IIFYM Part 1- What is That?

Yesterday I announced wanted to take the blog in a new direction, well what better way to do that then to start immediately right? Today I want to talk a little bit about nutrition, the most important piece of a healthy and happy lifestyle. For me personally 100% cleaning just doesn't work I feel too deprived and like I am on a constant extreme diet, I have found something else that works for me and I think it will work for you too. Today's post is part one of utilizing iifym and counting macros.

Many of you may have heard the saying "If it fits your macros' or IIFYM floating around especially on social media however may have no idea what all these crazy people eating poptarts are talking about. Many people get the wrong idea about IIFYM because people only post the fun stuff on social media so I wanted to do a quick overview.

I have been counting my macros on and off for almost a year. Within the last few months I have gotten very serious about it and remained consistent. Calculating and counting your macros is a process but it is truly a great one for reaching your nutrition goals and finding balance in your life. Basically your body functions and responds best when it is getting the correct amount of nutrients from each of the three macro groups, listed below. For that reason it is much more effective in helping you reach your goals than counting calories.

What are Macros:

• Fats
• Protein
• Carbs 

Why is it better:

• Your macros are calculated based on your body type, activity level and current goal so they are specific to you
• Since they are specific to you they can and should be changed as your goals or lifestyle changes
• If only counting calories you could hit your daily calorie goal just fine but have filled up entirely on carbs and fats while leaving out all the healthy stuff

How do you figure out your Macro count:

• The easiest way is to plug your information into the IIFYM calculator

How do I count them

• Once you have your numbers now the tricky part starts, counting them and meeting them. The term "if it fits your macros" truly comes from being able to eat something because it helps you hit your final numbers
• To count my macros I personally use my fitness pal and plug in everything I eat for the day, on the detailed nutrition page it will show you how much of each macro you have consumed for the day

If you have any other questions about macros and iifym please leave them in the comments below. I will be doing additional posts on using iifym to shape your diet.

Moving in a New Direction

Once again I have taken an unintended break from writing on this little blog of mine. When I started this blog originally I was a college student addicted to reading blogs of others who thought it would be great to have one of her own. Perhaps what I didn't realize at the time was that you actually need meaningful topics to write about to make a blog worth reading and well, you need them all the time. For this reason the blog has had ups and downs of periods where I wrote all the time and then not as much.

Currently I haven't been posting much I know, things started to go downhill when I got a new job and my schedule was a whirlwind. I simply didn't have the time, then every time I thought about writing I felt like I had nothing worthwhile to share. That's why lately I have been thinking that this blog needs somewhat of a redirection. In the past it has been just an all over the board lifestyle blog with anything I felt like sharing at the time. I think in order for me to keep direction in writing the blog itself needs more direction.

Within the last year or so I think the focuses in my life have shifted, in the best possible way. I simply found certain things I enjoy and that make me happy, those things aside from my wonderful fiancé, puppy, friends and family are health and fitness. I think in the past you may have noticed that trend peeping through on my posts.

That's why I want to make the large focus of this blog health and fitness related. Will some other aspects of my life be touched on as well, of course. I am still hoping to share some wedding posts with you all and any DIY projects I may stumble upon. Those will hopefully just be scattered into my regular posts.

I hope this new chapter of the blog will start now and I will keep it up, please stay tuned!