IIFYM: Treats and Macros

K, I started to answer your question in a comment and then it got too wordy and then I wanted to say more about IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros) in general.  So, you wanted to know if you can hit macros without eating protein 2-3 meals of the day.  Including sweets on IIFYM is possible, but I don't know about not eating protein for two meals a day depending on what your protein macro is.  Day to day, I either eat chicken for lunch and dinner or do ground turkey for lunch and chicken for dinner. I've even done ground turkey for two out of the three meals but I don't like to because turkey is not as lean.  So, normally I have to eat protein for two out of three meals per day, plus I have to drink a protein shake with milk, and eat Greek yogurt to get it all in.

I like counting macros more than calories because all calories are not created equal.  You can eat 1,500 calories of one set of food and be starving and 1,500 of another set and be stuffed.  IIFYM takes quality of calories eaten into account not just quantity, and I think it's the best way to figure out what keeps your body satisfied and ensure that your diet is balanced to eliminate bad cravings and hunger.  I'm never hungry or feel like I'm on a diet because I have plenty of food, and the right combination of foods to keep me satisfied.  I also love that it is flexible.  It can be tricky to get the numbers to line up at first, but once you get the hang of balancing it, then it's great.  I also had to learn to shift my focus away from calories.  I was so caught up in calories that it was hard to separate the two.  I think counting macros and doing it consistently was really helpful in fixing my metabolism.  Eating x calories per day wasn't going to do me much good if my body still felt like it was starving because it wasn't getting enough of the right foods.  The thing about IIFYM is that meal prep is a must.  You have to plan ahead.  There is no other way around it.

Just to show the flexibility of it I did a test to see if I could fit a recent cheat meal I had into my macros.  My calories were up, and my macros were not exact, but very close to where they should be. The reason I had to do a "test" to see if I could still hit my macros with a cheat meal is because I usually don't concern myself so much with hitting macros on those days.  I allow myself a cheat meal and a cheat desert, usually on separate days, so because it's only a two day a week thing and I consistently hit my macros on the other days I'm okay with that.  The left is my normal macros.  The right is the cheat meal day.   On the cheat meal day breakfast and lunch are healthy.  Breakfast: 1 slice of wheat bread with a tablespoon of reduced sugar jelly, Coffee with a tablespoon of fat free creamer, and 9 ounces of Greek yogurt with a scoop of protein powder in it. Lunch:  Apple and 8 ounces of chicken.  Dinner Cheat: Hamburger with no cheese + Aoli sauce, very small serving of french fries, small side salad with no fixings just a light dressing and two glasses of wine.

Left:  Normal Macros 1500 calories // Right:  Cheat Meal macros 1700 calories

Looking at the cheat meal day, I would probably be too overstuffed trying to get in all that protein to even want or enjoy my treat meal if I stuck to macros.  I'd have to cut fats, so I wouldn't be able to eat peanut butter and bread for breakfast (my favorite meal of the day) and that is a lot of protein to get in before chowing down on a burger.  I'd rather just make minor adjustments like reduce the carbs and fats at lunch, add in a little bit more chicken if I feel hungry, and accept that my macros will be slightly off.  On treat meal days I find that fiber and protein always suffers and the fat and carbs will go up.  It's obviously a lot easier to fit in wine, a single donut or cookies than an entire treat meal.  I make donuts part of my weekly cheat dessert with my husband and it can fit my macros without too much tinkering around.  I could cut my snack almonds, and increase chicken at lunch or dinner to make it work exactly.  Instead, I usually just skip the almonds at lunch (because fat), don't add additional chicken and cut my protein shake because I'm not hungry.  The donut actually replaces the usual yogurt I would have had as a snack because otherwise I feel STUFFED! I just prefer to accept that my protein will be lower, and would rather not bump calories too high and over feed myself when I'm not hungry.

My first set of macros had 115 grams of protein and I could do it without a protein shake.  I can do up to 130 without a shake.  Then my carb goals went down, and protein went up to 155.  No can do without a protein shake, so I had to find one I liked.   A lot of those iifym gym folks buy protein infused treats specifically for that reason, or bake them at home and use protein powder in it.  That's one way they eat cookies, brownies, carby pancakes or other treats and still hit macros without stuffing their face with more chicken.  Mind you, this probably still includes protein at two meals, but that's just the only way I know how to get in that much protein.   Vegans say they can do it, but they have to be creative, and I don't really don't understand how they'd do high protein.  You would definitely have to use protein powder if you don't want to eat a lot of meat.  I find that when I try to replace too much meat protein with protein shakes I get hungry, but you can cook and bake with it. The one I use is 25 grams per scoop which is pretty high. My non meat protein sources are basically protein powder, milk, Greek yogurt, peanut putter, almonds and broccoli.  Cheese is great for protein, but the fat is high and I choose peanut butter and almonds instead.  Egg whites, beans, lentils, and cottage cheese are also good sources, but I don't eat those.  Even tofu has protein.  You could just have days where you don't hit that protein goal and just be okay with that if all that protein for most meals every single day won't work for you. Consistency is the key, so maybe if 4 out of the 7 days you hit proteins (make those workout days) and the other 3 you don't, it doesn't have to be a total "macro fail."

Over the weekend I had two glasses of wine + bread on Friday and a dinner salad because I went out to dinner with friends.  My calories were over, and my macros were off.  On Saturday I had three glasses of wine and a donut. My calories were under and my macros were off.  Sunday I hit my macros perfectly and today I woke up at a new low weight. 134.3!!  I don't expect it to stick because brand new lows never do, but hopefully it is a sign of things to come.  I'll hit my macros consistently now until Friday.  I'm going out that night.  There will be alcohol.  Saturday will likely be off as well. I didn't do that in the beginning though.  I stuck to macros exactly and now that I finally do allow treats I try not to allow that many off days.  I've been consistent for a really long time and am still consistent more than I'm not, plus I exercise regularly so it seems to not be setting me back.  I do get nervous if I feel like I'm having too many "off macro days."  So far the longest time away from home has been two nights, but I have a vacation coming up that will be the first extended time away from home, almost daily exercise, and meal prepping since January.  I'm very anxious about it so I'm just trying to be as "on" as I can with everything until then.

Two posts this month.  Who am I?