IIFYM is one of the healthiest ways for those who NEED some sugar in their lives to lose weight fast. Flexible dieting (also known as if it fits your macros) is a weight-loss diet strategy that has helped thousands of people lose weight without feeling restricted.
Demonizing a food group is foolish, and it’s not a good long term solution. Those who have gone vegan would know the importance of vitamin and mineral supplementation. Those who have done Keto would know about the challenges associated with “NO CARBS”. Naturally, it’s not sustainable.
There are no “bad food groups” and you should never have to feel like you are “dieting for weight-loss”. With no restrictions you only focus on what your body will need for optimal performance, muscle development, body composition, and longevity.
“Macros” are the protein-, fat-, and carbohydrate molecules we ingest from our food. The digestive system breaks these large molecules into smaller nutrients like amino acids, sugars, and fatty acids. These are then used to fuel cellular functions which is known as your metabolism.
In today’s post you will learn more about flexible dieting, IIFYM, and God’s Holy Word. You will also learn to calculate your own IIFYM macros for weight-loss. If you would like to get flexible macros for bodybuilding, then leave a comment below and share all your fitness goals. I’ll post you macros as soon as I can.
“Jesus said to them, “Hear and understand: Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” – Matt. 15
HOLY BIBLE, AND FLEXIBLE DIETING
Jesus said to His disciples, “If you enter a town and they welcome you, eat whatever is set before you. It’s been sanctified by God.”
Life is so colorful, yet most of us look at others through fearful eyes, and we become futile in our minds. Humans create rules, beliefs, and judgments about things. Beliefs can bless us or curse us. Eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil caused Adam and Eve to fall from grace, and it’s still happening in the world today.
The snake said, “God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” – Gen. 3:5
This was the original lie. The term “knowledge is power” comes with a price, but it’s the power we all desire. We want to be like God, always right, and never wrong. This is more than we can carry on our own. Why so you might ask? Well, the Holy Bible says “whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is a sin.”
Living in sin bring about destruction. This is a fact, we can accept it (sin) or reject it (sin). I know many who know what they aught to be doing, and yet, they don’t do it. Doing that one thing that brings the greatest change is hard. It requires that we do things differently, and that can be really challenging, even frightening.
To be humble is to accept the fact that you might not know everything. This can transform your mindset from a fearful/lack way of thinking, to an experimental growth way of thinking. The key to a harmonious life is to be flexible in every aspect of life as you learn what works best for your body.
“Be like Water.” – Bruce Lee
FLEXIBLE DIETING, FOOD FREEDOM
What I’ve learned from my fitness journey with God is that any health and fitness program will work if you believe in what you are doing and you work hard. Transformation and metamorphosis #freedom is really your choice, but it comes at a price. God has done all the work, but you need to set your mind on the walk.
Flexible dieting is a simple dieting strategy, but we overthink it. After watching many IIFYM physique transformations I was converted. Don’t get me wrong, I wish I was a robot who only ate chicken, broccoli, and brown rice 4 times a day, but I’m not a machine – I’m human like you.
I have a sweet tooth, and the freedom to eat ice cream at night before bed satisfies my heart and soul like milk and honey from God. Grace is a term that’s not understood the religious. His grace is like water that carries you downstream. If you resist you’ll have a hard time letting go of your own will.
Jesus Christ prayed, “Not my will, but Your will be done Father.”
There is no perfect diet, and there are no perfect people; that’s why Jesus was crucified. He opened our eyes. Now we know who we are, and who God is. We can bleed, and so can He. We are ALL human and it’s not about perfection, but about progression, sanctification, liberation, exaltation, and glorification. These are the holy and exceedingly great things of God.
BELIEVE, ALL THINGS ARE CLEAN FOR YOU
The LAW OF LIBERTY:
Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on his opinions. One man has faith to eat all things, while another, who is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not belittle the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted him.” – Romans 14
Flexible dieting, or IIFYM, was born inside a popular bodybuilding forum. Young Athletes kept asking the same question, “Can I eat this or that on a diet?”. Nutrition expert, Alan Aragon, would simply respond by saying, “Yes, if it fits your macros”. This he repeated this so much they made the acronym.
If you’re an active individual who consistently shows up to play the game, lift weights, and run the day, then you can likely eat anything and still look good. On the other hand, if you’re an inactive couch potato, then you will likely eat everything you get, gain weight, and feel depressed.
That’s how sin works. It’s not that we “do something wrong” and then we get sentenced to 6 years in hell. Self-destruction is when we do something wrong, and we make it okay, then we repeat the action until we become so weak (blind) that we accept our state.
“God says there is grace for your foolish mistakes.” – Coach Jan
God forgave us of all – past, present, and future – sin. He then called us to repent and be baptized (be cleansed). Repentance is the act of turning back to God. Back to the Original Design. Back to God’s grace. Back to what you know is good. Initially, it won’t be easy because your old life will follow you, but God is faithful if you ask.
“Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened.” – Jesus
UNIVERSAL LAWS OF NATURE, GOD’S LAWS
The human body runs on the law of thermodynamics. We are always busy burning, reserving, or storing energy. Our bodies are divine organisms that work synergistically with our natural environment. That’s why this journey of remembrance and self-discovery is such an amazing challenge for us.
We ask, “Who am I, where did I come from, where am I going?”
We believe we are the center of the universe, and we think we know it all. So, anything that falls outside of our conviction of the “truth” will likely be rejected at face value, but that’s the beautiful thing about this paradox, it will push us to ask, seek, and find what’s right for us. God designed it this way to keep us engaged like His children finding their way back home.
Children laugh, sing, jump, fall, and even break bones. By nature children are healthy and strong. They get sick when we abuse them with junk food and we ignore their need for love and affection. Children come into our lives to teach us how God looks at us, and how we aught to care for them. Don’t be childish, be vibrant and explore the world like a beloved child again.
Jesus said, “No one can enter the kingdom of heaven unless they become like children again.”
When you understand how to control the energy you carry, then you can tip the scale in your favor by choice and manipulate the chemistry of your own body by faith. Biohacking is a new term that’s used by wellness geeks who aim to “hack their system” for improved health and productivity.
FLEXIBLE DIETING, WE WALK BY FAITH
As it is written, “Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. This is from the hand of God.” – Ecclesiastes
The first thing Jesus asked for after He got resurrected from the dead was food. How funny is that? God designed us to eat, drink, feel, and represent His love here on the earth. Family is at the core of His message, so let’s care for our own bodies, value our health, and set the best example. What will we leave as an inheritance?
The goal when losing weight is to be satisfied while you build strength and gain confidence in your ability to get fitter. Most people who start a weight-loss journey give up because they lose faith in their ability to produce change. They don’t focus on their strength, but on their weakness.
IIFYM is a data analytics tool used to bring awareness to how much energy you are using, how much energy you need, and what foods you can eat to biohack your body. Data is powerful, and we can use it to reach our goals.
Changing your energy balance too much can create chaos within, and this will trigger our emotions. Trying to follow the perfect diet is stupid and dangerous. Most of the time women undereat and overtrain, and this goes for men just the same. You know this.
FLEXIBLE DIETING “IIFYM” CALCULATOR
The ratio of the 3 macronutrients will be important as they have unique roles in the body. To calculate your flexible dieting macros you can use any online calculator, but from my experience, keep things old school, it’s the best for long term results.
If your goal is the same as mine, and you want to lose about 5 – 10lb while adding more muscle definition, then you will have to be in a calorie deficit for 8 – 12 weeks. This will trigger a change inside your body that will make you feel uncomfortable at times, and that’s why you should choose 1 day/week to refeed.
To make this natural bodybuilding prep program and flexible dieting strategy work you’ll need 4 things.
#1 The willingness to learn.
#2 The desire for change.
#3 The MyFitnessPal App.
#4 The Strength Program.
You can still lose weight with intuitive eating, and that’s what I recommend, but if you’re not intuitive yet, and you wish to take your results to the next level, then this flexible dieting IIFYM bodybuilding prep program is the way to go. It will feel daunting, but that’s the only way to go to grow.
I always start my diet with as much food and as little cardio as I can get away with (while still losing weight). Doing this keeps my body inefficient for longer. This prolongs the time I can spend in a calorie deficit without feeling like I’m dieting. Think of this as nurturing the metabolism. #selfcare
You can do an aggressive cut if you’re desperate for change, but your body will adapt in a few weeks and if you’re already doing everything you can do, what else is there to add? Don’t try to lose 10lb in 6 weeks, it won’t work and you will likely re-gain all the weight.
BIOHACK FORMULA, FOOD ARITHMETIC
You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. – Christ
Class is in session. Now that you have the foundational knowledge of what flexible dieting is, we can proceed. Start off with your body weight in pounds (lb) and multiply it by 14. This will be your total daily calories (TDC).
My Personal Example:
180lb x 14cal/lb = 2520 calories (TDC)
Next you need to calculate your Macros (P, C, F) with the total daily calories (TDC). An important thing to know is that 1 g of protein (P) contains 4 calories; 1 gram of carbohydrates (C) contains 4 calories; and 1 gram of fat contains 9 calories. This data will be used to calculate how many grams of each macro you need to really thrive.
Protein (P) is the first macronutrient we want the numbers for as it’s our foundational building block. Protein will protect muscle tissue during the fat loss phase. Research revealed the ideal amount of protein is 1g/lb of bodyweight for athletes who diet. Which means I should eat 180g, or (x4) 720 calories of protein for gains.
Fat (F) is the second macronutrient we need to be concerned with as a low fat score can lead to bad skin, reduced libido, low testosterone, and even depression. Experts recommend that daily fat intake stays above 20% of our total calories (TDC). Personally, I start my IIFYM diet with 30% fat and I aim to keep it there as long as I can.
Carbohydrates (C) is what we will be using to fill the remaining calories. This is the macro we will adjust and manipulate the most. If you have your total daily calories, subtract 30% (F) – the 720 (P) calories, then you’ll be left with your carb calories (C). Divide that by 4 to get your carbs (C) in grams.
The Math looks like this:
TDC = 180lb x 14 = 2520 cal
P = 1g/lb = 180g (720 cal/4)
F = 30% of (TDC) = 83g (750 cal/9)
C = (TDC – P – F) = 257g (1080 cal/4)
Macros: 180p/83f/257c
I’ll use these macros with my training program for 2 weeks. If I don’t see any changes on the scale, or in the mirror, then I will adjust 1 variable. I will only add more cardio if needed, and I will never reduce calories by more than 100 at a time. Intermittent fasting can also be used to save calories for later.
THE CONCLUSION ON fITNESS AND DIETING
“The truth is any program works as long as you do.” – Coach Jan
Flexible dieting will teach you that what you eat will turn into energy. How you use the energy is up to you. You can store it or spend it. Choose to live a healthy active life and thrive.
As I’ve mentioned before. Anything will work if you believe it will and if you can stick to it. But if you wish to get Athletic Aesthetic, then do things with precision like a biohacker. This flexible dieting approach might be just what you need to push the limits. You are made in God’s image, and He is limitless. Always keep that in mind.
When you know your “maintenance” calories and macros, then you can start flexible dieting with a calorie tracking app like MyFitnessPal. Don’t weigh your food to begin with. Just guestimate and try to stay consistent. Fat loss takes time, so give it time. Make small tweaks to reach your goals with data-driven decisions.
There you have it, my E=MC2 formula for a balanced life. No, really it’s just a way to create awareness and healthy boundaries to optimize performance. Living or dying, it’s a choice we make. Don’t wait for the storm to pass before you learn to dance like a boss.
Yes, you can have that pizza, but don’t neglect your workouts. Yes, enjoy one more doughnut, but don’t eat all day. Go out and see our beautiful world, but don’t forget to come back home.
Turn back to the Original Design.
– Coach Jan
P.S. Be the Blessing.