What IIFYM is?

Hello there! So I guess if you are reading this pretty brand new blog (thanks by the way) is because somehow you are wondering WTH is IIFYM... Well, keep reading because I'm gonna give you a very brief explanation so you can understand what this is all about.

So let's start by explaining what does IIFYM means: If It Fits Your Macros! 

That was quite easy lol...

Now, you might be wondering what macros are, so play attention to this.
As you know, our bodies need energy to keep us alive, we get all this energy from FOOD! I want you to understand that energy equals CALORIES, therefore all food has calories. But, where do the calories come from? They come from the three macro-nutrients: PROTEINS, CARBOHYDRATES & FATS. Yup! These three guys are the basis of any diet in the world. 

So how do these guys provides us with calories? This is quite simple, per every gram of PROTEIN present in any food, your body will receive 4cals. Same thing for CARBS, every gram gives us 4cals. For FATS, every gram provides 9cals. 

Now that we know this, let's talk about what the IIFYM philosophy is. To put it in simple words, flexible dieting is about tracking your calories no matter where they come from. Yeah you are reading it right; it doesn't matter if you are getting calories from a piece of chicken and some steamed broccoli or if you are getting them from a donut. Of course, these foods may have similar calorie content but they have DIFFERENT macros.
People tend to think that IIFYM is about eating pop tarts and ice cream all day but it isn't. You might fulfill your carbs and fat intake from desserts but you have to complete your protein as well so that means we have to eat  some "clean food" too.
The biggest difference between "eating clean" and IIFYM is that with a IIFYM you get flexibility; you can eat the things you love and still achieve your body goals. 

Personally, I see flexible diet as the perfect balance. I used to torture myself eating plain chicken and veggies all the time, I was so afraid of carbs like pasta and rice. With IIFYM I learned that I can eat not only pasta, rice, chicken, veggies but I can also eat ice cream, bread, fruits, milk and whatever I WANT if I can make it fit into my macros :)

So the image below gives you an idea of how I incorporate the three macro-nutrients in my breakfast: I'm getting my protein from my egg's omelette, carbs from the slice of bread and the banana pieces and fat from the peanut butter. 

This breakfast's macros are: 

21g of protein. = 21g x 4cals = 84cals

37g of carbs. = 37g x 4 cals = 148cals
11g of fats. = 11g x 9cals = 99cals

This gives us a total of 331 cals!

I hope this info was useful for you. I'll be posting about how to track your calories and more useful things so you can understand IIFYM better!