How To Determine How Much Macros You Require?

Perfect Macronutrient Ratio/Split? 

There is no perfect macronutrient split in my personal opinion. The following method that I am going to share is how I determine my macronutrient targets to be hit on a daily basis based on what I have learnt and what have worked for me. Influences to these information would be from my coach as well as individuals like Layne Norton, Alberto Nunez & Eric Helms.

Hopefully these information would be helpful for you and set you up onto the path of success. Cheers!

Step 1: Determine if you want to go on a Bulk or Cut.

Essentially bulking refers to eating on a caloric surplus and cutting requires to eating on a caloric deficit. 

Caloric Surplus = Calories Consumed > Calories Burnt

Caloric Deficit = Calories Burnt > Calories Consumed

Step 2: Determine your TDEE.

TDEE refers to Total Daily Energy Expenditure. To calculate your TDEE, I would recommend you use the calculator from http://www.iifym.com/iifym-calculator/ . 

Step 3: Select how aggressive you want to be on your cut or bulk.

After calculating your TDEE, you will be at this stage.

There will be options as to how aggressive you would want to be on your bulk/cut. But i would recommend being more conservative on it. As naturals, it would be more optimal to lean bulk and not put on excessive fats. Being conservative during your cut and having a higher caloric helps with maintaining energy levels and preserves more muscle mass. 

After selecting your desired approach. The calculator would show the Calories that you require  to achieve your goal. 

Step 4: Determine Protein Intake. 

Protein sources

A general rule of thumb would be to consume 1 gram of protein per lb of body weight. This equates to 2.2grams of protein per kg of bodyweight. However, on certain occasions I would recommend slightly more protein, especially during the cutting phase, for satiety reasons.

Step 5: Determine Fat Intake.

Carbohydrates sources

After determining your protein intake, you will have to determine your fat intake. Fat intake is recommended to fall between 20-30% of your total caloric intake. Personally 20% is the lowest I would recommend because fat is essential for hormonal regulation.

Step 6: Determine Carbohydrate Intake.

Fat Sources

This is the part that everyone is interested in ;) Who doesn't love to have more cake, brownies and sweet treats? Everyone love carbs <3 Of course I do not recommend eating unhealthy foods all the time like how #iifym (If it fit your macros) like how it's portrayed in social media. I always recommend and abide to the 80/20 rule. 80% whole foods, 20% processed foods. 

How much Carbohydrate would be the remaining calories left after deducting the calories from your protein and fat from your targeted caloric intake. 

Conclusion

So in just 6 simple steps, you would be able to set up your macros and eat towards your goals ! 

What is IIFYM/Flexible Dieting?

IIFYM and Flexible Dieting have been the talk of the town, in regards to whether it works and also the health benefits/implications associated with it. With the support of famous fitness icons with their instagram accounts such as DMJ3, MattOgus, NickCheadleFitness & TimbahWolf, many fitness enthusiasts started adopting IIFYM as their diet plan.s

 

What is IIFYM/Flexible Dieting (Portrayed)?

IIFYM is the short form of "If it fits your macros". Macro refers to the protein, carbohydrates and fats. So what IIFYM basically mean is that within your daily set caloric intake, let's put it at 200grams of protein, 300 grams of carbohydrates and 80 grams of fats (Often shown as 200p 300c 80f), you can eat WHATEVER YOU WANT as long as you hit your macros at the end of the day. This includes poptarts, non fat ice cream, waffles pancakes etc.... You get the idea!

Social Media have been promoting IIFYM as what I explained above telling everyone that " Yes you can lose weight by having fastfood everyday, you need not sacrifice your junk food during a cut! ". This stirred up an argument on IIFYM. 

With the same macros, can they be the same?

Does That Work?

Yes! Body Composition can be changed or altered by hitting your macros on a daily basis. The key to WEIGHT LOSS is a caloric deficit. As long as you burn more calories than you consume, you lose weight! Simple enough??

Do note I am talking about weight loss but not fat loss. Weight can come from yes fat, but also water and muscles. So to to lose fat with minimal muscle loss, you have to hit a caloric deficit with a pre determined macro-nutrient split. ( on how to determine how much macros is it, I will explain in the next post :D ).

That meaning said, it is true that IIFYM works! IIFYM is optimal for changes in body composition but it does affects your health. It's possible to look really lean & aesthetic but at the same time being really unhealthy. Dozens of pop tarts a day may cause diabetes, constantly having fried chicken causes a build up blood cholesterol.

Flexible dieting does give results!

So What Do I Think IIFYM And Flexible Dieting Mean?

I prefer to call IIFYM Flexible Dieting. I typically follow the 80/20 rule, 80% clean and 20% dirty. So 80% of your diet will comprise of whole foods like poultry, beef, seafood, grains, vegetables, fruits etc. The 20% will be the foods that you crave for! All the fried and sugary foods. 

This is what I do on a daily basis by conducting flexible dieting (Please note that this is not proven to be the best way to do it but this is the way i like to do it). 

On a day to day basis, I cook my own meals and eat healthily. I pack my own meals to school and to work and everything is weighed, measured and accounted into my daily macros. That would be the 80% of my diet.

Meal Prep for school, work & eating home.

The 20% would be the occasions when I eat with either my friends or my family. Certainly at a social gathering you would not want to be eating out of your Tupperware and of course on a friday night out with your bros you wanna be enjoying your beer and have a good time with people around you! This way, you will see great progress in the gym without affecting on your quality of life. Do note that that being said, I am just an average gym goer who trains to look good and feel confident about myself. I am not by any means a hardcore bodybuilder who competes nor a personal trainer whose income purely depends on how they look.

Friday's night out with the boys!

Flexible dieting is great for amateurs and people like me, however it does not work for top level athletes. At the highest level of competition, everyone have the best genetics and sickest work ethnic. Having any food that causes inflammation or affects them from performing at the highest level are to be avoid. Let's just compare the Mr Olympias, everyone of them eats clean 100% and makes sure that they are at the top of the game! But if you are not at that level, Flexible Dieting is optimal for progress!

To look like this, you probably will need to eat really clean and also tons of Vitamin S :p

Conclusion

Don't be fooled by the Instagram of famous bodybuilders posting tons of waffles and pancakes for daily breakfast!  For example with the extreme low bodyfat levels, high muscularity and insane metabolic rate of Alberto Nunez from 3DMJ, 200 carbs for break might just be 30-40% off his daily carb intake because he eats like 500-700grams a day! For averafe gym goers like us, 200grams of carbs might already be close to the maximum amount of carbs that can be consumed.

I hope that through this post, any doubts of IIFYM/Flexible Dieting are all cleared up. If you have any questions, hit me up on the comments and i'll be happy to help!