Have you ever heard the saying ”if it fits your macros” (IIFYM)? If you haven’t, this is what it means. When you start any diet or nutrition plan you get told how many fats, carbs and protein you should be eating (your macros). Some people believe that you can fill in your macro balance however you want to, with whatever foods you want to, as long as it fits your macros. Some of you might see the obvious flaw in this saying and statement. This is especially important for those who are trying to lose weight/ fat.

What about sugar?

Carbs are one of the 3 macronutrients, sugar is a form of carbohydrates. That means your sugar intake can make up your carb intake for the day. I always put it this way; There is a reason why we recommend getting carbs from complex sources like vegetables, because they have a different effect on your body. What do you think will happen to your body when all of your carbs come from sugar? You might be able to lose weight (if that) but your body will definitely not look the way you want it to. There’s a reason we recommend to get carbs from whole foods like vegetables and whole foods like sweet potatos rather than candy. We can all understand that candy won’t help you lose weight, this is the reason why.

If you want to read more on why sugar is better to be avoided, check this blog out here and here .

What about fats?

There are a couple different forms of fat. You got your liquids fats like oils and you got your solid fats like almonds and cashew nuts. Just like carbs and sugar, there is a big difference between fats and how the affect your body/physique. There’s a reason why we don’t recommend getting all of your fat from cheese and bacon. Fats contain either the cholesterol LDL or HDL (or both). LDL is called the ”bad cholesterol”, while HDL is known as the ”good cholesterol”. HDL is labeled good because it carries the cholesterol back towards the liver so it can exit the body, whereas LDL is labeled as bad because it carries cholesterol to the artheries where it has the chance to pile up.

We get back to the same main problem. You might succeed in reaching your weight goal but what does your physique look like when all your fats come from proccessed food sources like pizza’s, packaged cheese and bacon? Probably not the way you want it to. So again, just because it fits within your macros doesn’t mean it will actually show the results you want.

IMPORTANT:

We just talked about how cholesterol CAN affect the artheries (depending on what type of cholesterol it is). Obviously, you can’t see what is going on in your artheries from the outside. So even though your physique looks good from the outside, what does it look like from the inside? For a lot of people who care about their health, it is way more important to focus on what the inside looks like than the outside.

What about protein?

Just because protein tends to be looked at differently in comparisson to fat and carbohydrates, doesn’t mean that the same rule doesn’t apply. There are plenty of protein sources that are better avoided when looking for proper weight/fat loss and a better physique. Think of pre-packaged burgers, meats marinated in sunflower/canola oil or vegetarian burgers (like the beyond burger for example). The same rules apply here, these processed variants have a different impact on the body.

Summary

As you have probably noticed by now, the main priority is to stay away from foods that are processed. These foods are not going to help you attain the physique you want or make you healthier from the inside (which is arguably more important).

I understand that getting all of your nutrition from whole foods is not obtainable for most (it isn’t for me). This is why I always recommend getting at least 90-95% of your food from non-processed/whole foods. This will leave plenty of room for sauces and other ingredients that are not whole food friendly.

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