifts.

I, personally, never fuel like that before a cardio workout.  ONLY for heavy lifts.  Arm days I stick to my oats, greek, berries.  This means I ‘m having some interesting foods each week albeit only 10 percent because I’m cutting.

For show prep, I keep it very tight. I prefer it that way. That’s just me. I do not eat snack treats in prep. Even some protein bars can trigger me!  However, I am happy to report that I enjoy a cookie every single day!  It fits and it makes me happy!

 

Positives
The feeling of not being deprived is miles away from how I felt on a prep of ZERO  options.  I’m not lying awake at night pinning 400 recipes on a secret Pinterest board.

I love Flex because you can learn  what makes sense for your life and body. It’s been a real journey. Calming those binge urges has helped me find  peace and balance.

Update: 2016:  Our lifestyle clients and our off season bikini team mates are now on 80/20!
That means 20 percent of their food is discretionary. We are seeing great results and compliance is through the roof. We have a few team mates who have reverse dieted and are stage lean while eating 80/20! Time has been good to us, regarding macro counting.

The thing I have learned in this past year of focus on my 300-500g fruits/veggies a day that I am feeling much better. I can fit in what I want even in prep.  Skill and confidence has improved over time.