Welcome to our official quick-start, flexible dieting guide on how to start tracking macros and burning fat with IIFYM! In this article we take the guesswork out of IIFYM and flexible dieting, giving you a specific path to follow to start your weight loss journey today.

These steps are your roadmap to success. IIFYM is guaranteed to work if you follow the process.

  1. Use the IIFYM Macro Calculator to get your exact fat loss macros based on your unique body, and your specific energy levels.

  2. Get your personalized IIFYM Macro Meal Plan (complete with home-based workouts, and gym-based workouts, depending on your preference.) Have all the guesswork taken out of the equation with all your meals planned for you, according to your exact macro requirements! We’ll adjust your macros, and your meals accordingly as you lose weight so you’ll never have to worry about the dreaded plateau.

If you want to do it yourself, follow these steps:

  1. Buy a digital food scale and weigh your food in grams, uncooked.

  2. Sign up to myfitnesspal.com. Log all of your food in grams, uncooked.

  3. Weigh everything you eat for the first 3 months. Eventually, you can eyeball it but we suggest staying consistent with the scale for best results.

  4. Log every single thing you eat at myfitnesspal.com, no matter how small, or how “healthy” you think it is. If you eat it, track it!

  5. If dieting to burn fat and lose weight, eat between 15% – 20% calories less than your body needs. This is your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). Calculate your TDEE with our TDEE Calculator. If you are trying to put on muscle mass and gain weight, eat between 5% and 10% more calories than your TDEE, every day (preferably from carbs).

  6. To dial in IIFYM with more accuracy, follow these steps:

    • Eat at least .8 grams of protein per pound of lean body weight (total body weight, less total fat weight).

    • Eat between .3 – .4 grams of fat per pound of lean body weight.

    • Any remaining calories you have left in your daily total will come from carbs.

    • Take in 20-25% of your lean body weight (in grams) in fiber every day (this should be included in your carbohydrate total).

    • Drink 3-4 liters of water per day in addition to any other liquid you consume.

    • The more consistent your sodium and water are, the more stable your weight will be. While important to many functions in the human body, sodium and water have very little relation to fat loss, but does have a large effect on water retention and body weight fluctuations. We mostly encourage sodium tracking so that it is easier to track your body weight, and thus make your adjustments based on more accurate information.

  7. Once your fat loss stalls, reduce your daily intake of carbs by 10-15 grams (people with more weight to lose can go higher than those with less to lose.) Adjust your macros ONLY when your fat loss stalls for 10 days or more. Never reduce calories, carbs, or fat if you are still making fat loss progress. Any changes you make should be few, infrequent, and deliberate.

  8. Things to remember:

    • Select foods that are rich in micronutrients (vitamins and mineral) first. Once your micronutrients are met, go for food that you enjoy eating, while staying within your personal range of macros. (Once micro-nutrients are met, worry less about the foods you eat, and more about the macros you meet).

    • Take a gender-specific multivitamin to ensure your micronutrients are being met.

 

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