Online Diet Coach?

[quote]flipcollar wrote:

[quote]pwolves17 wrote:
Thanks for the kind words Flip, but re-reading my original post I did come across a bit douchey, and should have just explained my opinion/position. The majority of successful contest prep coaches in natural bodybuilding are utilizing IIFYM these days. Now, that doesn’t mean just eat whatever crap you want to fill your macros every day. Clients are still expected to eat responsibly and not fill all 300 carbs with candy and pop tarts, but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with fitting in a few of these every day if you’d like.

I completely agree with you that for a short cut or for an offseason, there’s no reason someone with a good understanding of nutrition couldn’t adjust their own macros successfully. But a good coach really has value in knowing when to push the envelope, or when to simply not change anything despite progress seemingly slowing. It’d be the natural tendency for many dieters to be extremely aggressive and want to slash too many calories/add too much cardio early in prep, essentially blowing their load too early and limiting their potential for how lean they can get.

contests, it’s extremely rare to see someone bring truly great conditioning who did not work with a coach. Many people just aren’t willing to absolutely grind themselves, and it takes a coach to be the bad guy at times, lol. It’s tough be objective with yourself dieting for 20+ weeks! And when it comes to wanting more than just a set of macros and cardio updates, the way I see it, I’m paying for results not a fancy plan. For someone that prefers following a meal plan, they could just set up a meal plan and follow that daily using their assigned macros.[/quote]

I’m 100% with you on the importance of a coach for contest prep. If I ever ventured into bodybuilding, I would absolutely hire a coach. No question.

It seems that I took the concept of IIFYM too literally. I was under the impression that it literally meant eat whatever the fuck you want, as long as protein, fat, and carb content match up with the numbers they’re supposed to. The ‘Now, that doesn’t mean just eat whatever crap you want to fill your macros every day’ part eluded me. If it doesn’t mean that you can eat whatever the hell you want, then it’s a more reasonable approach than I believed.
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my understanding of IIFYM and diet coaches was exactly the same as yours. Needing a coach for it had me scratching my head, too.

Psychologically IIFYM (or flexible dieting or scientific dieting or whatever you want to call it) has been the best approach I’ve used so far in my life. Weight is down, my HbA1c (diabetic marker) is down, feel positive in the gym and I feel I can cope with various challenges that real life poses regarding a fat loss cut (eating out with family, friends, colleagues etc.). I know it’s “just macros” but the body is constantly evolving. I’ve been on it for about 5 months now. I vary foods, slowly making better selections on food quality, I try to make my meals easy to prepare, with the right macros and slowly working towards micronutrient targets as well.

To the OP, 3DMJ comes highly recommended. There’s a book on the Juggernaut website called “The Renaissance Diet” which is my go to book now where I’ve learned a lot about nutrition. All in all I’m pretty happy with the changes I’ve made to my nutrition this year.

FINALLY.

[quote]Reed wrote:
Amit Sapir here on these boards. He literally changed my life with his guidance. He is very easy to get a hold of. He is not an IIFYM but, once again why do you need a coach for that? [/quote]

Wouldn’t he need a coach whether he is IIFYM or not?

I can’t see why it would be OK for him to pay someone to write for a meal, say 8 oz of chicken, 1.5 cups of rice, but not 8 oz chicken, 1 bagel.

I actually think it takes more work to fit a flexible IIFYM diet rather than a crispy clean one. Fitting in a client’s favorite recipes with respective macros requires a bit more time and creativity than rattling off stuff like, 8 egg whites, one cup oatmeal; 8 oz chicken, 1 cup rice, 1 cup broccoli, over and over and over again. I once wrote a “clean” diet for someone who didn’t mind bland foods but said she HAD TO have a nightly margarita. Another one had to have a nightly ice cream snack. Another one wants recipes to work in, not dry steak or chicken or canned tuna and white rice and green beans. What takes more creativity?

Brick, regarding your reply above. Designing down to the depth of actual diet is new to me. For me I was given macros, suggested foods, training/cardio, supplements and designed the rest. I individually keyed in raw foods from nutrition data and calorie king into MFP and added those from nutrition labels too. IIFYM is the reason people can be lean anywhere in the world sourcing from whatever foods they have available provided they’re in a calorie deficit (blah blah).

I started with foods I knew (whey, rice, eggs etc.) and slowly developed to add foods which I liked. Used some principles from RP as in the timing of carbs, fats and fibre. Migrated more to MUFA and PUFA and monitored Sat Fat. I used to do Paleo and low carb so this was a big shift for me. I’m enjoying carbs after ages. I thought until Xmas last year that low carb was the only way I was going to get lean. Not true.

Just need to up my cardio though, I despise it. lol

Just my two cents. I tried IIFYM and had great success in my first competition. Thing is, it would be extremely hard to hit your macros by eating junk food all day long. Eating clean, lower calorie foods allows room for that pop tart more often. Then when you manage it with food timing, pre and post workout…it just worked perfectly for me, and made the diet more do-able compared to eating chicken, broccoli and rice every meal. But that’s just my experience.

[quote]XanderBuilt wrote:
Haha Stu, yes I remember you were a fan of PopTarts.

For those of you who don’t IIFYM help me out here - you set macros and eat more or less the same things every day?

I don’t see how a flexible dieting approach with appropriate cardio and tracking is worse or better than a “traditional” approach - but please qualify what traditional approach you use?[/quote]

I have a couple of breakfasts, a couple of lunches and a 2 week dinner cycle that I choose from.

Is IIFYM an excuse to just eat crap? Nope.

Is it a rationalization to allow you to include some of your favorite foods, and still reach your goals? Pretty much.

The idea of diets having to consist of nothing but bland chicken, oatmeal and brocolli has been pretty much dispelled. Still, some people cling pretty tightly to the belief that every single thing about a diet has to be horrible, and an ordeal to suffer through.

The smart dieter (or coach) will find a balance between some foods that you like, and already eat every day, and others that will serve their purpose en route to your goals. This will address actual nutritional needs (micro-nutrients), satiety, fitting ther “bill” of your unique macro requirements easch specific day, and of course, ease of preparedness and fitting into your daily routines.

When I work with clients, I have a very detailed 4 page questionnaire that I have them fill out. I then do my absolute best to ensure that their first plan (because changes can be made every week based on progress) is fairly close to what they’re already doing. For the average person - and even those who fancy themself “hardcore!” - making a complete 180 turnaround with what you’re doing isn’t usually the best course of action to ensure optimal adherence. As weeks go by, small changes add up and, depending on the individual, sometimes they’ve completely left their “crap diet” behind, and sometimes they’ve still got certain foods and eating habits that are just fine, fit in with smarter addition, adjustments, and just minor tweaks and are making consistent and steady progress.

Do most coaches just throw people a set of #s to hit each day? I know of plenty that do. In my personal opinion though, that’s a pretty obscure concept to a lot of people. While I do work with a good number of comeptitors and athletes, I also get a serious lot of “everyday folks” who haven’t the slightest idea of how to set up their own eating plan. Having as concrete example of a daily menu, with breakdowns of numbers, timing of feedings according to their self described daily routine, and of course, a list of possible substitutions should they feel like changing things up, provides much much more USEFUL information that not only helps them, but teaches them as well.

S

I think of IIFYM as more of a safety net, and use it to plug the gaps. I’ll get 90% of my calories from “clean” foods, but if for whatever reason my carbs are a little low for the day I’ll make up the deficit with shite. The healthy stuff is always the goal, but if I’m already prety well fed for the day and need another 100g of carbs, then some Haribo or similar works for me.

Wouldn’t do it every day, but it serves a purpose.

Most the time IIFYM requires some micron-nutrient adherence. Like I have a fiber goal each day. Plus to eat ‘junk food’ + protein shakes all day to hit your macros consistently would require that person to have crazy macro requirements and/or a bird appetite.

[quote]BrickHead wrote:
I actually think it takes more work to fit a flexible IIFYM diet rather than a crispy clean one. Fitting in a client’s favorite recipes with respective macros requires a bit more time and creativity than rattling off stuff like, 8 egg whites, one cup oatmeal; 8 oz chicken, 1 cup rice, 1 cup broccoli, over and over and over again. I once wrote a “clean” diet for someone who didn’t mind bland foods but said she HAD TO have a nightly margarita. Another one had to have a nightly ice cream snack. Another one wants recipes to work in, not dry steak or chicken or canned tuna and white rice and green beans. What takes more creativity?[/quote]

x2

This is why I have never followed IIFYM it seems like too much damn work trying to “get away” with as much junk/variety as possible. I much prefer cheat meals or cheat days. I stick to my same pre-cooked/pre-planned meals and then enjoy my cheats.

tbh, if food choices actually do matter with IIFYM, then how is it substantially different from any other dieting? It sounds like an IIFYM coach will manage food choices, macros, and nutrient timing, all to varying extents. Isn’t this what all diet coaches do?

[quote]flipcollar wrote:
tbh, if food choices actually do matter with IIFYM, then how is it substantially different from any other dieting? It sounds like an IIFYM coach will manage food choices, macros, and nutrient timing, all to varying extents. Isn’t this what all diet coaches do?[/quote]

Well, you can get a coach who takes into account personal preferences in terms of food choices, and truly understands that it all really breaks down to the same basic components no matter the source (health related variables aside) with an intelligent use of varying intensity cardio, or, you can get a coach who will count out how many asparagus stalks and ounces of chicken comprise each of your exactly the same meals throughout the day, and hours of cardio you’ll be doing at least twice daily. :slight_smile:

Seriously though, I don’t fully “get” IIFYM coaches, because IMO any decent coach should be doing their best to create unique plans for their clients that fit into their specific goals, lifestyles, and yes, preferences.

S

[quote]flipcollar wrote:
tbh, if food choices actually do matter with IIFYM, then how is it substantially different from any other dieting? It sounds like an IIFYM coach will manage food choices, macros, and nutrient timing, all to varying extents. Isn’t this what all diet coaches do?[/quote]

I share your puzzlement, flip. IMO, the notion that IIFYM involves/requires specific food choices is oxymoronic. Put simply, if a nutritional program limits one’s food choices, it’s not IIFYM. It’s either that, or the term ‘IIFYM’ is itself a misnomer.

If I wanted an online diet coach I’d probably hire this guy^

[quote]EyeDentist wrote:

[quote]flipcollar wrote:
tbh, if food choices actually do matter with IIFYM, then how is it substantially different from any other dieting? It sounds like an IIFYM coach will manage food choices, macros, and nutrient timing, all to varying extents. Isn’t this what all diet coaches do?[/quote]

I share your puzzlement, flip. IMO, the notion that IIFYM involves/requires specific food choices is oxymoronic. Put simply, if a nutritional program limits one’s food choices, it’s not IIFYM. It’s either that, or the term ‘IIFYM’ is itself a misnomer.
[/quote]

IIFYM was a term pretty much spawned from people asking ‘if I eat Watermelon instead of bananas will it hurt my fat loss’. It’s just saying that, from a body comp perspective, food choice doesn’t matter that much in the grand scheme of things. Like Stu said, though, you have to take in food ‘preferences’ or whatever. If someone’s lactose intolerant, it does kind of matter they don’t use dairy. Most real followers of IIFYM will attest the M should stand for macros AND micros, at least basic minimums.

I think that’s why IIFYM has been been shifted to the term ‘flexible dieting’, because there were people TRYING to maximize how much junk food that could get in and still get lean.

Thanks, but why buy the cow when the milk is free? What little I know about dieting is all in my post.

Edited

Flexilbe dieting FTW!

I don’t know why people are making a distinction between flexible dieting and eating “clean.” You can also fit “clean foods” only (eating like a bro) into your macros if you wish.

John Otis Hollywood rocks! Other gret coaches have already been mentioned.

I hope I don’t offend anyone with this statement, but I seriously can’t understand why people are so confused by the basic notion that you can work pretty much anything into your diet so long as you account for it.

S