Clean eating vs IIFYM…my preference. Clean eating.
Now I write this post for general population that have the goal primarily of fat loss. I don’t want to start some science debate either- studies go both ways. I am talking about what works in the real world from my experience with 100’s of clients.
Now before some noob jumps on and says define a clean food. What I mean is eating whole, unprocessed or minimally processed foods….ie the way they are found in nature. A doughnut is not a clean food and vegetables are.
Now I also understand that IIFYM does not just mean eating rubbish all the time. In the same light clean eating does not always mean completely ignoring macronutrient ratios.
So why do I prefer the concept of clean eating to IIFYM? I have done both and actually switched between them a few times. I have also tried both on clients over 10 years.
Clean eating- What I like about it is that the concept of it is very simple. Eat unprocessed/ minimally processed foods. Whole foods are rich in nutrients, contain all of the enzymes required to digest them properly and when following this method you tend to get a good balance of fats, proteins, carbs, fiber for fat loss. And for 95% of people I see this is what is required as they are lacking in nutrients, have poor digestion, only poop once every few days and generally have a lot of stress around food….so simple leads to less stress.
The downfall- For sure if macronutrients are completely ignored it may be hard to reach specific goals especially around muscle gain and strength. I find however the clean eating approach builds a great foundation then later tweaks can be made.
IIFYM- What I like about IIFYM is that does give a lot more options with food intake and does take away some “fear of food” issues. It also gives people are good idea of how much food needs to be eaten. As most people they under eat significantly…myself included sometimes ☺ The downfalls- Often for new clients it can be fairly complex and a bit overwhelming. I often get questions like ok so I need 20g of protein and 10g of fat so does that mean I need to eat 12 egg whites and 6.2 egg yolks?
I am also not comfortable with the basic concept of IIFYM that all foods are broken down into the basic macros so as long as it fits your macros its fine. Sorry there are foods that are crap for you, that cause inflammation, digestive issues, brain problems. It MAY be true you can get lean/ big in the SHORT TERM but there will be issues with health, how you feel and being able to stay lean in the long run.
There are more complexities that just macros. An easy example is 100g of frozen non organic broccoli vs 100g of fresh organic broccoli. Both have the same macros. The frozen loses a great deal of the estrogen detoxifying nutrients and is covered in pesticides which wreak havoc in the body. The clean eater chooses the least processed option- the IIFYM chooses the frozen as its cheaper and its all the same anyway.
I think the best approach for most people is clean eating. Build a great nutritional foundation with whole foods. Get an understanding of which foods make you feel, look and perform better and which don’t. As your digestion, health and results improve then looking to fine tune macro intake will help with results further.
But if I had to choose one or the other- Clean Eating.
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